100 Days of DC

100 Days. That’s 2,400 hours, 56 cold lunches, 3 snowstorms, and 112 trips on the Metro, just to get to work! These 100 days have just flown by as I reflect back on my final night in Washington DC. I have learned so much out here; about history, about working in the real world, about myself. I hope that you have shared my adventure with me through this blog, because has it ever been an adventure!

Wednesday was our final field trip as a group, and our last time together as one large group. We went to lunch at Whitlow’s which is a local burger place with really good Oreo shakes! I remember Dr. Joyner saying back in January that by the time we get to Whitlow’s we should know everyone in the group, and I can proudly say that I do. Wednesday was also my final class for the semester, which is always a nice accomplishment to reach! Sadly the rest of my free time these past few days have been spent cleaning and packing, so that actually took up most of my time on Wednesday.

Thursday was my last day in the lab at the Archives. We had one of the best student groups in on a double lab, which actually made it not seem like a double lab. It was bittersweet to see the last of these student groups, as they have been one of my favorite parts about my internship. To see a group of students take historical documents, which many think are boring, and turn them into a meaningful project in under two hours is something of a miracle, and I have been blessed to be a part of that. I started saying goodbye to some of my coworkers on Thursday as well, as they will be elsewhere on Friday.

Today was honestly a strange day at the Archives. I couldn’t help but think that it was my last time doing this, or my last time running to find that. We had an ice cream social again for all the volunteers at Archives I since its National Volunteer Appreciate Week, which made it the finale to my time out here. I spent the rest of the day tying up loose ends and saying my farewells to everyone, which was sad. I have the greatest coworkers out here; I feel like we have become a little family out here! Like I said earlier, I would not trade this experience for anything, and although not everything was easy or happy, it taught me something or at least gave me a different perspective on life. Tomorrow I go back to Minnesota, where I know I have a lot of friends and family welcoming me back home, but I know that I will leave a little bit of myself here in DC, amongst the miles and miles of stacks, with those I have worked with in the past 100 days, or in the knowledge that I gave to a child during my time out here.

Baseball, Potluck, and Records

Well I started out my weekend on a good note in Old Town Alexandria, and I finished off my weekend at the Nationals baseball game. They have such a nice ballfield, and it is so nice to have baseball outside where it should be! It did make me think of how great Twins baseball is going to be this summer at Target Field. Even though the Nationals lost, it was still a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. One of my friends that I went with is from Milwaukee, and they were playing the Nationals, so she was happy her hometown team won!

After being at my internship for 14 weeks, I have figured out that Mondays are quiet days at the Archives. I spent most of my time up in the Resource Room, since no one else was around. I met some really interesting people while I was up there, and was able to locate some D-Day records for a student, find military records for a veteran, and census records for a family looking for ancestors. These are the stories that make my day so meaningful and make my job one of the best! I hope that as I leave the National Archives that I will be able to continue to make these kinds of impacts on people and help them navigate through the millions of records available to them.

Today was my last day at Archives II. I did not get a chance to work on any preservation work today because we were celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week by throwing a potluck and ice cream social. It just happened to match up with my last day out there, which was kind of a nice way to end my time there. I am SO appreciative for all those who work out at A II who were able to teach me things and help me in my internship and I am sorry that I will be missing out on more of their teaching. Not having an hour and fifteen minute commute one way though will be nice....

Tonight was also my last class on the Supreme Court. I came into this course knowing very little about the set up of the court or the American judicial system and in general, and I have gained so much knowledge about the history and controversy behind the system and it's cases this past semester. For anyone who is thinking about coming out to DC for a semester, please let me know! I'll make sure that you don't get too lost or confused if you come out here.

Archives II

National Basilica, which I drive past each week on the way to Archives II

Anna, Robin, and I at the game

They have such a sweet scoreboard!

Gomez at the plate!!

National Field- outside like baseball should be

Last Weekend!

I am wrapping up my last weekend in DC. Just like most people would, I am trying to fit in as much sight seeing as possible. This also means that I am cramming in projects to finish at work; it is going to be a fast finish!

