Free Lecture!

The Delaware Humanities Forum cordially invites you to attend the 2011 Joseph P. del Tufo Annual Lecture.

"Where do Religious Voices Belong In Public Conversations On Same-Sex Marriage?"

Dr. Mark D. Jordan, Richard Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School

Thursday, October 6, 2011
6:00 p.m.
First & Central Church
1101 N. Market Street
Wilmington, DE

For additional details, click here.

Hooray for Rodney Square!

Rodney Square, the heart of Wilmington's downtown, is being added to the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of places in the United States deemed worthy of preservation. Also included are the Du Pont and Nemours buildings, the Wilmington Public Library, the City and County building, and the former Post Office, now part of the Wilmington Trust Center. Several of the people that I've been working with while creating the walking tour of Market Street have been trying to get Rodney Square recognized in this way for years. Their hard work has finally paid off. Congratulations to all!

Here's a bit of historical background on the development of Rodney Square.

In 1902 the Du Pont Company's president, Eugene du Pont, died. The remaining family members were going to sell the firm, but were challenged by Alfred I. du Pont, who bought the company with his cousins T. Coleman and Pierre S. du Pont. These younger men initiated a period of modernization, reorganization, and consolidation. No longer a family business that could operate out of the small office on the Hagley property, the Du Pont Company needed more office space for its increased numbers of management personnel. Wilmington became the best choice for the site of the new headquarters, satisfying Pierre and Alfred's desire to keep the company close to the Brandywine as well as Coleman's insistence on an urban setting. In 1904 the Company bought land on the high ground at the corner of 10th and Market streets for their new building.

The twelve-story Du Pont Building provided the impetus for creating a monumental heart for the city of Wilmington. The initial structure housed 549 employees, while the 200-room Du Pont Hotel, added in 1912, featured a grand ballroom, theatre, and restaurant. The county courthouse, built in the 1880s, looked small and out-dated when compared to the modern office building across the street. John K. Raskob, Pierre S. du Pont's assistant, led the effort to tear down this building and build a grander city-county building on King Street. He was driven by a desire to bring the City Beautiful Movement to Wilmington, in the hope that a well-designed civic landscape would impress visiting businessmen. In time, the Wilmington Public Library and the Wilmington Post Office buildings would complete the square, creating an anchor for the city's downtown area.


Want to learn more? Read about the nomination on Delaware Online.

This is why I don't live in California...

Like many other East Coasters, I experienced my first earthquake on Tuesday afternoon. Despite the fact that it caused minimal damage and no serious injuries, it was still a bit of a scare. I was in the DHF office on the tenth floor of the Community Services Building in Wilmington when everything started to shake. At first I thought that there was just a big truck going by on the street. When the shaking continued, however, we all got rather nervous. Following the tremor, my coworkers and I decided to exit the building (using the stairs, of course). Virtually everyone else seemed to have the same idea, although we were not officially evacuated. We waited for a while in Rodney Square, until we decided it was probably safe to return to the office. Upon checking my email, I received a helpful (if belated) message on "What to Do During an Earthquake." Well, now I know.


Apparently, the last time the East Coast experienced an earthquake of this magnitude was in 1944. At that time, the Dravo Corporation on Wilmington's riverfront was busy building vessels for the U.S. Navy. A great image of the shipyard in full swing is available through the Hagley Digital Archives. You can still see a few of the whirly cranes at Dravo Plaza, which is now used as a gathering place for concerts and other events.


Not too much else to report on my internship. I continue to compile information on Wilmington's industrial history...although I have to admit I'm a bit distracted by reports of hurricane Irene, which should hit this area on Sunday. Thunderstorms and earthquakes and hurricanes, oh my!

From Wilmington to Washington

Did you know that the site of the University & Whist Club in Wilmington, Delaware was once considered as a location for our nation's capital? While serving in Congress, Dr. James Tilton, a Revolutionary War hero who became the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, proposed that the capital be built at Bellevue, the property of his friend Bancroft Woodcock located to the northwest of the small town of Wilmington. Centrally located, the site's elevation provided impressive views of Philadelphia, Maryland, and New Jersey. It's interesting to think of what might have been, had the Virginians not been successful in building the capital on the Potomac.

Yesterday I visited Washington, D.C. with my coworkers at the Delaware Humanities Forum. While in the city we toured the Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol, and the Library of Congress. The highlight of the day was meeting Jim Leach, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, at the organization's headquarters in the Old Post Office. He very kindly invited us into his office and chatted with us for a few minutes. The Old Post Office is the third highest building in the city, after the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. I really enjoyed seeing the magnificent views of the D.C. area from the clock tower.

Here are some photos from our trip. Enjoy!

Top to Bottom: Supreme Court, U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress, Old Post Office, View of U.S. Capitol from Old Post Office Tower (all images taken by Anne Reilly)

A Pear of an Experience; Thanks to everyone at the NAA!

Unfortunately, this is my last 'Hello!' from the Newark Arts Alliance!


For this last post, I wanted to start with a shot of one of the pieces from our newest (and current until September 10) show--Deborah Arnold's Quite a Pear. Above is a work entitled, "Pages from a Pear Diary: First Draft." Out of the entire summer (excepting the Member's Show of course!), this is my most favorite exhibit. Why, you ask?

