Joy. When I look at this photo I can’t help but get misty eyed. I attended a Montessori elementary school, so I had the same teacher for three years. This lady was one of them. When I was being bullied she protected me. She welcomed me into her home as a little girl along with some of my closest friends in order to soak up more knowledge after school. It’s been years since I ran into Mrs. Elwell. I was…
Once upon a time I worked at a slave plantation. Sure did. I was a docent (tour guide) while in grad school. From an early age I was constantly looking for a good story. A plot twist, the unpredictable outcome, a strong protagonist, the whole nine yards. I went to visit Historic Stagville with a group of classmates in the fall of 2010. I began thinking I’m going to need some experience so I checked on internships. I interviewed and…
Today, kicks off National Archives Month. October is full of awareness and I’m happy to be apart of it all. On Twitter you still have time to participate in #AskanArchivist where some of my fellow Archivist are answering questions live about their institution’s collections and exciting events for the month. Don’t miss it. Since it’s throwback Thursday I’m reminiscing about my time as an archives intern in Virginia! The three interns stuffed in the backseat exploring the beautiful world of…
On my last scope I briefly talked about “mourning stationary.” The black border around this letter written in 1899 symbolizes a phase of grief. If the border was thicker it meant that the loss of a loved one just happened. The border helps the receiver of the letter know the emotional state the writer. Wonder why we don’t do that today… Original Document can be found at the American War Museum archives. Formerly the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond,…