A Good Day with the LHS

A very busy month....

2010-10-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

So October is gearing up to be one of those months at the LHS that is ridiculously busy. But it's in a good way.

We have a lot of the normal stuff going on---planning for a new exhibit, hopefully beginning the steps to get some new lighting, planning a holiday open house, and more. You know, the normal stuff.

But we also have a bunch of really exciting programs that will take place this month.

We'll start off the month's programming this Saturday with a collaboration with Venus Theatre. Venus Theatre is a small theatre in Laurel that is dedicated to setting flight to the voices of women and children. They have professional playwrights submit plays to them and all of their actors are professionals. A really cool gem in Laurel. What, you may ask, are we doing with them?

Well, we have collaborated with them to put together "Laurel: A Haunted History". It's a candlelight walking tour around Laurel. You see, one of the people at Venus has a background in giving Haunted Walking Tours in places like Gettysburg and NY City. So we worked with him using material from the Laurel Museum's collection to develop a haunted walking tour for Laurel. As far as we know, it's the first time this has ever been done. And we're really excited about it!

So if you're interested in a night of fun in Laurel, sign up.
Here's the link: https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8442425

But if you can't come Oct 2, don't worry. Venus Theatre is running the tour every Saturday in October. So come another day to be scared!

We quickly follow up our Oct 2 ghost walk tour with something quite different. On October 4, Mike Boivin will be giving a lecture for the LHS titled "Researching Immigrants Through the Port of Baltimore". Mike is the leader of our Genealogy Group, a group that meets monthly to discuss topics related to genealogy and help one another in their research. This group has been quite active and began about a year ago following a lot of interest in the genealogy programs we offered then.

Mike's talk is not only done as part of the LHS's regular programming, but it is done in collaboration with "Between Fences". "Between Fences" is a traveling exhibit put together by the Smithsonian for small museums throughout the country to show and build upon. This fall it is being shown at Montpelier Mansion along with "Barriers and Gateways: The Immigrant Experience" a companion exhibit that the people at Montpelier put together in collaboration with BF.

When Between Fences is brought to locations throughout the country, the hope is that the locations will work collaboratively on programming to accompany it. We've done just that with Montpelier and many of our programs this fall relate to that exhibit. Mike's program on immigrants coming through the port of Baltimore is just one iteration of that collaboration.

Not too long after Mike's talk, we have another exciting collaborative program. (Who would have guessed??). On October 9 we are partnering with Laurel Mill Playhouse. Laurel Mill Playhouse is a community theater non-profit located on Laurel's Main Street. They run plays continuously throughout the year and involve people in the community in a number of exciting and refreshing ways. Like Venus Theatre, we've partnered with them before and it has always been a pleasure.

On October 9 we are working with them again to offer another of our "Have You M.E.T." Events. Museum, Eats, and Theater in Historic Laurel has been a popular evening out every time we have done it. This time we'll begin with an all-american dinner at the Laurel Museum and continue our evening at LMP to see "The American Way." An epic take of the American immigrant experience in the early 1900s, this play is done in collaboration with Montpelier's "Between Fences" as well. So in fact, we're partnering with both Laurel Mill Playhouse and Montpelier on this program!

On October 20th we'll have our normal Book Club meeting. Last month we discussed "Outcasts United" a book that was part of the One Maryland One Book initiative. This book tied directly into "Between Fences" at Montpelier too, so it was also a part of the collaborative programming as well. This month we'll be discussing a crowd favorite, "Love in the Time of Cholera." I haven't read it yet, so please, don't post any spoilers in the comments!

We complete the month with one of our quarterly children's programs. This month is "Harvest Some Fun at the Laurel Museum: Harvest Time Traditions from Around the World." October is always a harvest themed children's program and since we have the opportunity to tie it into "Between Fences" and the idea of immigration, we thought we'd do so.

At this event children will explore Vietnamese, English, Indian, Salvadorian, and Mexican harvest traditions. Members of Montpelier's staff will be helping us as well--making it a very collaborative event.

We hope we'll have the usual kids running around having fun and eating lots of yummy food while learning a little something too.

So, as you can tell, it's going to be a really busy month. We hope to see you around the Museum, or at the playhouse, or walking along Main Street being spooked!

Happy October!

And They're Off....Researching!

2010-09-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

So things have been pretty quiet here on the blog. I decided that a summer hiatus was in order, but don't worry, we are back!And don't let the quiet fool you, we've been pretty busy here at the LHS. Watch out for the month of October where we have a lot of programs planned!

What I personally have been working on a lot lately is planning for our upcoming exhibit. When I arrived at the LHS in June of 2008, I was told in no uncertain terms that the February 2011 exhibit would be on the 100 year anniversary of the Laurel Park Racetrack.

So back in March we began planning for the new exhibit. Right now we're deep in the planning and researching phase.
One of the most exciting parts of the planning and researching is meeting people who work or worked at the Race Track. We've been conducting interviews to learn more about the personal experiences of people involved at the track and it's been a lot of fun.

I've spent so much time at the Race Track I'm beginning to think I should have an office there as well. Learning about what goes on "behind the scenes" has been a lot of fun!

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the jockey's room at the racetrack. This is the place where all of the jockeys get ready before the race. It is here that they weigh in, get dressed, and get ready to ride.
Here are some of the pictures I had the opportunity to snap!

Happy Fourth of July: 1910 Style!

2010-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Images provided by Charles Hessler, Laurel Museum Registrar and 2006 LHS Volunteer of the Year.

World Cup Fever and the LHS

2010-06-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me well, you might know that this Executive Director (speaking in the 3rd person here) likes to spend her weekends and weeknights playing the best sport on earth, soccer. (yes, I am biased).

So, for those of you who don't know, we're in the middle of World Cup fever. The tournament takes place once every four years (yep, just like the Olympics) and this year it's taking place in South Africa.

Because soccer is on my mind, I thought writing a blog post about some lessons learned from the world cup might be a good idea. For those of you who hate sports analogies--stop reading now!

For those of you who can stomach the analogies, here are 2 decent ones:

Things are not always as they seem.
This World Cup, we're learning that just because you see something doesn't make it true. Whether it's a 3rd goal against Slovenia or a 1st goal against Algeria, the US has proven to us that we can't always believe our eyes (and ears, hearts, and minds). Sometimes there are things going on that we're not aware of (like a ref that can't see or think or hear me screaming at him from Laurel, Md).
On a more positive note---here's your first sports analogy. This summer, you won't be receiving many flyers from us announcing fun and exciting programs. As usual, we're slowing down our public events in the summer. You might even begin to think we're dozing around here (or watching too much soccer). But don't worry, we have lots of things going on behind the scenes.
Every Wednesday we'll spend time with our Junior Docents working on a new project. We have Laurel Parks and Rec summer camp coming once a week. We have a high school volunteer coming to work on a project that should increase the accessibility of our collections online. We are creating some traveling trunks that will be able to travel to classrooms in the area so students can learn all about Laurel without coming to the Museum. We'll be meeting once a month for out monthly volunteer luncheon (next up--July 6, 12:30 at Lenny's). We'll be going to restaurants to talk about our upcoming Taste of Laurel. Working with Montpelier Mansion on the Between Fences project. And of course working on our upcoming exhibit on the Laurel race track. And you know, between that all, watching some soccer.

Sometimes, it's the little guys who pull through in the end.
This world cup has seen some huge, huge upsets. For those of you not watching, let me summarize it in the simplest way possible. Italy. the champions from 2006, are going home after the first round. (I'm personally loving that fact!)
Some of the most amazing upsets have taken place-- South Africa beat France, Serbia beat Germany, Slovakia beat Italy, and Switzerland beat Spain. Again, for those of you who aren't big soccer fans, these are all huge upsets.
So why do I bring this up in the context of the LHS? Because we are a little guy. Any organization that employs only 1 full time and 1 half time person is a little guy.

But we're pulling through in a big way. Our current exhibit incorporates community input in a way that many larger museums struggle with. All of our collection is inventoried and in Past Perfect, a feat larger museums sometimes can not complete. We have annually changing, interesting, engaging, and informative exhibits. Our public programming is regular, interesting, and worthwhile. And of course--we have a great membership and volunteer base.

So pat yourselves on the back for all that you've done to support the LHS lately. We appreciate you cheering for the little guy.

And this World Cup, if you catch a game, root for the underdog! (Or Spain, because I personally love them!)

A Busy Week

2010-06-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

I arrived back to the warm, slightly suffocating heat of sunny Maryland last Thursday.

Since then, I've been playing a bit of catch up. I was on email for the 2 weeks I was away, but I was also spending plenty of time in program sessions at AAM, visiting Museums, and to be honest, paddling around the Oceanside Harbor with the Sea Lions. (which I thought were seals until I visited the Aquarium of the Pacific and learned the difference...yay museums!!!!)

So I've been playing a bit of catch up for the last week. And I didn't necessarily have the easiest week to settle back in.

This week we were pretty busy.

Wednesday night we had several local businesses come to the Museum so we could share the great work we do with them. Thursday was our friends and family picnic--THANK YOU to all who came! And Sunday we're having another one of our kids day, this time around the theme of Picturing Yourself in History. I also had to report on a grant that wraps up this month, visit with volunteers at our monthly luncheon, and do all the other normal fun stuff we do around here!

But I had 2 great things happen this week to remind me of why I'm here.

1) Another local non-profit that serves the community approached me with some collaboration ideas. It's exciting to think that we've built the foundation of a relationship that they felt comfortable coming here and just pitching it. And guess what? One of the ideas is something I'm REALLY excited about and one I've tried to do since I arrived. So hopefully we can make it happen. (the mystery here is on purpose--I can't ruin the surprise!)

2) The Laurel High School I.B. Program dropped off some artwork they did in collaboration with the exhibit. I began talking to the IB Program people several months ago and brainstorming ways we could collaborate. I wasn't sure anything was going to happen this academic year, but I was hopeful and so were they. Tuesday, the Laurel IB Art Teacher dropped off several collages that the students made based on our exhibit. I immediately put them into the exhibit for all to see.

So the conference with it's engaging sessions, the paddle boat with it's friendly sea lions, and all of that sunny California has to offer was great.

But I'm happy to be back and working with my small museum to engage the community!

A Good Day (or week) in Sunny, CA

2010-05-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

So tomorrow AM, I leave for sunny southern California.