1. It features a food.
2. It FEATURES A FOOD!!

How serendipitous that this is the last show I will enjoy as an intern! Perhaps my most favorite piece, however, is more of a metaphor than literal:


This one is entitled, "Pear Party Garden Dress" and as you can see, was created around a McCall pattern for a pear-shaped dress. I was enchanted when I first saw it. If only I didn't have a live on a graduate student's budget, I would have already bought so many pieces from the NAA! Every single show touts works that I end up adoring daily when I go in.

In other news, Friday was the day of the opening for Deb's show. Guess what she brought for refreshments?! That's right, a completely peary menu!

Below are some shots from the table of delicious goodies (and to the right is a shot of a work called, "Red Bartletts"):










There was pear upside-down cake, pears over brie, dried pears and gouda, hot milk sponge cake with pears in champagne, mango/pear salsa, pear chutney over cream cheese--you name it, if it had pears, it was on that table! Everything was delicious and the table was beautiful. I really enjoyed talking with the members and Deborah about her show. Here are some shots showing the crowd enjoying (both literally and figuratively) the "ripe metaphors of pears":























Over the summer, I have to say that I've learned more about grantwriting and how non-profits are organized than I ever thought I would. I am sad that today is my last day--it was a truly wonderful experience. Although I'm not at liberty to say right now, it seems that Terry and the board of the Newark Arts Alliance has made some arrangements for me to stick around and be involved. I shall update the blog one last time when I find out for sure what their plans are.

For now, here's a tally of all the grants I either wrote, edited, or assisted in researching this summer:

The Lenfest Foundation, Chichester duPont Foundation, The Brandywiners, Gannett Foundation, The Christmas Shop, Delaware Supermarkets, Inc. and Chipotle are all grantmakers for which I mailed in applications--that is, their goals match our needs most aptly. What this list doesn't communicate, however, was the time and effort put into researching (and some writing before I learned that they really wouldn't fit our needs) around 50 or so other foundations that do NOT provide funds for our organization. Lesson learned: researching and grants is no joke but if you can learn how to spot funders and how to write effectively using rhetoric, it can be a very fulfilling job.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Terry, Carol, the board of the NAA and the members for allowing me to have such a fantastic experience at this wonderful organization. If nothing else, you'll surely see me around taking some classes--if there's one thing this place has done, it is inspire my artistic side!! :)

P.S. Check out THIS link to see a clip from WHYY (I'm the one doing the tie-dye in the video) about our Camp Imagine!!!!

Into the Wild

Hi everyone!

While I had been pulling out documents to scan, that had not been the only highlight for the past few weeks. Of course, it would not be an archiving adventure in Delaware, without running into bugs, insects, or other animals. It is interesting to work and do archival work on state park territory; I have been running into all sorts of wildlife since the commencement of the internship.

Besides the bugs, insects and the majestic herring that I have recently mentioned, I have seen deer frolicking about in the woods that surround the site. On another day, as I was driving near the site, I saw a flock of geese going by. They were right in front of my car and I had to come to a screeching halt so I did not run them over. The geese forced me to wait patiently as they took their time crossing the road. Fortuitously, I remembered my camera and snapped some pictures, while I waited for them to cross. On yet another day, I saw a groundhog standing majestically on its hind legs, but when it noticed my car approaching it darted away, under the cover of the bushes.

Canadian Geese

As of late, it has been raining cats and dogs. Hearing the downpour from inside an old mill built with a flat roof is a difference experience. From inside it sounds like the storm is fast approaching, coming closer, almost as if it could come pouring through the roof and leave one a soaking victim.

The power has also gone off again. It went off once and did not come back on for almost two hours. I guess I spoke too soon from last post (where I lamented the power cutting off). One cannot do much archiving in the dark. However, the next time the power goes off, I am prepared. I can make my way to the door quicker with the handy-dandy, heavy duty, weather ready flashlight now in my possession.

But when there is light I am busily pulling out files to be discarded.

Camp Imagine Recap

Hey out there!

Well, after a two-week hiatus in Gallery Shop goings-on, the place is back to normal. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you all more about what happened during the two weeks of Camp Imagine and post more pictures from the performance last Friday.

Before I get to the specifics, I'm going to take a minute to give you an overview of what our goals are for Camp Imagine students and what the application process is like for the students who wish to come to Camp Imagine.

First, applicants who wish to be considered for the camp must submit a letter/essay explaining why they want to come to camp. We do this for a couple reasons. The most important reason is that Camp Imagine is a full-day arts camp with two groups of 12 students starting at 9:15 and ending at 4:15. Students who come to camp without a genuine interest in participating unfortunately do not last long in the camp. They end up distracted and usually ruin the experience for other kids at the camp. Second, sometimes parents sign their children up for camps during the summer without actually asking the child. We want to prevent this from happening by establishing the interest of the child in our program. When the students write a letter of interest, it shows that they both know about the camp and that they have an interest in the arts.

One thing I love about this camp is how Terry decides the amount to charge for each student. She has a sliding scale, based on income that determines how much each student's guardians must pay. By simply providing a couple pay stubs, parents can send their children to a camp that normally costs $200 per week for about $40 per week. I really admire how the Alliance keeps aiming to fulfill its mission of developing community through the arts. Where else could you get such a high-quality experience for your kids for so cheap?