Thursday at work was full of special groups coming in and out of the Education area. We started the morning with a group of new archivists, who were so excited to see the education space. The next group to filter in was a group of teachers who came to do a mini version of the Constitution in Action lab, and learn about more resources they could use back in their classrooms. We were pressed for time to begin with, but it became just a furried mess when the group showed up 20 minutes late! We made it through the lab, but it was a hurried one! They were very grateful though for the amount of flexibility we had, and enjoyed the lab. Our third and final special group for the day was a Treasure Vault tour!! Charlie needed a few interns to help show documents to a group of high schoolers, and I jumped at the chance! I got to hold and see up close an original (yes THE REAL THING!!) letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Congress about the Lewis and Clark expedition. I also got to show the original political cartoon that marked President Theodore Roosevelt with the teddy bear icon, and the only remaining copy of Mad Magazine comic book, Issue #1. It was just a great afternoon!

Friday was a double lab day. One lab is enough to keep you occupied for the day, so to have two makes for a busy day! We had close to 50 7th graders come through that day, and they really enjoyed learning in this sense. One commented that this was cooler than just being back in school. I'm sure the gloves, magnify glasses, and lab coats don't help in that aspect at all.

Saturday I spent my day down by the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria. Unlike Washington DC, which grew up following the Civil War, Alexandria, VA was built up in the mid 18th century and was a pivotal town during the American Revolution and Civil War. Today the town has been preserved in its 18th century splendor, with lots of row houses and really unique shops and restaurants. It was a beautiful day to be out wandering and I came across some really neat stores. I also sat down by the riverside and read my book, which was one of the most peaceful things I have done yet. I have attached some pictures from my time down in Alexandria below. Today is my final tourist day in DC, so I will be spending it watching America's pastime: baseball. The Nationals are playing the Milwaukee Brewers, and they won yesterday, so I'm hoping that they will do the same. :)

George Washington Masonic Memorial

Looking out into the river

Christ Church- Both Washington and Robert E Lee attended church and had pews here

Sailors Row

One of the most picturesque places in Alexandria

A few ferry's in the harbor

Alexandria town hall filled with an early morning farmers market

Cramming

Two weeks to go! Things are strangely seeming to slow down, which is completely different than what I am used to. Normally, during this time of the spring college students are frantically trying to finish all of their course work, but this spring has been smooth sailing... so far

Monday was a really quiet day at work; President Obama scheduled a Nuclear Summit conference in DC the past two days, so a lot of people worked from home the beginning of this week. This meant that I was scrambling around picking up all the little loose ends in the office! No matter though, it kept me very busy, and is one of the many things all interns get to do at some point! I started on making a database on some of the video conference documents used by the Education staff. I will be no means complete this in the next week and a half, but at least it's a start for the next person to come along and finish. This is also the last week that some of the education staff will be around, so it seems like I am saying goodbye already.

This was the case on Tuesday out at Archives II, as it was my last "normal" day out there. I worked on preservation projects all day, both in the stacks and back in the preservation room. Amongst all of the WWI records I came across a letter sent overseas in the Argonne region of France explaining the new technology of Daylight Savings Time! It was comical to read how strange and serious they were about it! I also had a a file on baseball equipment in the camps in France. There was one company who was so generous as to donate baseball equipment to the troops for their free time and enjoyment while overseas. I can only think that this was a small comfort to those who were fighting so far from home. I also found some interesting documents back in the stacks. It was my last day back amongst all the boxes, which was a little sad. I did come across some interesting Soviet and Cold War records from Bulgaria...

Today's field trip after class was a choice- I decided to go to the National Zoo. It was so nice out to go to the zoo (both the warm weather and small crowd) and many of the animals were out. Sadly, my camera's battery died part way through, so I was not able to get many pictures. They have a wonderful panda exhibit, but only one of their pandas was out, as they other one is currently on pregnancy bedrest. I also watched an octopus each lunch, which was one of the strangest things I have ever seen! I have added the few pictures that I was able to get below. The rest of the week is going to be crazy with 3 labs in 2 days, but I guess that's what happens when you try to cram a bunch in in a short amount of time.

