Oh golly, I thought, as brittle black and white photographs fluttered loose from their scrapbook pages and littered the floor. Merely trying to remove the decaying albums from their shelves had resulted in a shower of photographic material, and I hastily restored the escapees to their rightful pages. And there’s a whole closet full of these!… Continue reading Monsters in the Closet
This November marks the seventh anniversary of my very first exhibit installation for a small business client. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed, but it’s equally exciting to look back at this little gallery and be reminded of the passion, dedication, and ingenuity of the team who put it together. We took… Continue reading A Look Back
Something I dearly love about public history is the variety of work available. One minute I’m plumbing the depths of online census records, going blind over 19th-century penmanship and wondering why names like Domer and Achsah haven’t made a come-back yet. And the next, I’m cleaning a century’s worth of barn dirt off of a… Continue reading Barn Treasure
Anyone else have an oversized box of archival products taking up prime real estate in their kitchen? No, just me? Right, then! It was Christmas in July at my house when the first half of my Gaylord Archival order arrived this weekend. Within its vast cardboard depths were: Burly Boxes and buffered tissue paper for… Continue reading Christmas in July
Along with many of you, the nation-wide COVID-19 quarantine has given me some extra time at home. As a result, the pace of my latest project kicked into high-gear, and I’m tearing (metaphorically, of course) through the more than 800 letters sent between my great-grandparents over the course of their courtship, engagement, and early marriage.… Continue reading Social Distancing, 1930s’ Style
The Free-Range Historian 