I don't mean to brag, but Camp Imagine is pretty darn awesome. During the last two weeks, I saw kids create some awesome art, sing a lot of beautiful songs, learn to dance some fierce dances and even do improvisation. Each day, the kids had a couple hours of art with either Rowena or Terry, dancing with Tania, theater with Stefanie, and singing with Molly.

I'm not sure if this is going to work, but here's a video of the performance of "Fireflies" by Owl City. The kids learned the song, and Tania taught them the dance. I won't lie, it brought a tear to my eye!



So you might be wondering--what did I do during all of this madness? Well, to be honest, a bit of everything. I mostly spent my time telling kids not to make holes in the wall, distributing afternoon snacks, and reminding campers to keep the art on the paper instead of themselves but I also got the rare opportunity to teach them how to tie dye!! I haven't tie dyed since I was in Girl Scouts ages ago so it was pretty fun! Here's a shot of the awesome shirts that another intern, Cassie, and I taught the students how to make:


Pretty neat, right? We had a lot of fun, but the credit really goes to the teachers, Terry, and the students. It was definitely a group effort to make this camp a success but it was totally worth all the hard work! I am almost certain that the students enjoyed themselves.

Here and there I was afforded the opportunity to work on the Chichester duPont grant, but this place was pretty much overtaken by munchkins by day one, making it a little tough to get things done.

However, now that everything's back to its normal, quiet, self, I've managed to actually finish the Chichester duPont grant request for $10,000. It sits waiting Terry's approval. I'm pretty excited about this one because it's a significant amount of money and I really hope that I've done a good job.

Also, I discovered that Macy's gives out district grants which is helpful as well! Their process is much easier and it's all done online which makes my job much less complicated.

Well! That's all for now. I shall leave you with a few more pictures of the cuteness that I was surrounded by for the last two weeks:

Oh yeah, one more thing--ALWAYS wear gloves when tie-dying!!!! :)





This is a shot of some of the younger group of kids doing the Rockin' Robin! Aren't they adorable? They were so excited!











And this is from the older kids' group--they did an improv tableau where they had three seconds to freeze after the teacher, Miss Stefanie, called out a theme. This was "A Day at the Beach":


Congratulations to all the awesome kids who worked so hard!

Peter who?

I can't believe it's already August! Where did the summer go?

I'm really pleased with the narrative that I've been able to develop for the tour of Wilmington. Of great help are two books by University of Delaware history professor emeritus Carol E. Hoffecker: Wilmington, Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City (1974) and Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century (1983). If you want to learn more about this area, I would recommend adding these titles to your summer reading list.

Unfortunately, I keep coming across fascinating stories that don't fit with the tour's focus on the city's industrial and economic development. Luckily for me, I can blog about those things instead! So here's your weekly dose of Wilmington trivia.

Did you know that Peter Spencer founded this nation's first independent African American church in Wilmington? Born a slave in Kent County, Maryland, Spencer (1779-1843) was freed following the death of his master and came to Wilmington, where he joined the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1805, upset by the church’s treatment of blacks, he and about 40 others walked out and formed their own congregation. They continued to associate with the denomination until further interference by the white congregation led to the creation of the African Union Methodist Protestant Church (A.U.M.P.) in 1813.

During a major urban renewal project in 1967, the city decided to build new office buildings for federal and state employees. The Mother A.U.M.P. Church occupied the site that the city selected for this project. After a period of negotiation, the congregation relocated and the city demolished the church building. In its place the city created "Peter Spencer Plaza" on French Street between 8th and 9th Streets (left). At the heart of the plaza is a statue that commemorates Peter Spencer (below). "Father and Son" (1973) by Delaware sculptor Charles Cropper Parks depicts a black male figure cradling a sleeping child in his arms. Larger-than-life and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, the man is not a direct representation of the religious leader but rather a symbol of the hope in the future that he inspired. The remains of Peter Spencer, his wife Annes, and ten of his followers are interred in a vault beneath the statue.

Today the plaza is a very quiet place. Every now and then a government worker will pass through, or rest for a few minutes in the shade, but few actually stop to look at the statue. In contrast, the memory of Peter Spencer is at the heart of the Big Quarterly, which will be held at the end of this month at locations throughout Wilmington. This festival, which has been held annually since 1814, brings African Americans together to celebrate religious freedom.

Planning & Scanning

Hey all,

It’s been a while, but don’t worry, I’ll have you all caught up with what I have been doing these past few weeks. My duties have been rather repetitive lately, not much new and exciting, but still important within the world of archives. I am finally done with pulling out documents that will go out for this round of scanning. There will still be other documents to scan, but they will go to scanning later. I had previously pulled out many ledgers, and now I have added minute books to the mix. Some of the minute books are rather old, but all are informative. Apparently, a lot of the board of directors meeting for NVF took place in South Beach. The fact that Victor Posner had business in Miami, and NVF held meetings there makes me feel like this internship was a perfect match, as I am originally from Miami. NVF had plants located in different states besides Delaware and even had international locations: two plants in Canada and one in France. Besides the ledgers and minutes books, I have been prepping numerous amounts of blueprints for scanning. Many of the blueprints are rolled up, so I unroll them and lay them down flat in an over-sized carrying case, layering blueprint on top of blueprint until the case is full. Because the materials will be undergoing outside scanning, it is imperative to know exactly what has been sent out. Therefore, I have cataloged all the blue prints; to date, I have 25 typed pages of blueprints. It’s a lot of work, but well worth it.

blueprints

So many possibilities...