Lists

I am counting down the days until I return back to Minnesota. (13 left!) With this countdown comes lots of lists: to do lists, packing lists, grocery lists, summer reading lists. My list of things to get done at work in the next two weeks is slowly shrinking, which I am a little sad about. I am going to miss the life of an intern, and even more working at the National Archives.

I am in the final steps of completing my Civil War project! All of the pages have been organized, printed, indexed, researched, and put in binders. There are three binders too!! (We were only expecting one, so this has been a HUGE project!) All that is left now is printing off all the introduction pages, and then it's off to the Resource Room for the public to use! Hopefully I will be able to get into the exhibit and at least see part of it before I leave, seeing as I have been working with these documents for so long now.

Friday I was at Archives II, where I learned that we finally got through all of the Brazilian consulate records back in the stacks! Cassie and I have been working on these since January, so it's nice to move to a different part of the world. Currently, we are going through the British West Indies (Antigua and Barbados) consulate records. So far there hasn't been anything too interesting, but I am sure there is some pirate map or hidden treasure in there somewhere! I also went back into the stacks for some presidential assassination research. I spent the afternoon going through the Lynette Fromme files from her attempted assassination on Gerald Ford. She was a member of the Charles Manson clan, so there were some creepy things in that file! I found some good court case papers though, which will be used for a video conference lessons.

Normally I don't work on Saturdays, but this week I did. There were people everywhere, just like last weekend! I was in the Resource Room the whole day, so I spent most of my time showing people ARC and the Declaration. There was the annual Cherry Blossom Parade right outside the Archives this morning, so people flocked into the museum once that was finished. In the meantime though, I sat by the huge window and watched it. There was also a large block party/fair on the other side of the building, which made getting home a bit difficult. The people who came into the RR today too were all about family roots for some reason! I feel like I should wear a sign around my neck that says " This is not a research/ geneology center. This is a Resource Room". O well, I have gotten really really good at using Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and Footnote. So, if anyone needs a hand with genealogical research, I'm your girl!

Seasons of...

It's a little crazy that I have only been here for 12 weeks, and I have seen all four season in Washington DC. This week has been summer, with temperatures reaching into the 90's. I feel like I should be in a band uniform marching somewhere!!

Monday was pretty quiet day in comparison to last week at the Archives. I am getting into the final steps of my Civil War notebook, which is exciting! I thought I wouldn't get it all done, but it looks like it will be. The tourist levels were fairly low too, which was nice, since it's much easier to help people when they're aren't as many of them.

Tuesday I spent the day in downtown DC rather than the University of Maryland, as the department took the interns out for lunch! We went to Matchbox, which has some of the best pizza around. After lunch, we were sent on the mission of all missions for interns: getting donuts. :) I guess it had to happen at some point!

Wednesday was full of field trips! Our last class for Art was at the Phillips Collection, where we had a discussion on Washington modern art. Then we had a briefing with the NCIS as an introduction to the Spy Museum, which was our next stop. There are some crazy things that go on in the US intelligence agencies around here- like DC has the highest capita of spies in the world...I'll have to remember that the next time I'm at the grocery store.

The Spy Museum was great! The only bad thing was the heat and humidity that seeped into the museum making everyone sticky and warm. The exhibits had a bunch of gadgets from James Bond, as well as actually spy materials used during World War II and the Cold War. They had stations throughout the exhibit to see if you could handle being a spy- I didn't pass the test though. O well, I always seem to be the last person to figure out when people are planning something without me, so being a Bond girl (or a spy) is not for me.

Happy Easter!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- Arlington

White House- all set up for the Easter Egg Roll

Mom and Dad looking at all the Cherry Blossoms

Lincoln's booth at Ford's Theater

Michelle Obama's inauguration gown at the Smithsonian

Cherry Blossoms! :)

Jefferson Memorial with Cherry Blossoms- and thousands of people

Whew! Those have been the four busiest days since I got here! My family came out to visit me over their Easter vacation, and we have been (and probably walked) all over the city. Let me back up a bit...

