Fall Fest A Success!

Another shot of Andrea and Cagney, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

A few weeks ago I wrote about getting ready for Fall Fest at the Delaware Historical Society….and then I didn’t write anything about how the event went. Well….shame on me!

It was a GREAT event. We got lucky because it didn’t rain, it was sunny, and it wasn’t too warm. (In fact, it rained the five Saturdays before Fall Fest and the Saturday after Fall Fest too! Like I said…lucky!)

Overall we had about 500 people visit the Delaware History Museum, the activities that we organized, and the community groups who came out for the event.

 

 

This year we had two different areas with kid’s activities where they could aim a nerf bow and arrow into a target, play a duck bean bag toss, pick a rubber ducky (or crab) in our duck pond, color a picture, try their hand at fishing, and make a duck call out of a straw. (The straw duck call and the nerf bow and arrow were by far the most popular kid’s activities.) We also had a storytime…and don’t forget about Lucy the Whale. Lucy survived the day and was a hit – about 200 people visited her and learned about our very special Fin Whale. (I must say – she looked so tiny when she was outside on Market St.)

 

We had some great music by the Whirled Peas. And several community organizations came out including – the Red Cross, the Delaware Museum of Natural History, The Brandywine Zoo, The Delaware Nature Society, East Coast Search and Rescue, and the New-Del-Pen Newfoundland Club. (The picture above is me and Cagney – the Newfoundland who attended the event.)

Overall, it was nice to see the entire staff coming together to pull everything off! I truly appreciated all of their efforts!

Check out all of the Fall Fest pictures on Flickr or on our Delaware Historical Society Facebook page. Have you own pictures? We would love to upload them and add them to the albums!!!!

Until 11:45 Next, Andrea

An Intern’s Work is Never Done….

Meaghan prepares wash house for November and December school programs., originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

I can’t believe that this semester is half way over already! With all the excitement here at the Read House, time has been flying by so quickly. There have been so many things for me to get involved with between research, cleaning, moving collections back and forth, and just talking with everyone here about the changes underway at the house.

I know more about windows than I thought I would ever need to know, and I could tell you which type of duster to use for finished wood and which type for unfinished wood. While this all seems like arbitrary information, it comes in handy actually working with the objects in the house. It’s great to be able to take everything that I’ve been learning in my classes and see how they can relate to actual real world experiences.

There is so much more that goes into planning and maintaining a historic house than I would have imagined. While I’ve worked as a tour guide before, I am seeing all the behind the scenes aspects of interpreting the stories that are a part of the tours. That’s really what I’ve been exposed to more than anything. I’m learning how museums go about interpreting the past and connecting it to the present. This includes interaction with the community and responding to the needs and interests of visitors.

Every day there is a new project to get involved in, or an event going on to sit in on. Last month I had the opportunity to sit in on a staff meeting and learn about (and be completely overwhelmed by) the new cataloging system which is going to make the collections of the Delaware Historic Society more accessible to the public. I also joined up with a class of college students from Wesley University that came to visit. They were concentrating on professions in the field of history—which is pretty relevant, as I’m graduating with a history degree from the University of Delaware in the spring, and should start thinking about what I’m going to do next year.

I guess to sum it up, my experience so far has taught me a few things. On the surface I am learning how to care for historic pieces: how to clean them, how to handle them, etc. More importantly, however, everything that visitors see when they visit a museum or historic house is there for a reason. Historians interpret the past and in museums, they tell this story through objects. While scholars may write an article about family relationships at the turn of the nineteenth century, museums can give a sense of family through the placement of books and globes around a table, as in the Read House. There are countless stories that could be told, and so museums interact with the public to tell the ones that are most relevant to the community.

I am glad to be a part of this interaction and I am looking forward to the second half of my stay here.

Meaghan O’Connor
Material Culture Studies Intern

A Robin’s View of Putting the Garden to Bed

Bird’s Eye View of Flower Garden from Scaffold Perch, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

From a bird’s eye view at 11:45 Saturday morning in the Read House garden three women walked the pathways below chattering away like bluejays while one made periodic notes.