Why, you might ask?

For the American Association of Museums Annual Conference.

The Annual AAM meeting is a place where thousands (I've heard somewhere between 6-8,000) come together to discuss "museum stuff".

What sort of stuff?

Well, here's a sample of some sessions I'd like to attend:
Museums: Catalysts for Civic Renewal
How to Demonstrate the Public Value of Museums
Engaging Audiences and Community: Lessons from Libraries, Performing Arts, Parks and Communities of Faith
Passing it Forward: Using History to Inspire Civic Engagement
Remembering the Recnet Past
Engaging Diverse Donors
Successful Strategies for Sustainability in Uncertain Times
Creating a High Impact Volunteer and/or Docent Program
...and more...

For me, it's sort of like a kid in a candy store. It's a time when I get to sit with Museum people and talk totally museum stuff for 4-5 days. It's GREAT!

Although some of the sessions (most actually) are usually run by large museums with tons of $ to build huge, wonderful, life changing exhibits, or spectacular kid's programs, I've found that with a little bit of creativity, those programs/exhibits can be scaled down and used for our wonderful little community museum.

Plus, for the second year in a row, I will be chairing a session. This year is on Strategic Planning, but from a Small Museums perspective. We were actually also asked to present online--in a webinar format. (Which is ironic, since I've yet to be able to sit through a webinar without actually checking my email, answering the phone, or just getting up and leaving on accident---oops). But since we're presenting twice hopefully we'll be polished by the time the online session takes place.

And last, but not least, I'm going to be visiting some museums!!! Big surprise, huh?

Here are some of the museums on my list to visit:
Aquarium of the Pacific, Museum of Tolerance, Japanese American Museum, Museum of Jurassic Technology, The Getty Center, La Brea Tar Pits, Sand Diego Zoo, The Autry National Center, Homestead Museum, The Huntington, Rancho Los Alamitos, San Luis Rey, and more...

So, I'm quite excited. I will try to keep the blog up while I'm away, but if you don't hear from me, look forward to some great AAM/Sunny CA pictures!

Looking At What Isn't There

2010-05-14T08:32:00.001-07:00

In honor of last night's lecture, I am going to post a few pictures and ask you all to think about what"isn't in them."

Let me know what you think in the comments section!

Can you predict the future?

2010-05-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Can you predict the future?

Here at the Laurel Historical Society, we can't. But sometimes we have to try to.

Like all museums, we have a permanent collection. It's a bunch of "stuff" otherwise known as historic items that we take care of and use to present and interpret Laurel's history.

But like all good museums, we can't collect EVERYTHING that people try to give us. A lot of times people clean out their attics, or their closets and want to give us everything they find. But we have to find a place to save it and a place to keep it safe and a way to organize it.

So, like most good museums, we have a collections policy. Our collections policy is a document that says what we hope to collect, what we never will collect, and what we will consider collecting.

It's a pretty long document (more than I'm willing to copy and paste here), but the main point is this: If an item helps us tell the story of Laurel, we will consider it for our collection.

Pretty broad, huh?

So how do we narrow that down?

Well, that's a little more complicated. We have a Collections Committee made up of volunteers and myself who decide the significance of objects. Like most museums post-late 80s, early 90s, we aren't just interested in collecting the "famous" people's stuff. We're interested in the mundane, the objects that tell the true story of Laurel, no matter whose story it is.

And the story of Laurel can stretch from pre-European influence to today. Yep, that's right--until today. Because as we all know, it's important to collect today's story for tomorrow.

So the question of what to collect becomes a little more complicated when you consider contemporary history.

Think about it this way. I could, in theory, donate my water bottle to the Laurel Museum. It's a blue nalgene that I carry everywhere. Literally, everywhere.

My water bottle, if interpreted properly, says a lot about me and my place in history. It tells the story of the "green movement." It has the ability to tell the story of our dependence on oil-based products and our complicated attempts to escape that relationship. It can tell the story of an athlete. The story of an active dog owner and a culture which values time spent actively with pets outdoors. The story of a thrifty person trying to save money. The story of suburbia and how so many people shop at the same stores throughout the country. I could go on and on.

So in 100 years, that story could be interesting to someone who didn't know about any of those stories.

And if you think about how much we would appreciate an equivalent object with all of it's stories from 1910, it's easy to see why we need to collect our present for the future.

But how do we determine what has the potential to be interesting? In theory, everything could be interesting, right? Who knows what the future will be like or how much they will know about our time back in 2010.

It's a tough question. And it's not as easily dismissed as you would think.

So what do you think? How do you predict the future?

A True Community Celebration

2010-04-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Just in case you forgot, this February we had a lot of snow. Like 3-4 feet of snow.

And also just in case you forgot, our "Grand Opening" was postponed and then basically canceled because of said snow. As someone who almost never cancels anything, this was especially difficult for me.

On February 12 as I sat with two of my board members talking about the upcoming dilemma of an opening on February 14 with 4 feet of snow on the ground and no parking outside the museum, we came up with the idea of an opening in the spring.

I tagged it a "Community Celebration" of Snapshots in Time. I wasn't sure just what I meant by a "Community Celebration", but I knew that I wanted it to be festive. I wanted people to have a reason to come see an exhibit that had already been open for 2 months.

And most importantly, I hoped that I'd get some people involved who helped put together the exhibit. I wanted to keep the community groups engaged in the LHS and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

So this Sunday, our twice snowed out exhibit opening took place with the threat of a lot of rain. But guess what?! Mother nature decided we had had enough bad weather and she held out for the entire length of the Community Celebration.

Instead we had a true community celebration.

We had a museum filled with music provided by the Laurel School of Music.

We had a basement filled with games provided by Oseh Shalom, one of our partners in developing the exhibit.

We had visitors engaged in "Co mmunity Conversations" throughout the afternoon.

We had visitors from the Islamic Community Center of Laurel, another of our partners in developing the exhibit.

We had families enjoying themselves in the galleries.

In the end we had 85 people join us for a fun and festive Community Celebration. Not bad for an exhibit that had already been open a couple of months.

We're thinking this isn't such a bad idea after all. We think it might be worth repeating.

So next year, even if it doesn't snow 4 feet in February, look out for a Community Celebration in the Spring

And it will be the Museum's 15th Anniversary and we think that's definitely worth a celebration!

Ever wonder what happens to the stuff you leave behind at museum?

2010-04-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Check out my post on the Uncatalogued Museum's blog:

http://uncatalogedmuseum.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-long-should-participation-last.html

An Intern's Perspective

2010-04-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Our Spring Intern, Bethany Hyers is working on helping us organize for our upcoming exhibit on the Laurel Race Track. She has been charged with scanning images from our collection and attaching the files to Past Perfect records. She also has done background research on different exhibits on racetracks.

Here is a personal perspective on how she connects to her work at the LHS:

This spring I am interning here at the Laurel Museum to learn about collections. Currently I am set with the task of helping with the 2011 upcoming Laurel Race Track exhibit by updating records so as to streamline the design process. Despite my childhood love for horses, I am not an avid horse race watcher nor do I have much previous knowledge about the Laurel Race Track specifically. I was given the task of researching past exhibits of race tracks that have been done in other museums and I realized that the Triple Crown is coming up in a couple of weeks (May 1^st to be exact)! This realization made me think of how the Laurel Race Track got other people excited for the races and what those races meant for them. I think that the online research, finding extremely interesting photographs of people at the track, and the realization of the upcoming Derby that increased my personal connection with this project.

The Kentucky Derby is becoming a new family tradition with more and more in attendance each year. My grandmother - the reason for all the excitement - used to bet on Kentucky Derby horses with her boss when she worked in Washington DC. And ever since then she has always had a love of the Kentucky Derby which has slowly become my love as well. It is always on the calendar of family events.

Derby Day. My dad is charged with the duty of making the mint juleps while my grandma prepares herself for the race by wearing her version of a Kentucky Derby hat and watching the pre-show. (Her hat is not as extravagant as the hat worn by the women at the actual derby since it is a sunhat but it does the job.)This hat, a black and white straw fiber hat that reminds me of a casual version of a church hat, always makes it debut on Derby Day.

As the horses are being led up to the gate, my grandma and I choose the ones we are going to shout for. I tend to base my choice more on the name and look of the horse while my grandma uses a more sophisticated process. (I don’t think my horse has ever won except once. Maybe I should consider changing my picking strategy?)

The opening of the gates starts the cheering and shouting for your horse. It is almost like the room holds its breath (if you can forget the shouting) while the race goes. This atmosphere reminds me of a photograph in the collections of a woman holding her binoculars with a look of anticipation and hopefulness toward the track. I feel like that is a more glamorous version of what goes on at my Grandma’s and what I imagine happens every horse race everywhere.

I think I will always have fond memories of my grandma shouting at the TV with her sunhat-Derby hat on for her horse to win. And so as I update Laurel race track records I remember the excitement of Derby Day and how the atmosphere of horse racing is captured by these photographs.

So much potential...

2010-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

So, last summer our Junior Docents worked long and hard on researching Laurel's history in order to put together a Junior Docent video.

They learned all about Laurel's history. Then they tried to figure out what was REALLY important and what they wanted to share. Then they worked on figuring out the best way to present the information. In the end, with the help of our volunteer videographer, they made a video of their work. After some editing, the video is finally ready to be shared.

I put it on youtube in preparation for sharing. I thought that would be the quickest and easiest way to share it.

But then the question arose of: How should we share it?

It made its debut, unexpectedly, at the LHS Gala on March 27 where it played on the TVs without sound the entire night.

But what's next?

I put it in the monthly email that goes to all contacts whose email address we have.

Then I tried to talk to someone about it at a program and realized I had never put it on facebook.

So I did that today.

I haven't put it on our website because I haven't figured out where I want it to go.

But our real goal, our major goal, was to use the video as a tool to engage kids in the Museum. But I'm not sure how many kids are on our facebook or are reading our monthly emails.

So how do we go about getting it to them? Should we make DVDs for all of the teachers in the area? Should we create a badge program to go along with the video for local scouts? How about home school groups?

What is the best way to go about marketing and presenting the video and using it to engage kids? What do you think?

Oh, and here's the video for those of you who haven't yet seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQeDMHnBYM

One Docent's Reflections

2010-04-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

The LHS is powered by many different people who help turn the wheels of our organization. One of the most important groups of people turning the wheels are our docents. Our docents serve as the front-line of the museum, greeting our visitors and giving tours when we're open.