Thursday I was in work way too early in the morning, so I would have a chance to join my family when they got here in the afternoon. They got here by the afternoon, just in time for a huge tour of the Archives. After explaining to them over the phone for the past three months, it was nice to be able to show them what I was doing (and exactly what an archivist is). All of my family are history buffs, so it was nice to show them everything I have found; it was so great to seem them excited about what I do. After that we took the large monument loop and headed back downtown for dinner.

The next day we spent around the Capitol grounds. Since it was Easter vacation, the height of the Cherry Blossom season, and it was 80 degrees out, everyone was out and about in DC. We caught two of the three branches of government, and then finished off with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. My brother was hard to drag out of there!!

Saturday we went to a bunch of museums, and down to the Tidal Basin for all the Cherry Blossoms. It was part of the peak time, so there were people everywhere. It was worth going to see them at that time though, they were georgeous. I have added some pictures of the blossoms, so you can get a little glimpse of them. Since this was the peak weekend, the Cherry Blossom festival had it's annual fireworks show on Saturday night. They were fantastic out on the riverfront, especially with a little bit of seafood mixed in with it!

Today were finished up the grand tour of DC with a stop at the White House Visitors Center and Ford's Theater. It rounded out the three branches that we started with on Friday. We also walked down to Arlington Cemetary in the what turned out to be hot weather! We had a Mexican themed Easter Sunday dinner, which was a little strange, but very tasty! Then it was time to say goodbye to my family, as they have to get back to Minnesota for work and school tomorrow.

Only a couple weeks until I return home to MN. There are still a few things that I want to do before I leave, and a pile of work and homework to finish, but this is what college students do best; pushing through to the end.

What's your story?

Mankato, MN paper headlines for the day- in Washington DC

The television studio for ABC's This Week

The Microphones that FDR used in his first Fireside Chat- Notice the WTOP one; that is still a radio station in the DC area today

The Intolerable Acts- I wrote a research paper on these freshman year, so I was so excited to see them in person! :)

The view from the top of the Newseum

Wow....you can tell it's Easter vacation week this week. The Metro is strangely quiet during morning rush hour and there are tourists everywhere! (I'm not kidding about the Metro thing, it was so quiet that I thought I was getting on the wrong train!)

When I came to the Archives on Monday, I was greeted by a line that wrapped around the corner. This line was that long for the rest of the day! I spent my morning in the Resource Room, where I barely had time to sit down, there were so many people in there! I did get to help some really cool people though. One group was two Vietnam veterans, who told me a crazy story about submarine chases across the Arctic Ocean with Soviets. I also had a family come in looking for documents on Pearl Harbor as one of their kids was doing a project on it, and I was able to show him how to find over 100 documents for his school project. There was another family with a teacher in the group who was so thankful for the introduction I gave to her about the educational resources we have for classroom use.

Because it was so busy in the morning, I basically hid in the afternoon so I could get some work done! I am now halfway through the Civil War notebook, which is right on track, as I have only 3 weeks left out here!

Tuesday I was out at A II again. I did my normal routine of document preservation, and came across some cool passport application files and a list of all the American citizen foreign births in Brazil during World War II.

Today's field trip was to the Newseum, the newest musuem in Washington DC. We got an inrotduction to the museum from one of my classmates, who is an intern there. There is a fantastic view of Washington DC from the top of the building, which is where we started. This is one of the best places to view the Presidential Inauguration parade, as it is right on Pennsylvania Avenue. From there, we went through a bunch of exhibits all about the news. The TV studio for ABC's This Week is in the building, so I got a picture of that. There was also remenants from the Berlin Wall, 9/11, and wartime journalism. On the way out, there is a large exhibit that has all the headlines for the nation for that day, and what paper do I run into but the Mankato paper!


Tomorrow will be a very early morning at work. My family is coming to visit me for Easter, and I am taking them through the Archives tomorrow. I hope it's not as busy as it has been this past week!