They were preparing, it seemed, for a day spent putting the flower garden to bed for the winter, but also looking forward to the late winter and pruning in the park and kitchen garden sections. At noon the women disappeared into the basement of the big house to fortify their willing volunteers with soup and cake and discuss the hidden meanings of flowers and future steps for the Read House garden.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

By 2:00 the Delaware Historical Society volunteers and organizers returned to the garden and much to this bird’s chagrin began to cut back all the perennials in the flower beds and even dig out the dahlia bulbs in the center boxwood basket. Only the canna lilies still in bloom were left alone. What’s a bird to do for food?

Leaves from the trees on the property are being gathered in the park section of the garden and will soon be spread atop the flower beds to insulate the perennials over the winter—lucky plants!

In the back section of the garden a group of men trimmed limbs from a few trees. From what I could see in my perch in the mulberry tree, some bottom limbs were trimmed back from the lilac bushes below. One of the “bluejays” helped a man determine where to cut a dead limb out of one of the old quinces, and the fig tree was trimmed back below the sheltering brick wall beside it.

Luckily my habitat in the tree and shrub-filled park and kitchen garden sections was not altered too much this time around. There will be some berries to eat if I decide to winter over. But I know they’ll be back to target the shrubs and trees in the late winter. Hopefully they’ll take pity on this poor bird!

Until next year…
The Robin (with help from Michele)

A Whale of Tale!

Lucy the Whale, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

Wow – we’re busy this week. Two blog posts in one day! (Sometimes that seems that we have so much to write about while other weeks….well….)

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

This week I’ve super busy getting ready for Fall Fest. It’s a free city family event that takes place along Market Street – the 400 through the 800 blocks. There will be a lot going on and we’re excited about participating.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Our theme this year is water and water safety. It all relates back to the exhibit at the Delaware History Musuem, Whales, Weirs, and Waterfowl. I’ve spend my week making bean bag tosses, duck ponds, and fishing games. However, I think (if I do say so myself) that the best part of Fall Fest is going to be Lucy the Giant Whale!

I found out about Lucy through a Twitter friend who tweeted out the website of where to order instructions. (She’s part of the curriculum materials developed by Whale Net at Wheelock College. http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/LucyPage.html and the Mingan Island Cetacean Study) I thought she was awesome and asked if we could make her for Fall Fest. (After all – the first part of our exhibit title is Whales).

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

I ordered the instructions (MICS was so good about sending them to me ASAP). I bought the materials over the weekend and we began constructing Lucy on Tuesday. Now – I have to say – in my line of work at the Delaware Historical Society, I don’t often have the opportunity to learn about whales or use the metric system. I’m ashamed to say this BUT…the first two hours of my whale building adventure consisted of trying to re-learn the metric system. (I did know it once upon a time…maybe in 7th grade science.) It also took some head scratching to decipher (and remember) Dorsal Side, Ventral Side, peduncle, flukes, anterior side (head), and posterior side (okay…I knew what that was)!

With a lot of help (five people helping me out) and a lot of jokes along the way – like lots of Jonah and the Whale/Jonas brothers quips (trust me they all related after being at whale building for 5 hours strait), jokes about being able to “add giant” whale to our resumes, and one guide asking if my master’s in history prepare me for this – we managed to build our giant whale. We only had two slight mishaps along the way (like building the head incorrectly the first time and having Lucy “pop” when we first tried to inflate her.) Now that she’s done. I have to say this…SHE’S AWESOME! She’s huge to look at from the outside (I really never knew that whales were that big), but the best part is when you go inside. Yes – you can really go inside!!!