One of our docents, Ireene Ohlmacher, related an interesting front-line experience to me and I asked her to share her experience for the blog. Enjoy!

On Sunday, March 28, I worked as a guide in the Museum. As you all know, sometimes we are overwhelmed with visitors and sometime - well, it's hard not to take a nap. This Sunday I had several different groups. One had young children who thought that the idea of making collages was the most brilliant thing they had come across in a long time once I explained that they could cut out ANY picture they liked for the collage. At first they wanted them put up, but then they thought it would be more fun to take them home with them.

However, the neatest experience was when a boy scout troop of 12-16 year olds walked in with their leaders. You could just see the look on their faces when they came in - "What a waste! We have to visit a boring old museum." They had come in to get the patches which are available in the gift shop (which I didn't know at the time). I however could not let all those young minds escape me. So, 1st I shanghaied them to give them information about the mill & the house (emphasizing how many people lived in each of the apts and what ages they would have been working at). Then I explained that the idea of this year's exhibit was what makes a community - shared religion, activities, places, the games we all played growing up. THEN I showed them the games & told them - "go ahead - play them, have fun." However, I took the older boys over to the character game, explained it, gave them each a character (no boy wanted to be any of those alien creatures - girls) & we discussed how they might react to a situation in 1910 - then we did 2010. At this point, I told them "why don't you all play it - you don't need me. Just return all the cards, because I get yelled at if they aren't all returned" and I walked away. I stayed in the room to watch (and mediate if necessary). It was fantastic - They proceeded to pick up more cards & (without an adult who might give the "evil eye" if they said the wrong thing) had a great time playing out the game their way. Amazing. Then they decided to play Jacks (the scout leader & I refrained from saying mostly girls played it & we didn't explain the rules). I don't know when I have seen 3 teenage boys have so much fun, - they made their own rules. It was so much fun to watch them play. The younger boys were into yo-yo & Connect Four, but the laughter came from the older ones.

Next time, when they come in, they'll be looking for the games to play and not just thinking another dry museum trip - I hope. I don't know if that's good or bad.

We're on Flickr!!

2010-03-26T11:45:00.001-07:00

A while back we had an excellent intern, Eli, work on developing a shortened walking tour for the LHS. He did a GREAT job producing both an online product and a printed product.

In order to put the version online and on our website, he had to host some pictures on Flickr.
At least, I think that's what had to happen. The reason Eli was doing this work is because he was MUCH more skilled at it than me. But he broke it down for me and told me the details and showed me our Flickr site. Which looked great in my opinion.

At the time, I thought "hmmm, this has some real potential, but how can we use it?"

So I've sort of let that sit for a while and thought about some other things. Like an exhibit. And public programming. And budgeting. And strategic planning. And you know, the regular stuff at the Museum.

So fast forward almost a year later and we're thinking about our current exhibit. Snapshots in Time: Our Community in 1910 and 2010 is supposed to capture images from today and encourage people to realize that THEIR story is the LAUREL story.

Part of that effort involves letting people continually contribute to the exhibit. So we have spaces in the exhibit where people can make their own self-portraits, vote on an issue, and leave a picture.

But then we're faced with the next question: Who actually has printed pictures anymore?

Large sigh.

Okay, so what can we do to collect digital images. We could have them emailed to us and then upload them on our website. Which takes a lot of effort and time and in the end the pictures can't be commented on or really manipulated.

Then I remembered Flickr and how great it looked from Eli's work. So we're back to Flickr. We've decided to post pictures from the exhibit that people have contributed to Flickr. There are some on Flickr that never made it into our exhibit. And some that are definitely up in our galleries.

And a lot of interesting, fun pictures both from 1910 and 2010. But remember, we're still collecting for 2010. So if you have an image, feel free to bring it by the Museum and put it on our wall.

Or email it to me (director@laurelhistoricalsociety.org) and we can post it to our flickr page.

Oh and this isn't the only way we'll continue collecting images from 2010. We'll be making a special effort this summer. Details will be coming soon!

Can you believe it?

2010-03-19T11:37:00.001-07:00

We're already starting the planning for our next exhibit. No, not this one that just opened in February, the next one. The one that's scheduled to open February 2011.

It's hard to believe that we're already in the process of planning this exhibit. When I arrived in June 2008, the decision was already made that the 2011 exhibit would be on the track. So I've been waiting for this exhibit for almost 2 years.

And now we're finally here. But where is here? Where do we begin?

We know we want to do an exhibit about the track. Why? Because it will be the 100 year anniversary of the track and we think that's important. And we have A LOT of cool stuff about the track. A LOT.

So where do we go from here? We can't just throw a bunch of stuff on the wall and call it an exhibit. We need to develop themes, goals, etc. Then we start to pick objects, write text, revise text, revise text, revise text...And did I mention, revise text?

So we're doing a couple of things first. Contacting everyone we can who can help us tell the racetrack story. So if you're a person who worked at, frequented, loved, or hated the race track or you know someone who has done any of these things, let us know. We'd LOVE to talk to you.

The other thing we're doing right away is collecting data on what people want us to talk about. Yes, we're asking YOU before we go any further, what YOU are interested in. We've even put it in survey monkey so you can access it easily and give us a quick answer.

So please, visit our Survey and tell us what YOU want to hear about in the next exhibit?

<-----Is it stuff like this? Like how the race track looks and how it has evolved?

Or stuff like this? The stories of the people who worked at the races or made bets at the races ----->

YOU tell us!

Website Tracking

2010-03-10T08:24:00.001-08:00

An Early 20th Century Night on the Town

2010-03-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

On March 13, the Laurel Historical Society is partnering up with Venus Theatre for an exciting night on the town.

We've done this before, partnering with a theatre in Laurel to have an exciting night on the town.

And this time we have the same goals--helping to support another small local non-profit, promoting cultural life on mainstreet, bringing people into the museum to see the exhibit, and providing another, creative, learning venue for Laurelites.

Last time we had a 1950s theme and worked with the Laurel Mill Playhouse. This time, we're working with Venus Theatre and have an early 20th century theme.

So we'll begin with dinner at the museum in the galleries of our current exhibit "Snapshots in Time: Our Community in 1910 and 2010". After what sounds like a very delicious dinner, we'll take a trip to Venus Theatre and see "Zelda at the Oasis", a play about the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We think it will be an exciting night. And apparently people agree with us. We only have 4 spots left out of 30.

But this type of collaboration brings to mind some questions...

What is it a Museum or a Historical Society should do? Should we be providing entertainment? Should we only be presenting history through exhibits and lectures?

We know what we think.

But what do you think?

Are you happy to see the LHS involved in this type of programming? If not, why? What do you think we should be doing instead?

And if you are happy to see us doing this, do you have any suggestions for other things we could be doing?

That's all for now folks. Let us know what you think!

Oh and if you want more information on the upcoming event and to save a last minute spot, click here: http://www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org/pages/documents/March6Flyer.pdf

One of those moments...

2010-02-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days in the small Museum field when you never feel like you have enough time. In between volunteer training, helping with a mailing, a conference call, budget work, membership programming, and more all in one day, things can feel a little hectic.

So when you hear that visitors are walking up the walk an hour after you've closed sometimes you have to take a deep breath to calm down. It is my policy that if at all possible in my schedule, I let visitors in. In the end, aren't they the reason we're here? So turning them away is something I do my absolute best to avoid.

This afternoon I took a break from catching up on emails and the long list of other stuff to field one man's questions about Laurel. He came with his two sons and he had found somewhere on the internet information quoting Gertrude Poe that had to do with an old exhibit. After trying to find the information he had found and showing him more information on that exhibit, we convinced him he should do a tour.

So I had the opportunity to show him and his two inquisitive sons around the museum. The sons were the first kids to the exhibit that I've been able to work with one on one and we did the scavenger hunt while I talked with their father about the "big" themes present in the exhibit. The father, a longtime Laurel resident, was genuinely excited to learn about the Mill and the history of the house. He marveled at how clear the images from 1910 were and the entire family was excited to see an image of the old Laurel High School, a place they are quite familiar with in their lives today.

After showing them the exhibit and the basement, I let them leave with their hands full of our kid's pamphlets, walking tours, program material, and more. It was very exciting to give a tour to a family that was genuinely interested in the history of Laurel. It almost made me forget that it is supposed to snow tonight!

Exhibit Progress Update!

2010-01-29T10:25:00.001-08:00

The exhibit is in its final days of production. This past week we've finalized how everything is going to look with the consultants. Whew, what a relief. No more choosing images, editing text, or figuring out of captions.

So in theory, I can take a break and relax while our consultants make sure the exhibit is printed and looks pretty before they come down and we install. Oh, only in theory.

For the first time on my gmail I produced a list of tasks. It's a function I have never used because I've always thought it would stress me out more seeing the tasks just sitting there. But there is so much that needs to be done before (or very nearly before) the exhibit opens that I knew I would lose track if I didn't keep a list. So here's the list I currently have up. As you can tell--I'm making progress!

Exhibit Opening

Exhibit Opening Basket
~~Shop Postcards~~
~~Cards for Giveaway~~
~~Interpretive Plan~~
~~Community Groups Interactive~~
Food/Drinks/Opening Stuff
kids booklet
Exhibit Rack Cards
~~Contributors Invitations~~
Exhibit Website Info
Lesson Plans/Scavenger Hunts

As you can also tell, there is a lot of stuff still on the list. Wish me luck!

Because I know you are all very excited to hear more about the exhibit, I've included the "long version" of our press release on the exhibit. Written by Karen Lubieniecki, it gives a great overview of what the exhibit will be about.

And if all goes well, next week I'll post pictures of the exhibit as a sneak preview!

New Exhibit Explores Community and Its Meaning.

Snapshots in Time: Our Community in 1910 and 2010 Opens February 7, 2010.

Snapshots in Time: Our Community in 1910 and 2010 a new exhibit focusing on community and its many meanings opens February 7 at the Laurel Museum in Laurel, Md. The exhibit uses photos from the Museum’s historic Sadler Collection taken in the early 1900s and contemporary photos. It challenges visitors to examine their own ideas of “What is Community?” by comparing and contrasting how these are the same or have changed in the past 100 years.

According to Laurel Historical Society Executive Director Lindsey Baker, “We are very excited about our next exhibit. In our rapidly changing society, connecting present day people with a town’s past is a major challenge for history organizations. Asking “What is a community” is one way to do that. Snapshots in Time had a lot of input from community groups during its development, but even more importantly, will continue to encourage visitor contributions. We hope those who come to the new exhibit will take the opportunity to ask themselves how they define community today and how that may be the same or different from 100 years ago.”

The exhibit begins by asking us to See Ourselves. Looking at photos ranging from a Muslim children reenacting the Hajj to children lighting a candle for the first night of Hanukah to a circa 1910 photo of friends will help visitors to consider which (or how many) of these define how they see their personal community, versus how this was reflected 100 years ago. This section will also feature a display of photographer Bert Sadler’s turn of the century cameras – and contemporary cameras illustrating how much has changed in how we document our communities.

Visitors then explore what we Value. This section explores the groups and activities that reflect our values. A local Catholic Church conducts a baptism, families gather for picnics, we remember September 11, a community celebrates Emancipation Day and a high school class graduates. Looking at photos of gatherings from the past, and today, visitors consider what activities and values we place in highest regard.

Section three looks at broader community interactions and is called Help. It suggests that communities help others in many ways. Boy Scouts bond and Girl Scouts help each other. A local pharmacist gives a shot.

Fun is the focus of the next section. Laurel’s A 1900s marathon, a recent 4^th of July parade and a quiet moment at the piano remind us of the many ways people celebrate and have fun in their community. Kids play sports – hockey and baseball.

The exhibits’ final area, Demographic, takes a closer look at population of Laurel as it stood in 1910 and 2010, exploring its changing demographics and increasingly diverse population. In 1910, for example only 7% of the population Laurel population of 2500 was African American. There were, according to the 1910 Census, two Chinese families. Today African Americans make up 43% of the population, while 11 % are of Hispanic background and 6% are Asian.

Snapshots in Time also includes a number of interactive elements including “Self Portrait”and “Your Vote Counts” which will poll visitors on their personal preferences “Are you a Redskins or Raven’ Fan?” for example, and questions designed for children.

Support for the exhibit was provided by Prince George’s County and the office of Councilman Tom Dernoga.

The Laurel Museum is open Wednesday and Fridays 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., and Sundays 1:00-4:00 pm.Laurel Museum is located at 817 Main Street, Laurel, Md. For more information and directions visit www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org or call 301-725-7975. ## Group tours are available by special arrangement. Admission is free, and there is a museum gift shop on the lower level.

Appreciating Our Volunteers

2010-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event. Held at Jhanna Levin's Home, Harmony House, we celebrated the contributions of our volunteers throughout the year.

This event is always a little tricky because many of our volunteers help with the planning and the actual execution of the event. So I am very thankful to those volunteers for helping me thank the other volunteers. See, tricky!

The first thing we always do for this event is identify the 5 year volunteers. These volunteers have served the organization for five long years and for their service, we like to honor them by bringing them to the front of the crowded home we have the event in and giving them a token of appreciation. This year's five year volunteers were: Frieda Weise, Jerry Chappell, and Beverley Jacobs. They are all great volunteers and we REALLY appreciate all that they do!

The other part of the event is a surprise. We announce our Volunteer of the Year. The Volunteer of the Year is chosen with the input of the Executive Committee, the Assistant to the Director, the Executive Director, and the retired Volunteer Coordinator. This year there was actually some tough competition with 3 volunteers being considered. All 3 of these volunteers do great work. I won't name the 2 runners-up because they just might win next year!

The Volunteer we ended up choosing was chosen for her above and beyond commitment to the Laurel Historical Society over the last year. This volunteer sits on at least 2 or 3 committees and is always ready and willing to do the work that needs to get done. She is always one of the first people to volunteer for special events and special tours. She is in the process of photographing the entire (yes, ENTIRE) collection. And she is our Research Volunteer who mans the Research Library and responds to the myriad of requests we receive. She has, in short, become one of my top "go-to" volunteers. Her name is Frances Brooks and we're VERY privileged to have her volunteering for the organization.

When I was giving Frances the award at the Volunteer Appreciation Event, she made me tear up a little bit. It was exciting to see someone who works so hard all of the time and never expects any recognition be surprised that people noticed her efforts. Of course, it reminded me that I need to keep telling all of my volunteers how great of a job they do all of the time.

Overall it was a great event. I left full of sweets and cheese and thankful for the wonderful group of volunteers that choose to help the LHS become the great organization it is today!

Season's Greetings

2009-12-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

This time of year marks a number of different holidays for people of all religions and cultures.

It also marks an important time of year for the Laurel Museum. The end of December traditionally marks the closing of our exhibit and the final stages of planning for our upcoming exhibit.

This year is no different. Today is the last day to see our current exhibit, "Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll: Laurel in the 1950s". This exhibit was the first exhibit I took part in for the Laurel Museum.

In some ways, I am sad to see it go. No more poodle skirt figurines will greet me as I walk in the door each morning. No longer will I have nostalgic 50 (and 50 something) high school reunions coming back to point out all of their friends in our exhibit.

But sometimes change is good. So as we look forward to the New Year and our new exhibit I am excited about several things:

1) Our new exhibit was planned with the help of several community groups. We looked to different places of worship and service organizations to helps us identify what Laurel is like today. Along the way we met many new friends. I hope we can continue to maintain these relationships in the New Year. If we do, it will benefit us and I hope the community groups we worked with.

2) Our new exhibit is going to be much more interactive than our last. One of the things we realized in our 1950s exhibit was that people wanted to give back. People wanted to contribute their memories, their life stories to our exhibit. We had a function for that--a story book--but it led us to realize that there is so much more than we can do. So with this exhibit, you'll find that there are a number of ways you can interact and contribute to the exhibit.

3) Our new exhibit will continue to grow as it stands in the Museum. I don't want to give too much away, but our exhibit won't be static. Because of people's contributions throughout the year it is up and because we will be changing certain things, our exhibit won't be the same for the entire year. And that in and of itself, is exciting.

So, if you haven't seen our current exhibit, try to stop by in the next 3 hours. Or give me a call and arrange for a tour before we take it off the walls in January. Either way, please join us in looking forward to our next exhibit.

Oh, and we finally settled on a title for the next exhibit:

Snapshots in Time: Our Community in 1910 and 2010

Holiday House Tour

2009-12-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Some things that take place at the LHS are done with very little supervision on my part. I greatly appreciate those times when I know something is being handled by a capable volunteer and all I have to do is check in from time to time.

One such instance where I've been able to sit back and relax is the Holiday House Tour. The Tour, a bi-annual tradition for the LHS, is taking place this year.

I know that a number of our volunteers have been VERY hard at work arranging the Holiday House Tour. One family in particular has done a lot for the house tour this year. The mother in this family is the chair of the Holiday House Tour Committee and she has worked very hard since last spring to plan the House Tour.

She has changed several aspects of the tour, including one wonderful new idea: expanding the sponsorship opportunities available to local businesses. In thinking of this idea, she has done exactly what we want all of volunteers to do: consider development as a part of their undertaking, not just the board's.

Now, we won't be buying a new building with the money she has pulled together, but it is a considerable amount. Furthermore, it was only made because she thought outside the box. Of course, she was thinking outside the box while still juggling all of the responsibilities of the House Tour Committee chairmanship. And she has done a wonderful job in both instances!

The house tour takes place on December 12. We have a number of exciting places to visit (all of which are a secret--shhhh!). I hope some of you are able to join us. Come see what our new chair has changed and what classic aspects of the tour have remained the same!

What do you think?

2009-11-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Can anyone guess what is happening in this image?

A Yummy Day With The LHS

2009-11-13T10:25:00.000-08:00

This year for the second year in a row, the LHS hosted "The Taste of Laurel." This is a free event that we hold to showcase all of the wonderful food that Laurel has to offer. If you're sitting there thinking, "what wonderful food", read on!

This event is made possible because of the generous support of Main Street Pharmacy. Thank you Joan!

Beginning in the early summer, we start making the rounds to local restaurants and businesses inviting them to bring the best of what they have to offer to share with the community. Sometimes it is a hard sell, particularly if businesses have never heard of the Historical Society.

The point we try to explain to the businesses is: we are trying to provide a venue for them to show off their specialties. We want the Laurel community to know just how great our business community is and how much we have to offer. We want people to know what we already know about Laurel--There is a thriving small business community in Laurel, ready and willing to serve them!

What I find most difficult about convincing people of this is that we, a small historical society, would like to help them--a local business. I think it's hard for people who have never thought of a historical society taking on that role to conceive of why we would want to do that. They tend to think of us as the people who tell them whether or not they can hang a neon sign, but remember, that is not us!

The next step in the planning process is telling the community about theTaste of Laurel. We invite the Laurel community to attend this free event to sample local food and meet local business owners. As most people know, the idea of free food is an offer that will usually draw a good sized crowd, no matter the venue.

But as one of our vendors explained to me after the event, the people that attended really seemed to care about their community and care about the places they patronized. They are the type of people that quickly become regulars and support businesses because of how they are run, not just because of prices and quick deals. Which is great, because this is exactly the type of crowd we were hoping to attract!

And our crowd this year was big--we had over 100 people attend and 8 vendors participate. Aunt Susan's Kitchen, Fruit Flowers, Kafe Kabob, Main Street Sports Bar and Grill, Mango's Grill, Nuzback's, Toucan Taco, and Red Hot and Blue all brought their best food for visitors to taste.o t

Visitors had to visit the Museum first to collect tickets in order taste the free food. Tickets could be earned by walking through the door, completing a scavenger hunt of the current exhibit, entering a free raffle, and in several other ways.

Although we may have tricked them a little with the offer of free food, most visitors were happy to visit the Museum first. Many visitors who usually attend special programs and events at the Museum were happy to look through the exhibit closely. The West County Gazette has an article by Elizabeth Leight in which she quotes a visitor, Brennita Swan, who said "We come here all the time, but this scavenger hunt really helps us focus on certain things we may have missed."
Overall, I believe most people were happy to visit the Museum in order to get a taste of Laurel.

But this successful day, like so much of what goes on at the Museum, is only the tip of the iceberg for all of the planning and hardwork that went into putting the Taste of Laurel together. Thank you to all of LHS' wonderful volunteers for their hard work.

And if you own a local business and you'd like to take part in next year's Taste of Laurel, contact me soon!

An Exhibit Takes Shape....Sort Of

2009-11-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Every year the Laurel Museum features a new exhibit.

When I arrived, the current exhibit was "Buy It Here: Laurel Advertises". The exhibit we opened last February and which will run through this December is "Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll: Laurel in the 1950s".

Right now we're working on an exhibit that compares life in Laurel in 1910 and in 2010. We're tentatively calling it "Snapshots in Time: Our Story 1910/2010".

We know what our goals are with this exhibit:
Explore the many ways we conceive(d) of community in Laurel in 1910 and in 2010.
Have people leave with a deeper appreciation of their community.
Be interesting, engaging, interactive, meaningful, and visually exciting.

That doesn't sound too difficult? Right?

We're plugging along on the exhibit. We've done a lot of the broad research comparing Laurel in 1910 and 2010. But what we're really trying to base the exhibit on is pictures.

For 1910 we have the Sadler images. See a previous blog to learn more about Sadler. The images are great and frustrating.

The really wonderful thing about the Sadler images is that they tell 1 story of Laurel in 1910---one man's story of his family and friends. That allows us to discuss how history is saved and who defines history. This man saved his images, so his story largely defines our visual understanding of Laurel in 1910.

The not so wonderful part about the Sadler images is that they are VERY hard to scan. Apparently glass plate negatives neither like our old scanner or our new one.

I can not tell you all that we've done to try to get them to scan, but suffice it to say that I was taken off the duty of scanning because I could not control my emotions.

My wonderful coworker Monica was put on the task. She has been somewhat successful, but is seeing that success wear-off.

But that's okay. We anticipated that the scanning would be a huge task and it is. Somehow, someway, we WILL have images of 1910. We have them in our collection and we can make it happen.

But what about 2010? We want 2010 to be different--to not just have 1 man's story be the central part of the story. We want everyone in Laurel to help us tell that story.

Remember a while back when I predicted that people would think their story wasn't worth telling? Well, I think I was right.

We've put the word out through flyers, emails, newsletters, newspapers, etc and haven't had much luck. We've seen a trickle start, but definitely nothing overwhelming. I think people always assume that someone else's story is more interesting.

So here's what I have to say to that mentality:

You know you, the one sitting there reading this?I know what you're thinking...I don't have any pictures that are interesting.

Well, I bet you do. As long as they were taken within the greater Laurel area in the last 5 years we're interested. To learn more about exactly what we need, see this slightly confusing, but useful form.

I promise, we want your help. Not the guy sitting next to you in the computer lab at the library, but yours. Well, his too, but definitely yours as well.

And I promise, I won't make you try to use the scanner. All I ask is that you help us tell the story of Laurel today---your story.

A Friendly Ghost Story

2009-10-28T10:22:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday at the Laurel Museum we had our Kids Fall Fun Day. Featuring the wonderful world of Pumpkins, this 2 hour event brought about 30 children and their families. We had some fun crafts like pumpkin weaving and pumpkin seed mosaics. We also had a pumpkin patch for children to pick their own pumpkins that they then decorated. We had lots of tasty pumpkin related food--pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin whip, pumpkin butter, etc.

We also told the public that we would be having an age appropriate ghost story. I took up the charge to be the person to tell the age appropriate ghost story. I spoke to one of our wonderful volunteers who is also the vice principal at a local school for some rules on what I could and could not talk about.

Here were my parameters:
It can not be scary.
No one can die.
You can not talk about dead people.
Try to make it related to the history of Laurel and the house.

Hmm. Sounds easy, right?

The ghost story was to begin at 2:15 and right around that time people started trekking to the spot we picked for our ghost story.

As I watched the little ones trickle in, I realize how much of a challenge this will be.

We had kids ranging in age from those who could barely walk to those who were already putting on makeup. It might be a little difficult to reach all of them with the same story.

But that's fine. Who doesn't love a great challenge? Certainly not small museum directors--we live for the challenge!

So I begin telling them the story.

I start by talking about the Museum building and how 4 families would have lived in the house.

I asked them where the people would have worked (The Mill), how old they had to be to start working (8yrs), etc.

I tell them about a little girl who was only 5 yrs old named Samantha who was left alone in the house to do chores while all of her family went to work. Her mean older sister liked to play tricks on her and hide things from her so that she couldn't finish her chores.

My story was interrupted by one boy who insisted Samantha could not have told us this. I asked him why, and he said "Because she's dead". I realized at that point I had never given a date for the story and asked him how he knew she was dead. And he said because this happened like a long time ago. GREAT!

I responded, "Yes, this all happened over 100 years ago." Whew! I almost didn't tell them the date. And I thought, yes, she is dead, but you brought it up so I didn't technically go outside my set parameters.

Now back to the story...

Luckily, the little girl had a friendly ghost named Rebecca who would help her with her chores. Rebecca helped Samantha find the bucket to get water from the river for doing laundry that her mean sister would hide from her before she went to work. Rebecca also helped Samantha find the soap and other things her sister would hide.

All of this concluded with the children coming up one by one to plunge the washer plunger into the clothes bucket three times.

Throughout the experience I tried to keep their attention by asking questions. I asked them things like if any of them ever hid things from their brothers and sisters. I also kept asking them how old the little girl was and how long she had to wait before she could work at the mill.

Some of the kids were really annoyed that the story wasn't scarier. According to our evaluations, others seemed to really enjoy the story.

In the end, it was an interesting experience of us all. I learned that maybe I should plan out the ghost story a little better next time so the kids don't end up doing laundry. But I'm not sure. I think some people liked the "hands-on appropriate for all ages ghost story." We'll see. Maybe Samantha and Rebeccawill make another appearance sometime soon.

The Magic of Technical Difficulties

2009-10-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

As I write, my phone plays corny 80s music. No, I did not buy a new ringtone.

I am on hold with the company that hosts our webpage (read: does the magic that makes our website appear).

Why would I want to spend my Tuesday morning on hold, listening to 80s music?

Because we're experiencing technical difficulties.

Apparently our website was hacked. Why would someone want to hack the LHS website? I don't know. I really don't.

Maybe they wanted to rewrite Laurel history. Maybe they couldn't resist our online walking tour. Maybe the fluffy teddy bears for sale in our online shop were too much for them to resist. I really don't know.

But what I do know, is how much we here at the Laurel Historical Society depend on people outside the organization to help us do what we do successfully.

About 5 or so times a week, I update our website. Add an event, a newsletter, a new feature, link to another website, etc. I try to keep it fresh and full of information. I want it to be as useful as possible to those who visit.

That being said, I personally could never develop, design, or say the magic spell that gets webpages up and running on the internet. And we certainly don't have an internet magician in our staff of 1 and 1/2.

But that's okay.

Because, as is the norm with the LHS, things were done well before I got here.

A committee convened and worked with 2 consultants to develop a website that works for us. A website that I(with my lack of internet-y type knowledge) can update and play with. That can be adjusted to fit our needs. Basically, a website that is magical.

The consultants, Lisa Bernard at LHB Consulting and Donna Safko at Mudpuddle Creations, are great. They work well with people who have little technical knowledge but have big ideas (people in this case means me). So we have an ongoing relationship with both of them.

Lunar Pages, the company that hosts our website is a company I rarely have to work with. Usually our website is up and running and doing magically well. But right now, it's not and we're all working with Lunar Pages to fix the problem.

When Lunar Pages realized someone hacked our website, they closed. It can only be re-instated when we've resolved the problem. So our email and website are both down. But not to worry, we will be back up soon. Hopefully. If I can find the magic spell, repeat it 5 times, and run around the Mill Worker's home 25 times in 2 minutes.

Or I stay on hold, listen to corny 80s music, and work with Lunar Pages to resolve the problem.

How do you measure success?

2009-10-02T11:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we hosted our Second Annual Laurel Historical Society Educator's Open House.

Last year for our Educator's Open House we had about 25 people visit the Museum. This year we had 15.

The decrease in attendees made me think: How do we measure success?

Is our goal to have 60 local educators visit the Laurel Museum?
If so, then we certainly are moving in the wrong directions. But here at the Laurel Museum we tend to value quality over quantity, so perhaps raising the number to 60 is not our goal.

Is our goal to have the administrators of local schools visit the Museum?
Perhaps. We had the principal of St. Mary's and the new vice principal of Laurel Elementary School visit. So I was quite excited to meet both of them.

Is our goal to have several different schools represented?
We had a more diverse representation of schools this year and that made me happy. I'd rather see a total of 10 teachers from 4 different schools than 25 teachers from 2 schools. Each school has different needs and different visiting capabilities, so the more I hear from the better.

Is our goal to have schools, home school groups, and scout groups represented equally?
I believe so. I would like to see all the groups well represented. Whether that works out to a teacher for every scout leader or 4 teachers for every scout leader, I am not sure. But I will say I would love to meet as many educators from each group as possible.

But mainly our goal for the Educator's Open House (and for all of the activities we do for educators) is to remind them of one thing: We're here for you.

We want them to remember that we fulfill our mission by serving them. So did our Educator's Open House fulfill that goal? Yes. I think it did.

Now is the time to evaluate what we did, why we did it, and how we can do it better next year. Suggestions and comments are VERY welcome.

One Maryland, One Book and the Laurel Historical Society Book Club

2009-09-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

This summer I began thinking a about ways to get an in-depth conversation about history and culture (2 important things at the LHS) going with our members and visitors.

One idea I began to play with was to create a book club. Enlisting the help of a friend, I played with the idea for a couple of months and thought about how feasible it really was.

One thing my friend made clear was that we couldn't just read boring history books. (Now I know what she thinks of my personal reading choices.)

We had to make it interesting.

Of course, I made it clear that our readings and discussions had to tie into our mission. (By the way, The mission of the Laurel Historical Society, Incorporated is to encourage the understanding and preservation of the history and cultural heritage of Laurel.) I'm big on doing things that follow our mission and strategic plan--what else is an Executive Director here for if not that??

So she and I worked on thinking of some books that were both interesting and fit out mission.

The first book we read was a series of essays collected by the NPR Series "This I Believe". This series of essays features essays from the 1950s and today in which famous and ordinary people alike discuss what makes them tick--what they really believe. It was a great book and an even better discussion. In the context of our current exhibit (Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll: Laurel in the 1950s) it was quite exciting to be thinking of the differences and similarities between our beliefs then and now.