New Friends, Old Stories

Union Station

Interior of a Mail Car

So the past two days at work have seemed a bit like deja vu for me. We have had a new intern (E) join the group on Wednesday, and since the coordinator has been out of town for the week, she has been my buddy for the week. Luckily my training was not all that long ago, and it has been really nice to have someone the same age to work with. Hopefully she will be able to navigate her way through ARC and the building without getting lost.

On Thursday I had what might just be the quietest lab group yet! They did such a great job working through the Constitution, and even had their parents excited about the lab! E observed the lab, and was thrilled that she was going to be doing this for the next 10 weeks. I also finally (finally!) finished one of my videoconference research projects. The Cold War file is now much thicker than it was before, and hopefully it will be of use for many years in the future.

Friday was a Resource Room day for me. With the Cherry Blossom festival starting this weekend, I expected it to be really busy, but it wasn't. I had a wonderful family come in with their 91 year old grandfather, who is a WWII veteran. I showed him how to retreive his personell records from the Archives, and then listened to a few of his war stories. They were wonderful to listen to; I wish that others would take the time to listen to these tales, they are a dying art.

Sadly, as the semester is coming to a close, there are assignments piling up! This means that Saturday was a homework day; pretty boring for my blog, but I did get things accomplished!

Today I needed to get out of the house, so I went to the Smithsonian Postal Museum and Union Station. It is a smaller Smithsonian museum, but by no means a bad one. There was a great exhibit about Victory Mail during World War II, and a larger exhibit about the development of the postal system, with the Pony Express and Airmail included. This musuem is a little off the beaten path, so I hope that other visitors to the DC area get a chance to peek in here.

Union Station is a mix between a shopping mall and old town promendade. It is where the DC Amtrak lines come in, and it is one of the oldest train stations in the country. I have not been in a mall in almost 3 months, so it was refreshing to walk around in one! :) Once my little excursion was over, it was time to get back to the books. Next week is Easter, and my family is coming out to visit! I am excited to show them DC now that is a bit more familiar than when I left them 3 months ago.

War Time Research

The Cherry Blossoms are on their way ! On my way to work this past Monday, I saw a few blossoms peeking out. By this afternoon, though, many of the buds were out in full glory, along with many of the trees! The National Parks Service says that the peak of the blooming should be on Easter weekend, which is perfect because that's when I have vacation!

So far work this week has been fairly quiet. I have caught a nasty cold this past week, so a calmer schedule was perfect. Monday I spent most of my time preparing a file on Cold War documents for Dave to use in a bunch of upcoming video conferences. Before I started this project, I only knew the basics of this time period, but I have a much better handle on it after a few hours doing research.

Tues I was out at Archives II, also doing research, but on a different war. I was given a mission to look up information pertaining to the Lost Battallion of the 107th and 108th Infantries from World War I. I spent the afternoon going through four boxes of papers, I ended up with way more information than I needed, which was a good problem to have. Just like my time doing research on Monday, I am into this project knowing the basics of the battle and ended up not only finding what I was looking for, but actually learned a lot. I think I can finally say that I know how to do research at the Archives, which is actually a long process!

I also snapped some pictures of WWI research going on at Archives II for my scrapbook. Check it out!

This morning our field trip was to Eastern Market, to look at different styles of Row Houses behind Capitol Hill. They range from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, and are designed in a variety of styles. I have added some pictures from this historic neighborhood to this blog for you to check out- enjoy!

Historic Neighborhood

Have you exercised your rights as an American citizen today?

There is so much going on in Washington this weekend; the Metro was packed with people all day!!

It's really exciting to be in the nation's capitol when such historic legislation (by this I mean the health care vote tomorrow) going on! While the Hill was bustling with people preparing for this vote, there were thousands of tourists, runners, and protesters bustling about.

There are 5 different protests going on this weekend: 1. End the Iraq War 2. Tea Party 3. Anti- Healthcare 4. Pro-Healthcare and 5. Immigration Rally. There was also the National Marathon this morning and it's the nicest weekend since last fall, which has brought all the tourists and locals outside (including what seems to be the entire state of Texas; they have spring break this week).