Internship projects have a way of evolving. Since I last blogged, the focus of my tour has switched from one that highlights Wilmington's memorials and monuments to one that explains the city's economic and industrial development. We decided that this tour will dovetail nicely with the Forum's Delaware Industrial History Initiative. The DIHI is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities' We the People program, which exists to enhance the understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles among all citizens. The goal of the DIHI is to digitally document Delawareans' experiences with industrialization. To explore a DIHI project that is already up and running online, visit Delaware's Industrial Brandywine, a database by Hagley Museum and Library that documents the businesses that operated along the Brandywine River in Delaware.

This week, in addition to reading more about the city's history and looking into podcasting and website building options, I have met with representatives of several Wilmington organizations to discuss opportunities for heritage tourism. The good news is that there are a lot of people doing great things in an effort to revitalize the downtown area. The challenge is to make sure that these efforts compliment, rather than duplicate or compete with, what others are doing. Communication is key.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, I would suggest taking a walk along the Christina River. Once the heart of Wilmington's shipbuilding industry, the riverfront is now home to restaurants and other attractions. Remnants of the area's past remain, however, in the form of repurposed warehouses and brightly painted cranes. As you stroll along, make sure you read the signs that describe the industries that once stood along the river.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Wilmington, here's a view of the city from my office window. From left to right you can see Market Street, Shipley Street, and Orange Street. I added a yellow arrow to help you find the Christina (which looks larger in person, of course).

Classes and Camp Imagine Ca-raziness!

Well, classes are in full swing here at the Newark Arts Alliance! This post is definitely going to be picture-heavy because these kids are soooo darn cute! I will compose another post to explain more about how we do classes and Camp Imagine but for now, enjoy the pictures!

Also, WHYY rolled in today with cameras to tape the kids during dance class so look for us on your local public television station!


Very intense painting session. Looks like she's concentrating pretty hard!


These gals are so proud of their fish!!


Eric Carl style
Here are some pictures that Terry snapped of the kids during our first couple days of Camp Imagine:


They made some awesome clay pots!

The kids are singing "Fireflies" and Katy Perry's "Firework"

They learn some traditional visual arts as well!


Stretching before dance class!!!


Noah proudly shows off his creations during After Care on Tuesday!

My next post will explain what's going on in more depth with Camp Imagine and classes. For now, we're all just trying to keep up with these enthusiastic kids!

All Good Things Must Come to an End...Or At Least be Put on Pause

I cannot believe that my internship is technically over! While I have accomplished more that I expected to with regard to completing my project of writing an audio tour for the New Castle Historical Society, there is still a lot to do before the tour is ready for the public.

In my last post I talked about the process of recording the test version of my tour. While I was rather hoarse by the end of the week, I managed to get all of the tracks recorded, edited, and exported in an MP3 format. My last few days at work consisted of getting the tour ready for testing over the next couple weeks and tying up loose ends.

Our test group of individuals is going to include a number of people familiar with both the history of the town and its layout, in addition to a group of people who are not familiar with any of these things. Having a varied audience is important because while those familiar with the layout and history will be able to both fact check the tour, they will have a harder time evaluating the directions because they are already familiar with the different stops and their names. Have a group of people who do not know their way around will give a better sense of how the average visitor will be able to maneuver their way through town. Directions have to be specific enough for them to find their way, but not too complicated that they are confusing.

Each visitor will be given an MP3 player with the tour pre-loaded onto the device. They will also be given a handout that consists of a map of the town on one side with the stops numbered, with directions for how to use the MP3 player and a list of the stops on the other side.

Right now the tour is 2.5 hours long, and consists of 49 Tracks or Stops, which encompass 60+ buildings. It is a lot of information and a long tour. So part of what we want the test group to pay attention to is where the tour is the most interesting and if anything is repetitive. While the tour is long, it is designed so that individuals can skip through tracks if they desire. In addition, the idea is that someone can check out the tour and have it for the day. So a person can take breaks, go on museum tours, grab a bite to eat, etc. As such, we will have to wait and see what the test group say.

While I am technically done with my internship, I will probably help with getting the final version ready once fall begins. The next steps include:

1. Testing the tour with the test group.
2. Processing their comments and critiques.
3. Editing the script for the final recording.
4. Final Recording.

This has been a great project, particularly with my interests in digital media and how to use technology to reach new audiences, and I look forward to seeing the final product.

Ex Libris Rosenbach

This summer I am serving as a Collections Intern at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, PA!

The Rosenbach began as the private collection of a rare book dealer, Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach, and his brother Philip. Following their testamentary gift in the 1950's, the Rosenbach became a public institution focusing on literature, history, and art. A few highlights of the Rosenbach's collection include Maurice Sendak's original children's book illustrations (including drafts and final drawings for Where the Wild Things Are), the manuscript of Ulysees by James Joyce, and Bram Stoker's notes for Dracula. Visitors can take tours of the Rosenbach brothers' historic home, wander through the museum exhibits, conduct research in the library, or attend special events such as Bloomsday.

