Having a Role in the Future

 

           My internship this semester is at the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum (GLMMAM), where I have been a volunteer for over six years. Currently an all-volunteer organization, the museum is in the midst of a transformation, which will likely lead to the staff’s professionalization. Having completed the course work for my degree, I regard this internship as an opportunity apply and expand this knowledge while contributing to this transformation.

Founded in 1990, the GLAMMAM is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the aircraft manufacturer Glenn L. Martin Company and its successors, Martin-Marietta and Lockheed-Martin. Glenn Martin formed his eponymous company in southern California in 1910, shortly after his first airplane’s initial flight. His California facilities closed as a result of a 1916 merger with the Wright Company; and upon this union’s collapse a year later, Martin reestablished his company in Cleveland. Seeking more space and a climate more conducive to building seaplanes, his primary product at the time, Martin moved in 1929 to Middle River in Baltimore’s eastern suburbs.

Martin’s company had a significant economic and social presence In the Baltimore area. It expanded in the lead up to WWII, becoming Baltimore’s second largest manufacturer. Employment at the plant peaked at over 52,000 people during the war. Martin’s company was one of first defense industries to hire women factory workers, who became known as “Rosie the Riveters.” Women made up 35 percent of the company’s workforce by 1944. To accommodate the wartime influx of workers from the south and west, the company turned woodlands surrounding the plant into housing, developing a community. Martin produced nearly 9,000 bombers and patrol planes during WWII. Although combat aircraft continued to be its main products following the armistice, it also constructed one of first post-war airliners. The company eventually turned its focus to missiles, with its Titan being adopted as the booster rocket for the Gemini space program. A 1962 merger with American Marietta created Martin-Marietta, which became Lockheed-Martin in 1995. Under the Martin, Martin-Marietta, and Lockheed-Martin banners, the company maintained a presence in Middle River for 94 years, which ended when Lockheed-Martin left the area in 2023.

The GLMMAM is devoted to keeping this presence alive. The museum, which is located on Martin State Airport, has been an all-volunteer organization since its inception. I joined the staff in 2017, after spending eleven years volunteering at the College Park Aviation Museum. Currently, I manage the GLMMAM museum shop and serve as the head museum guide. From the start, however, my primary role has been working with the museum’s collections.

Lockheed-Martin’s departure from Middle River may eventually benefit the GLMMAM’s mission. The museum plans to move from its confined spaces on the airport to the office building formerly occupied by Lockheed-Martin. The 20,000 square foot building will offer the museum opportunity to explore and present Martin’s legacy more fully. It will also provide more space for education programs and involvement with the community. Although the GLMMAM has been capably run by a small group of part-time volunteers for the past 34 years, it will have to incorporate more professionally trained staff to meet this expansion, in my opinion. Furthermore, it will need to strengthen its practices to conform to current professional standards more closely.

To be part the museum’s professionalization was my reason for seeking graduate degree in public history. For my internship, I have undertaken the task of creating the museum’s collection policy and codifying its collection procedures. In part, this assignment is a chance for me to apply knowledge gained from public history courses. It will also be a learning experience. In preparation, I have been researching collection methods. Furthermore, I have been reaching out to comparably sized aviation museums in the region in an investigation of best practices. Based on these observations, I plan to tailor the policy and procedures for the GLMMAM.  

The GLMMAM is on a course to become a sizable museum. For over 30 years, it has thrived with a part-time, all-volunteer staff to preserve the Martin legacy in Baltimore and present it to the public. Its expected expansion, however, will likely require a higher degree of professionalization. With my internship project of creating collection policy, I have an opportunity to contribute to this transformation.

               The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum