Catoctin Furnace Historical Society Internship #2

After the initial delays which beset my boss, I am now fully engaged with my internship and am learning a great deal. I have begun the creation of a formal tour for the Catoctin Furnace Historical Site. I initially researched how to construct a tour outline by contacting Christine Hawthorne, a park ranger and interpreter at the Hopewell Furnace Historical Site in Pennsylvania. She was incredibly helpful and sent a great deal of outlines of various tours which the Hopewell Site employs for public presentation. This not only provided me with solid examples but also allowed me to facilitate relations between the Hopewell and Catoctin historical sites. With this information I have created a rough outline of the information I wish to present to the public, the structure of how to present this information, and some concepts which I might employ in future. It is also important to note that I applied a great deal of knowledge that I have obtained via my study of public history. For example, I wish to present the daily lives of furnace workers in an interactive format in order to entice audiences with entertaining and educational information.

Of course I did not create an outline solely on information provided by Hopewell. I conducted research from various sources in order to construct a strong outline. I read the book provided by the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society titled Catoctin Furnace: Portrait of an Iron-Making Village and contacted the Catoctin Mountain Park in order to more information and facilitate ties with the national park as well. This research allowed me to form my initially outline and as I continue through this internship it will also aid me in forming a more comprehensive outline so that I may be better prepared for public presentation.

I was also lucky enough to attend a meeting of the society and see how a small historical society functions. We discussed a great deal of financial business including various grants, the indiegogo campaign, and restoration expenses towards the creation of the new museum. Upcoming events such as Spring in the Village (an event which celebrates the site with auctions, refreshments, and dressing in traditional outfits) and the upcoming Star-Spangled Tours. This allowed me the opportunity to discuss my tour and, when my work has concluded, an inaugural tour will be scheduled most likely following my graduation.