My main duties include:

• cataloguing a collection of manuscript pages by entering information about them into the museum's PastPerfect database.
• conducting historical research on Daniel Defoe's political pamphlets for an upcoming exhibition.
• digitizing the first lines of verses found in 17th-century commonplace books. (I wrote about this project for the Rosenblog!)
• selecting two items to go on exhibit and writing interpretive labels for them. (Right now I'm leaning toward an American dime novel called The Female Trapper as well as an 1846 letter by Charlotte Brontë regarding a toothache she had.)

I have also:

• helped de-install an exhibit of letters and newspapers.
• staffed Bloomsday, the Rosenbach's largest event of the year, as an attendance-counter and question-answerer.
• assisted with tent set-up for the Civil War Road Show.
• played Boggle with staff members during lunch. (They are extremely good at word games!)
• learned to handle rare books (and got practice when I re-shelved books from the personal library of the poet Marianne Moore).
• tested out a cryptogram activity for museum visitors.
• visited the Mutter Museum on an intern field trip. (The curator gave us a tour and took us behind the scenes!)
• eaten many a lunch outside in the Rosenbach's garden.

All said, I love my internship! The staff is fantastic, and every day I'm learning something new.

Can You Hear Me Now..........?

I cannot believe how fast this summer is going by and that I am into the recording stage of my audio tour. Last week Mike, my supervisor and Executive Director at the New Castle Historical Society, and I made some final edits to the test script for the audio tour.

While the final version of the tour will be more complex and with a variety of narrators, Mike and I decided that recording a test version would be best for a number of reasons.

1. I really want to see as much of the process of creating an audio tour as possible, which encompasses: research, writing the script, recording, trying the tour with a test group, editing/ reformatting the tour as necessary, and then re-recording.

2. It's summertime, and it will be difficult to schedule the different people in the time that remains for my internship, so me recording just myself is much faster.

3. Having a test version is invaluable so that the test group can really get the feel of an audio tour, which is much different than fact-checking the script. Using this version we can check the directions, determine if there is a lull in the tour, and where to cut out information.

So for this week, the kitchen table of my apartment has been turned into a makeshift recording studio. I chose my apartment because it is a quiet environment and essentially an isolated location in which to work. We could have set up in one of the rooms at the historical society, but I knew it could be more difficult to get work done, since there is always an interesting distraction going on or people moving in and out of the museum.

Podcasting Station

In terms of equipment I am using the software Audacity, which is an open source editing and recording software. While there are many different kinds of software, I am familiar with Audacity and its usability and Free nature makes it and ideal tool. In terms of other equipment, I am using a Behringer Podcast Studio which is essentially an a full recording studio in a box, with a microphone, headphones, and mixer (which lets you control the recording levels). These sets are relatively inexpensive, but I was able to borrow the equipment from University of Delaware's History Media Center. Don't let the equipment intimidate you though, the possibilities are endless for this type of project, and recording can really be done with any sort of microphone or tape recorder.

Screen Shots of Audacity Software

So what is the recording experience like? A LOT of work!! Even though the finished product will probably be under 2 hours (we know we need to cut out some information, but cannot decide what!), recording and editing takes much longer. Once you get used to talking to yourself in an empty room to a computer screen, you have to keep in mind varying your voice, talking at a relatively slow speed and not tripping over your own words. You find that some of your elaborate and fact filled sentences look great on paper, but result in complete tongue-tied-ness when speaking out loud. I have also discovered that the human voice, or at least mine can only handle about a half day of continuous speaking before it gets tired, so I try to balance out recording and editing. Editing is a fun process, but can also be time consuming, depending on how long the section or how many mistakes I have to edit out.

With fingers crossed, my goal is to have all of the tracks recorded, edited, and exported in an MP3 format by the end of the week so that next week we can have people start testing it. I am finding that this is an ambitious deadline, but I want it to be available to test as soon as possible, so I have a few long days in store this week.

If you would like to be involved in testing, get in touch with us at the Historical Society, we would love to have as many people as possible!!

Photo Credits: Jesse Gagnon

Wilmington: “A Place To Be Somebody”

Greetings to one and all!

You might think that it's a bit late in the game to be introducing myself on this blog, but I actually just started my internship with the Delaware Humanities Forum on Monday. (For the first five weeks of the summer I was teaching a history course at UD.) The DHF promotes the humanities by connecting the people of Delaware with humanities specialists and creating a network of civic, educational and cultural institutions. The organization provides a variety of resources, including grants to nonprofit organizations and public programs, and is supported principally by an annual grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This summer I'll be working on creating a walking tour of Wilmington, the largest city in Delaware. We're not sure yet what the final product will be but we do know that we want to help people who spend time in Wilmington discover the city's history and cultural heritage. Our goal is to reach out to residents and weekday workers as well as tourists.

When I first discussed the project with DHF director Marilyn Whittington, we envisioned a tour that would focus on Wilmington's monuments and memorials. Monuments exist to commemorate the people and events that we consider (or once considered) significant for understanding our identity. Yet often we become so used to monuments as fixtures on our landscape that we don't even think about who or what they represent. How many times have you walked past a statue without noticing it? If someone stopped and asked you who it depicted, you might be able to say, "Oh, that's so-and-so." But could you explain what "so-and-so" did to be memorialized in such a way? Organizations and individuals in Wilmington have already created a landscape of memory with monuments, plaques, and street names. The purpose of the tour is to direct our attention to these memorials and deepen our understanding of the place that is Wilmington.

As I develop the tour, I would like to use this blog to introduce you to some of the city's monuments. Perhaps more than any other monument, the equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney (above) symbolizes Wilmington. Dedicated on July 4, 1923, the statue was designed by New York sculptor James Edward Kelly. The statue is somewhat unique in that it depicts the horse in full gallop, with its two front legs in the air. To balance the figure, Kelly heavily weighted the horse's tail and placed Rodney slightly to the rear of the horse's forward rear hoof. The overall effect is one of motion. Unlike most other equestrian statues, the monument does not celebrate the accomplishments of a general, king, or president, but rather an event: Rodney's ride from Dover to Philadelphia to cast Delaware's vote for the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The historical record calls into question the accuracy of this account. Rather than galloping into Philadelphia at the last minute, Rodney may have been there for several days prior to July 4. Moreover, he may not have arrived there on horseback at all. The goal of the patriotic group of citizens who erected the statue was not to realistically depict the event, but rather to celebrate the critical role that their state played in the founding of America. As Delaware poet George Alfred Townsend wrote, "Here this day is made a nation, By the help of Delaware."

At this point, I'm still settling into the office and getting acquainted with Wilmington. Although I've lived in Delaware for three years now, I haven't spent that much time in the city. I'm enjoying discovering its history on walks and in books. I am also very excited about the prospect of collaborating with many longtime advocates of the city's history, including the generous staff of the Delaware Historical Society. It is very clear that many people are interested in rejuvenating Wilmington and ensuring its future as "A Place to Be Somebody."

As a Massachusetts native, I'm not as familiar with this area as many of you may be. So here are two questions for you:

1. What would you like to see included on a tour of Wilmington?


2. What format do you think would be best for encouraging people to take the tour? A website? Printed map?

I looking forward to sharing more as my internship experience continues.

Best, Anne

For further reading: Robert T. Silver, Outdoor Sculpture in Wilmington (Wilmington Arts Commission, 1987)

Photograph Credit: Anne Reilly

My Photos Are So Delicious You Can EAT Them!

Hello out there museum and art enthusiasts! Sorry for the hiatus! I was so busy helping put up the artwork and sorting out the artists the last week and in Wisconsin over the 4^th of July—I just plain forgot.

But hey, great news: the Arts Alliance accepted not just one but TWO of my photos to display in their Annual Member’s Show! Although they do accept one piece from every member who submits artwork, it’s generally very special to have two pieces selected. So I know you’re all DYING to find out what they look like:

The first is a shot of raspberries from my garden at home in WI and the second is a shot of some bandaged cheddar that I used to sell as a cheesemonger (also back in WI).

Both of those are the actual photos taken by me! (I took a shot of the pictures hanging in the gallery but they had too much reflection so I thought it'd be better to just post the originals.)

When it comes to photography, and practically everything else in my life, food is priority numero uno!

Here are some other shots of the other member’s artwork. I would say that we have some pretty talented people around this place.

So in other news, I have currently been spending most of my time working on two sources of funding. The first is a letter to The Wilmington Flower Market. And the second is a letter to The Brandywiners. We have received funding from both of these places in the past so hopefully my carefully worded letters will strike a chord with them in the form of loosening their purse strings!

Both of these organizations are really interesting because they support completely different types of arts and culture programs. The Wilmington Flower Market is a group of women in the Wilmington area who organize a huge fair every year during Mother's Day weekend to raise money specifically for programs that benefit children. The Brandywiners support local performing arts groups. Since we qualify as both of these types of programs, I hope that applying for their grants will be fruitful.

We are looking for grants mostly to support our Camp Imagine program. It's a two-week arts program for kids aged 7-12 with both traditional art projects along with dancing, singing, and even yoga! The great thing about Camp Imagine is that kids can get scholarships that covers almost the entire tuition if their families are low-income. This is a great opportunity for kids who might not have positive role models or places to go in the summer.

One side note/reflection: something I'm beginning to learn is that my rhetoric training is starting to come in handy writing all of these letters. The key thing is to really do your research for all of these grants. The more you know about what they prefer to fund, the more you can angle your proposal to fit their requirements. It's a surprising amount of work but I think that my experience here is really going to benefit me in the long run. Unlike a lot of the sciences, humanities majors like myself find themselves short of funding much of the time. The current economic climate also changes the approach. Funders prefer to give money to organizations that are already financially stable. Paradoxical as this may seem, it makes sense to them to see that they are supporting something the community already values. All in all, I'm glad that Terry is helping me along with all of this stuff and giving me tips on all the whats, whys, and hows of grantwriting. I may not be doing archaeology but I do feel good that I am helping the NAA find more support so that it can go on providing the awesome programs and classes that Newarkers love so much!

Archaeology for a Day?! --Don't Mind if I Do....

One of the great things about working at a local historical society is that there is always something new going on. For the last two weeks, the Dutch House, one of the museums that the New Castle Historical Society operates, was the home of an archaeological dig. While the Dutch House has two garden areas, one is about to be turned into a Delaware native plant garden. The planting of trees and shrubs will potentially disturb any existing archaeological sites as their roots penetrate the landscape. For this reason, now seemed as good a time as any to begin this type of project.

The Dutch House (back view)

While NCHS has conducted some archaeological research at the Amstel House where their offices are located, this was the first time any digging occurred at the Dutch House. For the past two weeks a team of archaeologists from John Milner Associates, Inc were on site aided by a number of volunteers from the community. I was lucky enough to take a break from my tour writing to volunteer one day. And what a blast is was!

Ground Penetrating Radar (commonly referred to as GPR), historical surveys, and maps were used to give the archaeologists some idea of where there may be anomalies beneath the surface and where earlier structures existed. Most of the excavations entailed creating 2.5' by 2.5' test pits, or units, that were excavated layer by layer. In each layer the dirt was sifted and we put any objects we found into plastic bags with a specific description of which unit and at what layer it was found. Without this information the objects have no context, and would therefore be near useless. Among the activities I got to participate in included sifting dirt, picking out objects, cleaning the objects, and then re-bagging them to be taken back to the lab to be processed later.

The Dig Site

Many of the excavation sites turned out to be at least 3 feet deep if not more, much deeper than the archaeologists were expecting, and in one unit it was more that 5 feet before the eighteenth century surface was reached. These excavations suggest that the New Castle landscape, which is today rather level, was most likely much more varied in elevation.

Amy, one of the Archaeologist working on one of the units.

In terms of objects, I was amazed by the variation and amount of material found in just 10 test pits, a small fraction of the garden's total size. Many of the objects included pottery shards, including a piece of Borderware, which may date to the seventeenth century; glass pieces; nails and other metal ware, clay marbles, buttons, and a thimble. In what is believed to be a trash pit, a near in-tact mineral water bottle from Wilmington was unearthed. This trash pit also produced a number of larger pieces of pottery.

Jen, another archaeologist working on the trash pit, which you can see was expanded past the 2.5' by 2.5' size typically excavated

Excavating the mineral water bottle in the trash pit.

It was an interesting diversion, but my tour is also well on its way as my internship moves into its final weeks. The script is almost finished and I will soon begin recording a test version of the tour. This version will be used on a test group to find out what people like and dislike about the tour, as well as a time for final fact-checking with a group familiar with New Castle's history. While I am rather nervous about being the voice behind the audio tour for this test version, the plan is for the final recording to have a cast of characters to narrate the different histories, stories, and primary source excerpts. So stay tuned!!

** All these photographs were taken by me!

Happy 235th Birthday Home of the Red, White, and Blue!!

Today I am back at work at the New Castle Historical Society after a nice and refreshing weekend celebrating Independence Day. It seemed appropriate to blog on this first day of the workweek because Independence and the Revolutionary War play such an integral part in the history of New Castle, some of which I want to share with you today.

On June 15, 1776 the Delaware General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Delaware was fighting in the American Revolution. Today every June on the first Saturday Delaware and particularly New Castle celebrate Separation Day in honor of Delaware being the first state to separate from England.

Delaware was home of three signers of the Declaration of Independence: Thomas McKean, Caesar Rodney, and George Read I. In perhaps one of the most famous events in Delaware's history, Caesar Rodney rushed to Philadelphia in July of 1776 in time to break the deadlock in Delaware's vote for Independence, because George Read voted against it during the July 2nd vote. While Read was a leading opponent to British taxes, he was worried that Delaware was not quite ready to separate from England. Nevertheless, once the decision to declare independence was made, Read also signed the document.

(George Read I)

In New Castle, George Read is perhaps most revered for being a signer of all three great state papers: the Olive Branch Petition of 1775, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of 1787. Read was incredibly influential in convincing Delaware's leaders to adopt the Constitution, and Delaware became the First State by approving the Constitution on December 7, 1787, a designation Delaware holds onto proudly even today.

This is just one story that I am working into my tour as the summer progresses. Sometimes there is a tendency to emphasize the Revolutionary and Federal periods while discussing the town because they are perhaps the most recognized by visitors. But the town has so much more history, 235 years worth in fact. In addition, it is important to see the shades of gray in every story, like that of George Read I who was conflicted regarding whether he was making the right decision or not, and what the outcome would be.

Sources:

1. Image from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeorgeRead.gif

2. Fradin, Denis Brindell. The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence. New York: Walker & Company, 2002.

Inside the Archives: Files, Ledgers, and…Darkness?

Hi everyone! I am back to detail another week of working in the archives.

Last week I shared with you the agenda for the summer. Just to recap: I will be weeding out files and documents that Auburn Heights will then discard. I will be pulling out documents to scan, I will construct a temporary finding aid, and will analyze the files to find ways in which they are useful historically and for research purposes, amongst other things.

The process is in full swing! I have started the procedure of weeding out files. Even though various documents will be disposed, I still keep track of them. I developed a master file that includes all the files, ledgers, and document, plus their location within the room. I have another list that includes documents that I am pulling out for scanning, and yet another list that include files and documents that the repository will eventually discard.

So far, I have pulled out many ledgers, which will go out for scanning. The ledgers date from the 20^th& 21^stcentury, as early as the 1920s. It’s incredible to see documents that have such age and history on them. I have to be careful when handling these ledgers, both for my sake and for the ledgers’ sake. The ledgers are old and worn, the binding on some are starting to fall apart, the pages of others are brittle and fragile, and some are growing mold. So, care must be taken.

My experience thus far within the world of archives has been filled with discovery and adventure. I have stumbled upon a bird’s nest and have spotted a herring. This week proved no exception. However, this week was not as spectacular. For five minutes, I was thrown in complete darkness. I could not make heads or tails of anything and could not see my hands outstretched in front of me as I blindly made my way out of the room, searching for a source of light. The power had gone off! Luckily, it didn’t last long and I was able to get back to work! I’m all for adventures, but hopefully no more of ones where I’m plunged into absolute darkness!

Retz

Catalogs, Photographs and InDesign. Oh My!

I can’t believe my time at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts is almost half way over! After spending the first two weeks of my internship completely engrossed in the catalog for the DCCA’s first satellite show, Young Country, I thought that sending the raw materials to the publisher meant that our part was complete, but boy was I wrong! Once the designer was finished working his magic he sent the PDF back to us and everyone in the office got a copy and we all went over the catalog with a fine-toothed comb making sure that everything was perfect. I’ve learned about aspects of Adobe Reader that I never knew existed!

Now that the Young Country catalog has officially gone to press, my duties have shifted back to the everyday duties of a curatorial assistant. My big project has been to organize files on the DCCA server. There’s a lot of redundancy in the computer system, so it has been my responsibility to restore order and clear out duplicate files.

Another of my tasks related to the computer has been resizing installation shots of the exhibitions at the DCCA. One of our generous board members comes in at the beginning of every exhibition and takes photos of the work in the galleries. The shots he takes are beautiful, high resolution .tif images, which if I placed on our internal server would take up all the space we have, so it has been my job to resize the images and file them away in their respective artist’s files. While doing this, I noticed that not all of the installation shots from previous shows had not been resized before they were filed away, so I am now going through and resizing all the images from the past six years of installations. It's a daunting task, but something I enjoy doing.

Also during the past two weeks I have dusted off my InDesign skills and created Call For Entries for both the upcoming MFA Biennial and the 2013 Member’s Solo Shows. I have also been doing a lot of research on curatorial practices and theories as well as artists who use social media as a basis for their artwork. It’s really exciting to see first hand how popular culture affects the art scene. Next year the DCCA will be having an exhibition dedicated to social media’s influence on contemporary art.

DCCA Summer Art Camp 2011: Explore, Imagine, Create started this week and even though I’m not directly involved in that aspect of the museum, I cannot wait for the end of the week showcase where the children will present the projects they have been working on all week.

Money, Money, Money, Monayyyyy, Money!

After a week-long hiatus and a trip back to my hometown in Wisconsin, I have returned to the NAA to continue my work. Unfortunately, however, this post will be mostly sans pictures as I have been spending much of my time working on collecting information for grant opportunities.

The Newark Arts Alliance, Inc. is funded partially by the Delaware Division of the Arts, sales from the member and exhibition gallery, membership dues, and donations. But a big part of their funding also comes from grants being that they are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. What this means is that every year, the Alliance must apply for grants to fund its programs such as Camp Imagine (an arts camp providing scholarships making participation virtually free for underprivileged youth), Art to Go (a program that brings art projects to at-risk youth in the community) and various other events such as Drum Circle and Poetry Readings.

So basically, what this means is that I, as an intern, am charged with the task of researching various funders for grants so that the Alliance can keep paying the bills and rent every month!

What I have found is this wonderful opportunity through the Delaware Valley Grantmakers. Through its common application form, the DVG allows non-profit orgs to apply for various grants from different funders without having to deal with the hassle of figuring out the requirements for each specific grant. It really streamlines the process and although I still have to make sure they accept the general cover letter and various attachments, for the most part, it makes my job much easier. I have already identified 4 funders who provide grants for which we are eligible. My next task is researching the ins and outs of applying for grants so that I can write something cogent and persuasive to each of the funders.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, I'd like to include some pictures from the Garden Tour 2011 which was held on June 11. We sold over 70 tickets and it was a hit!! Check it out:

This is a bench artfully created as a seat for Garden Tour participants to take a relaxing break from their stroll

Lori, one of the gardeners, poses for a candid shot in her garden.


There were even art and plant sales at the Garden Tour! People could purchase plants and art to decorate their own homes.
One of the ponds full of carp on the Garden Tour. So relaxing to sit next to the running water!!


Next, we have a Members Only Exhibit coming up next week. Starting this weekend, members of the Newark Arts Alliance can drop off art pieces and they will be juried into the show for next week. On July 8th, there will be a reception with all of the artists/members whose work will be displayed.

Call me crazy, but working here at the Alliance has really inspired me. I plan to submit a piece of my own this weekend and see if it's accepted into the show. I won't be bitter if it's not, there is some serious competition around this place and some really talented artists. Tune back next week to find out if they choose my work and a preview of the rest of the show!!