Of course, I was out and about in DC today, attending the Anti-War protest for one of my classes. I have added some pictures from the protest this afternoon. I have never attended a protest on the large of a scale before, so the experience I had is something I can compare to what protests were like during the hippie era. There were some strange people chanting and running around, but many of the protesters are just average citizens using their protected rights as Americans to tell Congress and President Obama their dislike of the Iraq War. The protest was held at Layfayette Park, which is right across from the White House. Overall, it was interesting to be a part of something so large and important, and part of something I have never experienced before.

Following the protest, I went to the Daughters of the American Revolution museum to take a look at their exhibits. They have a bunch of period rooms, ranging from the early 17th century to the mid 20th century. It takes a special person to appreciate these displays, but I thought they were great!

On top of all the excitement going on in DC this weekend, it is in the upper 70's here, which means that I can't help but be outside as much as possible! I'm sad to say this, but I think that I will be going back in seasons when I get back to MN, which is a sad, sad thought.

Tudor Room in the DAR

Maine Room- early 19th century

Furniture from the White House- Monroe Era

Protesters getting ready to march- note the street hockey game going on in front of them, which is in front of the White House!

One of the signs

Protesters in front of the White House

A Day in the Life of an Intern

So after being in DC for two months, I think the time has come for the coveted blog post on what a typical day for me is. One note though, the nature of my internship makes my tasks and duties vary significantly from day to day, so the following schedule is a compilation of a few different days.

6:15 am- Alarm clock. Yes, it's ridiculously early.

7:15 am- my morning commute begins. Instead of having a a 5 minute walk to class, I have a half hour commute- on a good day. My commute though is fairly simple compared to others that I work with. It's about a 10 minute walk to the metro, a 10 minute metro ride (on only one rail line) and then another 10 minute walk. By the time I get to work, the sun is just coming up, which means that I get to see the sunrise every morning. So nice.

8 am- morning meeting with a few of the members of the Ed department. This is very informal, and just involves stopping by someone's cubicle to see what they have going on for the day. Some days I get specific tasks, and other days they have already emailed me what they need for the day.

8:15-10:00 am- This is my research time. Every day I seem to be working on something different, and past examples include creating and then typing lesson plans, working on index and introduction pages for the newest MASSIVE exhibit, Discovering the Civil War, and just doing research for upcoming video conferences. Every once in awhile I have a meeting, but normally not this early in the morning.

10:00 am- Resource Room time. I spend time in the Resource helping the public learn more about what the Archives has, and how they can access it. People normally either shy away from it, or dive right in. The ones who do jump right in (especially kids) are the best ones to come in!

12:30- Grab lunch quick! Now that it's getting nice out, eating outside is a nice break and a chance to get outside.

1:00 pm- Normally I have taken the afternoon labs, if there are any. These normally take about 2 hours to go through the workshop and then a short tour of the Archives. Sometimes in the afternoon though, I will have a Trolley Tour, which is an hour long tour of the Archives for junior high students.

3;30 pm- By the time the lab is finished and cleaned up, I head back down to my desk to finish up my research for the day, or to work on tasks that I did not finish from the morning. If I put in a pull slip for research earlier in the day, I go up to the reading room to pull records and do research.

4:30 pm- Done for the day. Just another half hour commute back to Rosslyn and then it's dinner and homework time for the rest of the night.

Like I said earlier, my day really varies on if there are tours, meetings, labs, or special events going on that day. Hopefully for those of you who wanted to know more details about what I do are satisfied with this breakdown. Basically, it's one third in the public area giving tours and labs, one thrid doing research, and one third in the Resource room.

So What's the Second Largest federal building in DC?

Anyone, Anyone?? Well it happens to be the Archives building in College Park, MD, on the University of Maryland campus. It really is huge, and I get to work there once a week. What's better, I get to do preservation work here, which really gets at what the Archives is all about.

There are two different types of preservation work that I do at Archives II (the nickname for this building). The first one is called collections management, and I am specifically working with World War I military records. I go through page by page and assess the amount of damage that the record has. Many of them are folded or creased, others have rusty pins and paper clips attached to them. What I do is smooth out documents, remove old clips and pins and then replace them with new ones, put those who are in serious damage into special preservation folders, and refer really worn documents to special preservation archivists. Most of these records look as if they have never seen the face of daylight since they were made over 90 years ago, which is a little disappointing to a historian, but it is really cool to be the first one to read some of these records since they were created! Today, for instance, I was working with records of discharged soldiers, many of whom wanted to return to their native countries in Europe to see relatives.