The book we read this month was "America’s Women:400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines" by Gail Collins. This book was an interesting overview of the ebb and flow of our rights throughout America's history. The discussion we had allowed us to put into context our own lives and where we fall within that ebb and flow. One participant asked an excellent question: "If we had to pick a hero of our time, someone who would make it into this book, who would it be?" That had us all thinking...

Our next book is actually part of a bigger program within the state. We will be reading James McBride's "Song Yet Sung" which is part of the One Maryland, One Book Campaign. Sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council, this campaign is meant to get everyone in the state reading the same book. Here is what the Maryland Humanities Council Website has to say about it:

Imagine if everyone in Maryland read the same book at the same time...

Reading is often a solitary pursuit. But imagine if everyone in Maryland read the same great book at the same time. What kind of conversations could you have and with whom could you connect or reconnect in your community?

The Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the Maryland Humanities Council, invites you to be a part of Maryland's only statewide community reading program--One Maryland One Book. (http://www.mdhc.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/)

Amazon.com describes James McBride's novel: Escaped slaves, free blacks, slave-catchers and plantation owners weave a tangled web of intrigue and adventure in bestselling memoirist (The Color of Water) McBride's intricately constructed and impressive second novel, set in pre–Civil War Maryland. Liz Spocott, a beautiful young runaway slave, suffers a nasty head wound just before being nabbed by a posse of slave catchers. She falls into a coma, and, when she awakes, she can see the future—from the near-future to Martin Luther King to hip-hop—in her dreams. Liz's visions help her and her fellow slaves escape, but soon there are new dangers on her trail: Patty Cannon and her brutal gang of slave catchers, and a competing slave catcher, nicknamed The Gimp, who has a surprising streak of morality. Liz has some friends, including an older woman who teaches her The Code that guides runaways; a handsome young slave; and a wild inhabitant of the woods and swamps. Kidnappings, gunfights and chases ensue as Liz drifts in and out of her visions, which serve as a thoughtful meditation on the nature of freedom and offer sharp social commentary on contemporary America. McBride hasn't lost his touch: he nails the horrors of slavery as well as he does the power of hope and redemption.(http://www.amazon.com/Song-Yet-Sung-James-McBride/dp/1594489726)

I am excited about next month's book club meeting (Oct 21) for several reasons:

1) We've had GREAT discussions so far at the other book club meetings.

2) The book looks really interesting. A slave having visions of the future which include hip-hop?

3) We'll be taking part in a larger community reading program. I love thinking that I could be reading the same thing as thousands of other people in the state whom I've never met.

4)And we'll do all of this for about 2 hours while munching on cookies and cider. I can't wait.

How do you hear about our programs?

2009-09-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

About once or twice a month we try to do something a little exciting. Sometimes we have lectures, sometimes we have kid's days, sometimes we do something creative like a film series or our Taste of Laurel.

No matter what we do, we have to make sure people know about it.

This can be more challenging than you might think.

We try to use a number of different ways to spread the good word about the LHS. They include flyers, press releases, website updates, facebook events, and sometimes...our blog.

But how does all of this happen? We don't have a magical easy button from Staples. (Sometimes I wish we did, but if we did I bet I'd end up with less brownies in my tummy---read on).

Instead we rely on the efforts of many different volunteers and our very small staff here.

Flyers are usually developed by myself or our wonderful board member, Karen Lubieniecki.

They then have to be copied---in very large numbers with a very testy printer. Most times I try to make some of the copies myself, but usually end up ready to throw a brick at the machine. To save the life of our valued copier and my sanity, Shari Pollard or Monica Sturdivant will usually step in.

Some of these flyers are then placed at locations throughout the city by a dedicate Joan Fitzgerald. We hope that people then find them at the Libraries, Community Centers, etc.

Then they need to find their way to your mailboxes. This magic is coordinated by Margie McCeney who has mastered the complicated bulk mailing system at the post office. She usually enlists Carole Montesi to help fold and stamp. They then grab whichever lucky volunteers are on the schedule the day they are doing their mailing to help. (Here's a little secret---they often bring goodies like orange brownies and blueberry muffins, so it's good to be here when they're working on a mailing.)

Sounds easy, right?

Our press releases are a little bit easier. The always wonderful Elizabeth Leight is generally in charge of making sure press releases are sent all over--from local newspapers to regional ones to web publications and more.

The rest--website updates, facebook events, and blog are even easier. I get to update them all and thankfully they are all VERY easy to update.

So, as you can tell, it is not just enough to have events. You then have to TELL people about them.

So the next time you receive one of those bright blue flyers in the mail from us, thank all of the people who helped us get that information to you!

Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll: Laurel in the 1950s

2009-09-04T12:05:00.001-07:00

Our current exhibit has been up since February. It will come down in January. The exhibit talks about life in Laurel in the 1950s including subjects as varied as fashion, the cold war, segregation, and Elvis. It has a little something for everyone!

But, we only have about 4-5 months left to Shake, Rattle, and Roll. I thought now might be a good time to share some of my favorite pieces of the exhibit.

This is a fox stole located in the "In Vogue" section of the exhibit. This portion of the exhibit discusses Laurel fashion in the 1950s. The fox stole was popular in Laurel.

I specifically like this object because it draws SO much attention from visitors.

From women who remember wearing a stole themselves, to men who remember sitting behind them in church as little boys, people who were alive in the 1950s remember them fondly.

But it is the reactions of younger people that I find the most interesting. For people in younger generations, the fox stole is a point of intense interest and sometimes shrieks from the school children. Children today are much less accustomed to people wearing fur and it definitely shows!

This picture is located in a section of the exhibit where we discuss the expanding lives of teens in the 1950s. I really like this picture because of the nicknames we found on the back of the image. In the center is "Butch". Butch is actually Maryland Massey, the sister of one of our founders, Betty Compton.

This panel is in our "Living Together, Worlds Apart" section. This section discusses segregation in Laurel in the 1950s.

I really like this panel because it uses quotes from interviews with people who lived in Laurel in the 1950s to compare life on both sides of the color line.

By taking the same events and locations and using quotes from different signs of the line, a really striking image of life in the 1950s is drawn. Black and white residents remember the same places in completely different ways--an important point in helping to tell the story of life in Laurel in the 1950s.

For example, one white interviewee remembered the Fireman's Carnival held every year as the place to be, "everyone came." One black interviewee remembered having to sit on the other side of the fence and watch the action--because blacks were barred from participating.

This panel is an image of a young family in the 1950s, their home being built, and their mortgage payment booklet. It is located in the "Feds Need Beds" section which discusses the influx of Federal workers into Laurel in the 1950s. I particularly love this panel because I know the people in it, the Wilsons.

I know how they came to Laurel in the 1950s as the family of a Federal worker. I know the impact the family has had on Laurel since then. For those of us who know the Wilson family, it is hard to believe that they've only been here for 50 years. In that short time, they've become a Laurel institution. So for me, this panel shows just how much of an impact Federal workers had on Laurel--they were here to stay!

I hope you enjoyed my little sojourn into our current exhibit. Of course, if you have your own favorite part of the exhibit, feel free to leave it as a comment.

If you haven't visited--learn more about the exhibit here:
http://www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org/pages/exhibits.html

The Beauty of Interns

2009-08-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

I believe having interns is one of the best ways one can contribute to the field. I know I learned a lot through internships, all of which helped prepare me for my role at the LHS today.

Since I began working here last June, we've had a number of really great interns. These interns have helped us in a number of ways--creating public programs, organizing collections, and creating interpretive materials. This summer was no exception and in the past 2 weeks or so, we've had a couple of intern projects wrap up quite nicely.

This spring and summer we had a really great intern named Eli Pousson. Eli is a recent MA graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park. He worked with us to put together a shortened version of our walking tour and an accompanying online version. He knows a lot more about computers and fancy programs like In-Design than I do, so it was really great getting to work with him.

With the help of our 2006 Walking Tour, Eli created a shortened tour based on 5 themes. This tour is available both at the Museum and online.

Next, he placed an extensive number of the sites on the 2006 Walking Tour on a map online along with images.

Although we still have a few kinks to work out for the Online Walking Tour, we are now proud to present both of these new products to the public. You can access them online by clicking here. As I mentioned, the Online Walking tour has a few kinks--we're trying to see if we can embed it in the website. But if the link doesn't work for you the first time, try, try again!

Another of our interns this summer was Lauren Hanna. Lauren is an undergrad at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who wanted to get her feet wet in the Museum field.

She began her work by reading a little about collections work in the Museum field. She learned how to navigate our collections database, Past Perfect, by scanning some images and attaching them to their corresponding catalogue record.

Once she was comfortable with PP, we settled on a project for her that involved inventorying our Historic Kitchen, locating accessioned objects in PP and collecting descriptions of un-accessioned objects from our Education Collection. She took a picture of every single object in the kitchen and matched it with a corresponding description. She then put all of this useful information in a binder.

The binder is now located in the Kitchen as a very extensive gallery guide. It will definitely prove to be useful reading for our volunteers who are interested in learning all about the Kitchen.

So there you have it--2 very important projects completed solely through the efforts of interns.

These are just the two most recent of many interns that the LHS has had help us over the past year.

I am very grateful to all of our interns for their efforts.

Thank you Eli Pousson, Lauren Hanna, Christine Powers, Jessica Bulger, Kevin Alvarez, and Joe Heinen!

The End of the Summer

2009-08-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today it is 90 degrees out, but I know the summer is winding down at the Laurel Historical Society.

How do I know?

Because things have become much quieter in the past couple of weeks.

Our high school community service volunteers have completed their last day. Our college community service volunteer complete his last day. Our intern finished her project and completed her last day. Our Junior Docents put some final touches on their video projects before our filming day. Even our campers from the City of Laurel Parks and Recreation Camp have finished their visits to the Museum.

During the height of the summer, things were a little crazy. Space (and especially computer time) was limited and young volunteers, interns, junior docents, and our regular volunteers vied for time and space in the Museum. Some days it was hectic.

But almost everyday the Museum was filled with energy--people moving around getting things done.

So what do we have to show for it?

We have an even more organized photograph collection. We have bags of goodies filled for visitors. We have a children's activity booklet available for our younger visitors. We have a new guide to our historic kitchen to let our volunteers know exactly what is down stairs. We have the outline for a video project to be completed in the fall.

More importantly, we have some more dedicated volunteers.

Our intern is returning this fall to continue working on collections project. Our college community service volunteer has asked whether he can return over winter break to help out. Our high school community service volunteer has already called her "slot" for next summer. Our Junior Docents will continue to work on their project in a short couple of weeks.

So even though things are a little quieter here now, I know it won't last for long.

And that's good thing!

Piecing Together History

2009-08-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes history can be really fun.

Here at the LHS we're preparing for our upcoming exhibit comparing life in Laurel in 1910 and in 2010.

The inspiration for this exhibit is a series of photographs taken by Bert Sadler. The images he produced depict life in Laurel in the early 1900s and are really wonderful. One of those pictures is here on the right. This image of the Emancipation Day parade in the early 1900s shows a vibrant community event.

Other than this picture and some articles from the Laurel leader within the last 20 years, I didn't know much about the Emancipation Day parade tradition in Laurel.

Then I went and spoke to Miss Katie Hopkins. Boy, did I learn a lot!

As I related in a previous post, Miss Katie told me all about life in Laurel growing up 100 years ago. She told me of Emancipation celebrations that lasted for long weekends where out-of-towners were able to visit and stay with members of the St. Mark's church.

What a great story! I was so excited to hear about how much of a community event the Emancipation Celebration was. Miss Katie, as sharp as she is at a ripe 102, was able to tell me details of the celebration--baseball games, parades, barbeques.

I was excited to hear her recount her stories, but I really wanted to know even more--what exactly happened during those early fall celebrations?

Imagine my excitement when Frieda, a member of our exhibits committee brought to my attention newspaper articles from the 1910 Laurel Leader. Listed in them were a number of various events taking place in the Grove--all during the same weekend in early September. The same weekend that was always reserved for the Emancipation Celebration.

Here, in black and white, was the vibrant celebration that Miss Katie had told me about and that was depicted in Bert Sadler's image.

I was very excited to see all these clues fall into place!

Now for the fun part--piecing this story into the larger story of Laurel in 1910 and in 2010!

An Interview with Miss Katie Hopkins

2009-08-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to interview a long time member of the Laurel Community. Born in Laurel in 1906, Miss Katie Hopkins has seen Laurel go through many changes.

As we prepare for our next exhibit comparing Laurel in 1910 to Laurel in 2010, we are busy interviewing people in the community who can help us tell the story of Laurel today. Sandy Johnson, the historian of St. Mark's Church delightfully informed me that there is someone whom she knows who can speak about Laurel in 1910! So, with the help of Sandy and Jackie from St. Mark's church, it was arranged for me to meet with Miss Katie to discuss life in 1910 in preparation for our upcoming exhibit. (In reality, I was so excited to meet her that I would have been willing to talk about anything.)

I met with Miss Katie at the Laurel Rehabilitation Center and she told me some wonderful stories. She told me about her childhood spent jumping rope with friends, taking sleigh rides and traveling to Washington on the trolley for her music lessons. She painted an image of a small town where everyone knew everyone and Teaser's Ice Cream Parlor, where her father worked, had "real" ice cream. She talked about people coming from far away to celebrate Emancipation Day with St. Mark's Church. She spoke of how church members opened their homes to these visitors and of a town filled with hospitality.

I wasn't surprised at all to hear such a depiction of life in Laurel. These stories seem to come through whether you talk to people about Laurel in the 1950s or Laurel in the early 1900s.

Instead of surprising me, what the stories do is make me wonder what we'll find in our upcoming exhibit.

Will we find stories of Laurel in 2010 where the hospitality is just as great as in 1910?
Will members of our Exhibit Advisory Committee tell of us a community bound to itself, where people take care of one another?

I'm not sure what they will tell us. I don't want to push community members to tell us any story, but I know what I think. Laurel is a community that cares.

Changing of the Guard

2009-07-27T11:19:00.001-07:00

Things have been quite busy here at the LHS. One thing you often don't hear about is the work of Board Members. These men and women donate their time to do a lot of the work that occurs behind the scenes. They work very hard and often go unrecognized for their efforts.

This month, we are undergoing a changing of the guard of sorts. Our Presidency has changed hands.

Karen Lubieniecki, a dedicated board member who has served as President of the Laurel Historical Society several times, resigned as of July 1. She remained in her role as President for an extra year to ensure that I would be well acclimated before she stepped down.

In the past three years as President, she has overseen many amazing changes at the LHS. Due in no small part to her own efforts, she has witnessed the completion of a strategic plan, the mounting of several exhibits, a new website, a new children's program and more. In the time that I've been here, (a little over a year), I've seen Karen work tirelessly to maintain high standards of excellence at the LHS. Karen's input into projects challenges staff members and volunteers alike to consider all sides of an issue. Her HATJATs (you'll have to ask her for an explanation) keep us thinking outside the box.

Of course, this is not a goodbye. We know Karen will still maintain a high level of involvement in the LHS. But we would like to thank and recognize her for her work as President of the LHS.
Thank you Karen!

Our incoming President is Jhanna Levin. Jhanna is a longtime Laurel Resident who has been involved with the LHS for several years. For the past couple of years, Jhanna has chaired the Gala Committee--a committee charged with organizing our annual Gala fundraiser. In her role as the Gala chair she has worked directly with volunteers, donors, and attendees to create 2 very successful events. As a member of our Public Programming Committee, she has brought a unique perspective regarding the needs of school teachers.

In her role as President, we hope that Jhanna translates these successful efforts to the larger organization. We are very much looking forward to her heightened involvement.

In conclusion, I have two tasks for you all:

If you see Jhanna, please give her a warm welcome in her new role as President of the Laurel Historical Society.

If you see Karen, please thank her for all that she has done (and will continue to do) to make the LHS a better organization.

A Community Exhibit

2009-07-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

In planning our current exhibit, "Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll: Laurel in the 1950s", we learned something very important.

We like to have community input when planning our exhibits. Interesting, right? A local museum that wants to hear from the community? Who would have thought it possible?

In our current exhibit we could have told the story of Laurel in the 1950s based on newspapers, city minutes and other documents.

But it is a lot more fun to actually talk to people. So that is what we did. In interviews with Laurelites who lived here in the 1950s we learned a lot about Laurel during that time period.

People gave us stories that we would otherwise never have known. People directed us to the important things about their lives that the papers neglected or didn't focus on. People helped us tell more of the story. And people gave history a personal touch.

So we're a little hooked. We're convinced that Laurel, as a community, has a lot to say about itself. In planning our next exhibit, we're going to do our best to listen to those stories.

What is our next exhibit? Well, we're very much in the planning stages but here is the big idea: we will pair a collection of photographs from the early 1900s with photographs from the early 2000s to begin a discussion about life in Laurel.

What defines community in Laurel? What has changed? What has stayed the same?

My hope is that we'll find amazing parallels between life in Laurel in 1910 and in 2010 that show how strong of a community we really are. We'll be able to have a conversation about an evolving population that has remained strong in its support of one another. Maybe we'll find this. Maybe we won't. That's the fun part of developing an exhibit--you never know!

It might be hard for us to talk to people who lived here in 1910, but we're doing our best to get a conversation going with people who are in Laurel now.

Our first step was to look for people to talk to. We could have walked down the street with a sign that said"The Laurel Museum wants to hear about your life in Laurel!", but we didn't. Instead we went to local community groups/religious organizations. We asked these groups to suggest someone who might be interested in helping us tell the story of Laurel in 2010.

We have now formed an Exhibit Advisory Committee. The group met last week and seemed VERY excited about telling the story of Laurel.

But this is not a surprise to me. I've known for a while now that community is important in Laurel. So I'm not surprised that these people took time out of their busy nights to come spend an evening at the Laurel Museum and munch on some cookies donated from the Ideal Bakery.

To them, helping to tell the story of their community is very important. A community without a story, without a history, without an identity is no community at all. These people know that. I only hope that we can help them tell their story and the story of our community in the best way possible.

The Fourth of July Parade and the LHS!

2009-07-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

My puppy is famous. He's on the cover of this week's Gazette. Check it out!

I bring this up for 2 reasons:

1) I am the proud mother of a 140lb baby.

2) His being on the Gazette made me think a little more about how things seem to work out here at the LHS.

Zinn (my puppy) is in the Gazette this week because some photographers caught his goofy smile along the parade route for the 4th of July parade. We were walking the parade route along with the Laurel Historical Society's float "The Rootbeer Float". You may not have known this information from the cover of the Gazette, because there is no mention of the LHS with his picture.

There is no mention in the newspaper that the LHS won once again the award for "Best Appearing Float". There is no mention of our diligent volunteers who worked to put together the float, pull it, and walk in the heat beside it.

The Lilienthal family worked hard to put together a fantastic float. Months ago they came to me with a work plan and sketch of what they would like to do with the float. Then they worked on the details as a family, leaving me with no work to do!

I am very happy to say that in the end, it was done perfectly! From the rootbeer floats that the girls pretended to drink to the 1950s music to the duck tape and cardboard juke box, everything was fantastic.

Of course, all of this was made possible by John and Jennie Lee Kalie who donated the use of their float bed and truck for us to use. These long term volunteers have always been ready to help out the LHS and other community organizations. We very much appreciate their help!

So what does all this have to do with Zinn? Zinn reminded me of how things normally take place at the LHS.

Whether we're putting together a wonderful exhibit, a 1950s fair, or just a short lecture, there is usually one "face" of the organization that gets all of the credit. Usually it's me. Zinn's drooly face on the front of the Gazette reminded me of how rarely volunteer work is properly recoginized. It reminded me of how little most people see or know of what goes on behind the scenes.

So thank you to all of the volunteers that helped make the 4th of July parade a success! We truly appreciate your hard work!

Invasion of the Junior Docents

2009-07-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I mentioned that we have Junior Docents working in the Museum this summer.

Yesterday was our second day of the Invasion of the Junior Docents and we survived. I have to say, I am learning a LOT from these bright kids!

1) It feels good to really talk history.
Usually when I talk to visitors, I try to gauge how interested they are in the history and base how deeply I discuss Laurel history based on that. Most of the time, I keep it general and broad and delve a little deeper when they seem interested. But usually we don't get down into the nitty gritty stuff.
But with the Junior Docents, I have a captive audience. And I don't have to sit there and lecture to them.
I get to ask them questions. So, why was the River important 350 years ago? Were there many roads? How do you think people got around? It's really fun. I get to watch their minds turn and see them put things together--it's really great.

2) Most kids are more creative than me!
The Junior Docents and I are using a set of materials that the Museum uses to train most of the docents. To make it more interactive and fun, we took the facts in the sheets and illustrated them on a white board.

Here's an example of how they are more creative than me:

We needed to talk about the importance of the Dam in producing water power for the Mill. I drew a block and wrote in the middle of the block "I am a dam". It gets the point across, right?
Well the girls who were working on the drawing with me thought this was hilarious.

After seeing their creations, I can see why. From an abstract drawing of the trip from Wales to the Colonies of Richard Snowden (the original), to the detailed drawing of a burning house, they were MUCH more creative. I can't wait to see what they are going to produce for the videos!

3) With the right people, anything is possible.
Like most things that take place under the auspices of the Laurel Historical Society, we have fairly lofty goals. Earlier this year Monica, our part time assistant, mentioned to me that it would be nice to have the Junior Docents star in a number of short clips about Laurel history. Not only would this allow special needs groups with mobility concerns to see more of the Museum and the surrounding area, but it would be great to put on youtube and on our website. What a GREAT idea!

So off we go trying to organize this. We spoke to Erica Smith of the Laurel Mill Playhouse to discuss script writing. Holly Lilienthal found us a a professional Videographer, Todd Broadwater, who is willing to record and edit our final videos. Maureen Rogers, also from Laurel Mill Playhouse will talk to the JD's about stage presence.

In all honesty, Monica and I know pretty much nothing about putting together short videos. We're doing our best with resources in the community. I hope that with the help of all of these great resources we'll produce a project that is worth the LHS name.

Thankfully we've been blessed with a group of WONDERFUL Junior Docents. Based on what we've done so far--I know they'll help us work through this.

Summer Fever

2009-06-30T12:46:00.001-07:00

When I arrived last June, I was told that the volunteers and
membership at LHS expect a break over the summer.

I like that idea!

But apparently, it is harder to take a break around here than I thought.

This summer we're slowing down our programming. In June we only had 1 program--a very successful 1950s style fair. July is free of programs. In August we're doing 2 low key programs, none of which take the planning effort on our part that other programs like the Taste of Laurel require.

But some how we're still very busy!

Every Wednesday we will have Junior Docents at the Museum. Our Junior Docents are a group of several girls and now one boy who have helped us with programming in the past. Whether helping show visitors how to complete a paint by number or explaining 19th century games, these JD's are enthusiastic and engaged. This summer they will be working on a video project. They will learn more about Laurel History and write script for a series of short videos that they will then star in. Last Wednesday was their first day learning, but it won't be too long before we're shooting video.

But that's not it for our Wednesdays at the Museum. We now will have Laurel Parks and Recreation Camps coming to the Museum every Wednesday at 1 pm. For an hour the campers will enjoy learning about Laurel history. We're going to have to steer away from the 1950s (since many of them already saw that exhibit with Laurel Elementary School). But I'm pretty sure they'll have a lot of fun learning about Laurel History and what life would have been like in the nineteenth century.

We also have an intern, a high school volunteer, docents, and volunteers completing specific projects (like photographing the collection). And that is just on our average week.

So in the end, we don't seem to have taken the summer off. Oops!

An Important Part of the Community

2009-06-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the Laurel Horizon Society (the precursor to the Laurel Historical Society) in the 1970s, community members in Laurel have come together to save Laurel's history.

This dedicated group became quite close as they overcame the obstacles to saving their local history. They worked hard to build a quality Historical Society. Our supporters knew of all the great things we were doing for the community preserving and presenting the history and culture of Laurel.

But there was more work to be done!

When I began here last June 2008, I was told that one of the goals of the Laurel Historical Society was to extend our reach further into the community. We needed to let everyone know what great things we had to offer here. And we also needed to know what else we could do for the community.

So for a little over a year now, I've talked to as many people as I can in the community to find out what people know about us and what we can do for them.

In these conversations, I've learned many interesting things.

1) We're often confused with the Historic District Commission.

We are not the Historic District Commission. From what I understand, they work hard to preserve the integrity of the City. From what I understand, they might be the people to contact when you want to put a 20 foot neon sign outside your business.

But I actually don't know all too much about them--because I work for the Laurel Historical Society, not the Historic District Commission. For more information about what the Historic District Commission, visit Karen Lubieniecki's blog. For more information about what the Historical Society does, visit this blog.

2) Many Laurelites don't know there is a Museum.

When I meet people in Laurel--at the dog park, at the grocery store, around town, etc I often hear the same thing: "There's a museum in Laurel?!?"

Yes, there is a Museum in Laurel. And we're here for you! For those of us who know about us, we've become a city treasure.

For those of us who don't know about us, we're a complete surprise. As one little girl told me last week: "I thought I would really hate this place, but I had so much fun!!"

Some of you might be hesitant to come into the Museum--saving it for a raining day when there isn't much else to do. For those people I say--come in! visit! You'll be even more surprised when you see all the fun you've missed out on.

3) Those who know about the Museum have placed our role in a little box. We give tours, we're a good place to drop off the stuff from Grandma's attic and sometimes you can attend a lecture at our Museum.

We're trying to break out of that box. Yes, we have an exhibit. And yes, we do have lectures. We also offer creative children, adult, and family programs. Ever been to a film series at your local Museum? How about entered into a pie-eating contest? Or sampled local businesses food? Our special events have become creative and diverse in their offerings--we'd love to see you try your hand at our next egg toss contest or sit back with some popcorn and enjoy "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

As fun, educational, and lively as our events have become, we are trying to go beyond even the walls of our Museum. We're looking into the community to see what else we can offer to our constituency. We've built partnerships with a diverse group of community organizations. From local libraries to local schools to local businesses, we're working to provide the community with what they need. Whether it is putting together an exhibit for the Library's walls or holding a paper raiser for the local elementary school, we're working to break out of the expectations of what a local Museum should be.

No longer will we sit back and wait for you to come to us. We're coming to you. And asking you what you need. So please, let us know--we're listening.

Volunteers at the LHS

2009-06-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

When I tell people I am the only full-time staff member at the Laurel Historical Society, I get a pretty predictable reaction.

Eye brows are raised and there is a quick intake of breath. Followed by a sarcastic "That must be a lot of fun."

I reassure these concerned people that I have a part time assistant, a very active board, and a critical mass of dedicated volunteers.

But I know that even though I say these things, people imagine me running around the Museum like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get everything done.

In reality, some days I do look a little like a flailing chicken. But that is because of my own craziness and does not reflect on the work of my wonderful volunteers.

Monica, the part-time assistant to the Director, and I are joined daily by dedicated volunteers.

Some days it is our resident grumpy registrar, Charlie. He comes in and makes fun of me for being loud, but constantly works hard to make sure our collection is in order. Without his hard work and the hard work of his cohort, Marlene, our collection would be a mess.

Other days, the volunteers that join us are the Docents that keep the Museum open for visitors. They sit patiently waiting for visitors chatting about this or that, but as soon as that visitor comes through the door they are ready to impart knowledge on them. It's amazing how quickly they can go from debating the best way to cook eggplant to telling the history of the Mill.

For special events, I call upon our Public Programming Committee. This committee works hard to provide quality program for all of our audiences--young and old alike. We have junior docents on this committee that like to wear period dress for our kids events.

We have 2 mother-daughter teams that are essential to our success. We have teachers (both active and retired), a principal, a human resources specialist, a public relations specialist, and more. This committee is willing to get dirty with the kids or set up a laptop for a lecture. Without them, there would be no programming at the LHS.

We have volunteers who are in charge of the Museum Shop, the Research Library, the Landscaping of the Museum, and more.

We have so many volunteers doing so much that sometimes I wonder what is left for me to do.

I guess it leaves me time to brag about them.

But instead I just spend my time coming up with more work for everyone to do!

A Good Day with the LHS

2009-06-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Not everyday with the LHS is a good day. Some are great. Some are fantastic. And some are...less than fantastic.

But some days are good. Today was one of those days.

When our volunteers started arriving at 10 am, it seemed like any other Wednesday. They put the flags out. One of our volunteer coordinators came upstairs and gave me a lunch she'd brought from home for me. Yummy! We chat shortly about the weather and I watch while one of our volunteers sets up a network between my desktop and our laptop.

Then there is a slight panic. A group of special needs adults has arrived. The group did not call ahead for a group tour and we really aren't prepared with hands-on activities. I tell the volunteers to use some scavenger hunts we have available. After the group leaves I find out that the scavenger hunts weren't able to be used--the group was mostly non-responsive. But they seemed happy to be out and about.

We discuss the challenges of adjusting tours for special needs group with varying abilities of interaction. I mosey back upstairs and continue working on some development things.

The next thing I know, the Museum is abuzz. I come downstairs and there are several groups of people in separate parts of the galleries keeping our docents busily occupied. I learn that one group has a son translating from english to spanish for his mother and father. Another person has just moved into the area and wants to learn more about the community. Another visitor has visited before and volunteers at a local museum himself. They are all excitedly talking and pointing to parts of the exhibit that sparked their interest.

I attempt to flex my spanglish and interact with the family whose son is translating to them. In the basement I explain the use of the wash basin with "como se dice bath?" to the son. I then attempt to explain where ice (hielo or "yellow" as he explains to me) was brought from. The son and I both struggle to find the word for river in spanish, but I get the point across with a wave of the hand and a wooshing sound.

Afterwards, the family makes a purchase in the gift shop. Great for our budget, not so great for my own technical abilities in the shop. (Delawareans always forget sales tax!)

But something even more exciting happens! The mother asks for our open hours--she'd like to bring her other sons back to the Museum.

Satisfied, I eat my yummy lunch upstairs with some of the volunteers. We talk about important things like how to brown meat and how great it is to have visitors come by. As we're chatting in the main gallery another family of four walks in. They look fresh and young and eager to learn all about Laurel history.

I leave my docents to do their work without me intruding.

But I'm very happy because I've finally thought of what I should name the new blog I've been planning: A Good Day with the LHS.