In York, PA an active community of bloggers share stories about the past and Jim McClure, a York Daily Record columnist, has written about the transformations associated with these and other web 2.0 products.
Here are some of Jim’s observations:
“For the past 75 years, those doing York-area history were a successive handful of serious-minded, well-intentioned scholars who wrote some, but mostly spoke and gathered research about our past. Others doing history navigated their ideas and research through this filter. With the Web, what some call the democratization of information is playing out, and York County’s longtime vertical world of historical research has flattened out”
“The Web offers a wide open opportunity for other historical, cultural and community groups. Many are struggling to retain membership and gain an audience at their museums . . . “
“People gather virtually in this digital space to exchange information about their diverse local history interests.
The article mentions Blake Stough’s preservingyork.com website as a prime examples of a site that is providing engaging content while growing a “virtual community.”
The Dover Green is an ideal spot for a history lab, a place to better understand Delaware’s past.
June 22, 2013 – For a Wilmington University history lab our class ventured down to the Dover Green for some outdoor, experiential learning offered by the First State Heritage Park and the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. In the course of over an hour on this beautiful June day, we strolled around the Dover Green as a knowledgeable interpreter, Chelsea, presented the “Slavery and Freedom Walking Tour.”
Our period attired guide talked about Delaware’s complicated position regarding freedom and slavery and the role of the First State during the Civil War and we were caught up in the lively program. Along the way, we also examined the story of brave runaway slaves and how they made daring escapes.
After our walk in the urban park without boundaries linked historical sites to the subjects we are examining in the course, we’d stepped inside the old Delaware State House. Almost as if the passage through that big door had represented a time machine, our group was in an earlier century as another educator, Gavin, shared additional stories about manumission and freedom.
Since the First State Heritage Park was organized as a state park in 2004, I’ve attended many of their programs. They are always excellent, the staff is knowledgeable, and the programs are thoroughly researched. These are some of the finest productions in the mid-Atlantic and it’s the type of learning opportunity one would expect to find in Williamsburg. But that trip isn’t necessary as it’s provided for us right here in Dover and it is Delaware’s story.
It’s a great way to present engaging history lessons. The agencies involved are to be congratulated for producing these most instructive programs and offering them in lively ways that encourage participation. The park without boundaries is a great asset. It does a fine job with a superb staff as they link the history and culture of the place that is the capital of the First State.
Also thank you Chelsea and Gavin for providing some experiential learning during our history lab. You present a complicated historical narrative in an informative and engaging ways as you relate to your audience.
Chelsea, a First State Heritage Park guide, talks to the group about the Delaware narrative.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia has a number of helpful research repositories for those studying the past and one of those is the Eastern Shore Public Library. It’s about halfway down the Peninsula, between the State Line and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, in the county seat town of Accomac. This regional system, serving Accomack and Northampton counties, has a strong local history research collection.
Over the decades I have stopped there a few times to use the Eastern Shore Room and as I spent part of a day working there this past week I was reminded of the value of this public institution. The headquarters library has the largest group of the Shore’s published works in any public repository. In addition there are strong, easily accessible holdings of newspapers on microfilm. The published titles originated in Accomac, Cape Charles, Chincoteague, Eastville, Exmore, Onancock, Onley, and Tasley. Couple these resources and the microfilm reels of court records with the extremely knowledgeable staff and you have the perfect place for someone inquiring about regional genealogy or history to do a little digging in the sources.
The Lighthouse & Keeper’s House at Taylor’s Bridge. Source: Delaware Public Archives, George Caley Postcard Collection
The Delaware Public Archives, a special collections institution that provides outstanding leadership in creating digital products to support the study of First State heritage, has just launched another valuable resource. It is the George Luther Caley Postcard Collection, a group of almost 7,000 twentieth century images of the State and Delmarva.
George, a Smyrna resident, was a well-known genealogist, author and local historian and an avid postcard collector. During his life-time, he assembled this valuable assortment of Delaware and Delmarva images. When he passed away in 2005, his wife generously donated the photos to the Delaware Public Archives. Now the professionals at this fine repository have made those images available to researchers on the World Wide Web.
Picture postcards caught on about 1906 and remained popular, sought after items throughout the 20th century. Itinerant photographers traveled the area, from the Peninsula’s wide spots in the road to the larger towns, snapping up pictures of just about everything to supply the market. When people vacationed, they mailed those tiny items back home. Or when someone from Delaware corresponded with far away friends, they exchanged picture postcards of their towns. Toward the end of the 20th century the items that had been stored away in trunks decades earlier started coming out of attics. Those tiny pieces of cardboard became valuable, sought-after collectibles as local history enthusiasts snapped up the historical pictures of the region, many of them nearly 100-years old.
Now thanks to Mrs. Caley and the Delaware Public Archives this valuable collection has been carefully preserved and it is available to a wide audience.