The second area of preservation that I help with is in the stacks, doing preliminary preservation work. Specifically, the records that I work with are South American Consulate records from World War II. Once again I go box by box, but not record through record this time, and assess the condition of the records. Some are in excellent condition, but others are covered in mold, soot from fires, or are torn or out of order. Should any of these be the case, they are referred to an archivist for preservation. Many of the records that I have come across are bound in volumes, some of which are in good condition, and others that are not. I don't get as much time to looking through these records, but I have come across many classified records, some of which are still so secret that they have been pulled from the file. The best document that I have found so far though, are secret codes from WWII from Brazilian spies! I felt like I was 10 years old again! Hopefully there will be more treasure to find amongst the shelves in the few weeks I have left here; I'll keep my eyes open for more good records on the loose!

Civil War Project

So it has been over a week since I last blogged on my internship, but it has been more on the low key basis than previous weeks. My newest project is designing a binder that will contain all the documents that will be on display for the newest exhibit, Discovering the Civil War, opening in April. This massive project includes finding the right citation and background information on the document, and then pairing it with the educational resources that we have available that would be connected to that document. I think it's safe to say that this project will take up a lot of the remainder of time that I am here, as there are a few hundred documents to go through!

Like I said in my previous posting, the tourist pace has picked up significantly in the past two weeks. With more people comes more time spent giving tours and being in the Resource Room. By the end of today, I am averaging about 3 tours a week, which is much higher than it was in January! It's not a bad thing to do though, and now that I know my way around more and just know more information about the Archives in general, I am really enjoying sharing all my knowledge with those who come to visit.

The lab schedule, which was completely mixed up last month because of the blizzard, is also starting to fill up. As I continue to do these though, I am getting better at training all the little Archivists, and have even figured out how to put a little spin on the job for them!

This week at Archives II in College Park, I helped with the Volunteer Association meeting for the month. We had a really informative discussion about using DNA in genealogical research, which has only recently been a hot topic. I also helped out with more preservation management of WWI records, which is another one of my ongoing projects.

Well last weekend was sunny, and warm, and filled with lots of activities with Ryan being here. This weekend though looks to be cold and rainy and a little bit more laid back. This is not a bad thing though, as long as you have things to keep you occupied!

Tour Guide

Now that we are getting into tourist season in Washington DC, there is a large increase in the amount of people coming to the National Archives. I am partly to blame for this, as my boyfriend Ryan came to visit me for the week. We tried cramming in as many sites as possible, and I think we did a pretty good job of getting around. The first day he was here we visited the Air and Space Musuem, Library of Congress, the Capitol, and the Botanical Gardens. Ryan was like a 10 year old in a candy store looking at all the machinery in the Air and Space museum, which I have no clue about, but he did teach me some good information on it. We also found an old Irish pub that afternoon and ate lunch there in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

The next day we went back to the Botanical Gardens (yes there are that awesome to go back twice!), along with the National Gallery of Art and National Archives. I gave my huge spiel at the Archives, which I'm not sure if he got or not, but that's ok. The National Gallery of Art was our favorite place of the day, as we didn't even plan on going there, but ended up spending over 5 hours in just one of the buildings! Thank you for the tip Carolina! I think Ryan is quickly becoming an art historian though, as he spent some of his time wandering around the building with guide book in hand. :) Of course, a great way to end the night was some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

The last day he was here we went to a bunch of the monuments (Lincoln, Washington, Vietnam, Korean, World War II) . It was absolutely wonderful out, which was perfect because we walked at least 4 miles around DC. After the big monument loop, we went back to the National Gallery of Art, and then off to the White House and Chinatown!

Just as soon as Ryan came though, he had to leave. No worries though, it was all smiles while he was here, and my family will be here in just three weeks and in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival!