Delaware Humanities Forum: If the Place Could Talk: Researching the History of an Old House or Building

This is a new program that is available from the Delaware Humanities Forum

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Just as families have a past, old houses and the land they are built on have histories.  This practical lecture is designed to show you how to uncover that past and answer questions such as when was the structure built, who lived in it, how has it changed over time, and what are its stories.  The discussion centers on implementing an organized research process, what records are available, where to look for documents, and interpreting the findings.  The discussion concludes by presenting suggestions for creating a history of an old house.  If you know where to look, you may find the clues to the past.

New Program Available From Delaware Humanities: Cause for Alarm

This is a new program that is available through the Delaware Humanities Forum

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Delaware, a state with many densely packed communities filled with old, wooden structures, has seen its share of tragic fires and conflagrations. This grave threat to public safety, from the beginning of colonization, caused people to enact regulations and form fire departments.   This story of firefighting provides an overview of what fire has done to our towns and cities as we rebuilt, implemented new laws, and organized more effective fire protection forces.   The lecture is loaded with stories describing how places throughout the state bravely confronted the “fire fiend” when the dreaded “fire bell in the night” called people them from the slumbers.

Meeting With the President of American Heritage to Discuss New Digital Age Products

Last week I meet with the president and editor-in-chief of American Heritage Magazine, Edwin S. Grosvenor.  This venerable old publication was created by the American Association for State and Local History in 1949 and its long time editor was the award winning historian, Bruce Catton.

When it was launched it sought to apply the methods of journalism to the discipline of history. Over the years it won many national awards. The publication was eagerly sought out and was so valued in many household that people maintained full collections of the serial. But the new media market in the 21st century has presented respected old publications such as American Heritage with many challenges.

As the market shifted, the corporation tried moving away from its roots, publishing popular history pieces. In 2007, it suspended publication and was sold by its owners, the Forbes Publishing Company. But it’s back as a quarterly in its fine original form while also focusing on emerging new digital age markets. That’s why I met with Mr. Grosevnor. We discussed some a state-of-the-art initiatives that he’s working on that will help Maryland institutions meet patron expectations and reach out to new audiences. Excellent material in the product development pipeline, that will help us reach out. Look for more information in the year ahead.

Helping Cab Calloway Summer School Students Explore Mass Media

I just finished working with an engaged group of young people at the Cab Calloway Summer School for the Arts.  The progra was designed to introduce these scholars to old media, which was largley new to them. “This Just In: When Radio & Television Came of Age” was fun to do as they listened to and analyzed old radio and Televison broadcasts and talked about what media means for them today.  It’s the era of Ipods, texting, podcasts, Youtube, streaming,  and much more for these 21st Century young people. They grasped how central this old media was as a powerful communication medium that shaped so much of our society. For the earlier generation, mass media was broadcast television, newspapers, and radios but as these teenagers moved through their studies mass media is going to be Google.   Cab Calloway is a great school with lots of scholars learning by doing as they look at things holistically.  This program was sponsored by the Delaware Humanities Forum.