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

I wouldn’t have been able to do it without help so I’m very grateful for everyone who put to good use their out of practice crawling muscles, risked slipping on giant sheets of plastic, unrolled piece after piece of tape, and stayed late with me to finish her up. These pictures simply don’t do her justice so I hope you’ll come out on Saturday (it’s supposed to be a beautiful day) for the Fall Fest. It’s from 11:00-4:00. Lucy the whale will be in the 500 block of Market St. at the Delaware Historical Society.

Now – onto making duck calls out of plastic straws!

Until 11:45 Next,
Andrea

Fall Fest Preparations

Chris and Curtis Ready to Play Duck Hunt, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

The staff and volunteers of the Delaware Historical Society are busy this week preparing for the City of Wilmington’s Fall Fest this Saturday. Yesterday the Howard School of Technology Service Learning students, Chris and Curtis helped paint boxes for a bean bag toss. They also tried the nerf “duck shoot.” We made the game pretty difficult, Curtis succeeded after 12 attempts- can you beat that? The object is to shoot through the holes next to the sitting ducks. We just didn’t have the heart to shoot a duck! We are soft, animal loving people through and through! Hey- is that so bad?

Here are Curtis and Chris posing with the nerf guns- they loved the game we’re pretty sure you will too!

We’re also trying to construct Lucy, a 55’ long whale. Wish us luck- as Saturday draws near- we need your good wishes and Lucy’s cooperation. It’s hard to birth a 55’ whale- full grown and

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

made of plastic. Come down to the Society this Saturday- we’ll have live animals (not plastic, we promise) from the Brandywine Zoo, a table from the Delaware Natural History Museum, and many other attractions including Newfoundland dogs and rescue dogs. All that- and our smiling faces. We hope you’ll join us. It’s free!

For more about the City’s programs, check this out: http://www.downtownwilmington.com/Events/Downtown-Fall-Fest

Until next time,
Ellen

Pot Luck, Train Trips and Social Media…

Yesterday at 11:45  I pulled up to the Shipley Street side of the Delaware Historical Society to run in with my pot luck item for our staff lunch and to pick up my parking pass.  Our parking lot is occupied with scaffolding as the museum building (which sits next to the parking lot) is getting a partial new roof.  So, the staff is now scattered among a few parking lots in the neighborhood.  I was off the last part of last week and in these times of paying for parking, we do our best to share our spots.  My pass was used by a volunteer on Friday so I needed to get it back.

The library is open from 1:00-9:00pm on Mondays, except for once a month when the entire Society staff gathers at 12:00 for an all-staff meeting/lunch.  We regularly schedule pot-luck lunches as we have a fair number of good cooks and it is always nice to cook for others.  Any crankiness I might feel about having to head into work an hour early, (I covet my Monday morning free time) is usually quickly dispelled as our pot luck gatherings are usually relaxed and enjoyable meals and today’s lunch was just that.  Vegetarian chili, dips and cheeses with crackers, bean and corn salad, tomato pie, potato salad, carrot cake and cookies to give you a hint…yummm.

At the lunch meetings, the different staff teams take turns updating the rest of the staff about upcoming programs/projects/etc.  Today we heard from the development, marketing and membership team.  Greg Coin, the head of the team is always percolating all sorts of things, so it is good to hear from him.  He brought us up to date about upcoming partnerships/promotions and programs relating to the railroad exhibit- the major exhibit scheduled for next year.  He then turned the meeting over to our social networking guru, Andrea, who presented a spiffy powerpoint presentation about Web 2.0 and social networking.  We at the Society have been on the blogging/twittering/flickring gig for almost a year, leaning heavily on Andrea the whole way, but most of the staff is just now working to get up to speed.  It was a great presentation and a few more of the staff now more fully understand the potential for the Society in utilizing/participating in the wave of interactive web activity.  Picture in your head a bunch of history-professionals, all over the age of 40 except one (there are more young ones- they happened not to be in attendance)with puzzled looks on their faces- trying to pretend we “get it!”

Every generation puts its stamp on the world.  The “gen y’s” have certainly made their mark already and it is dizzying to see all the potential that is out there for those who wish to participate.  But how do we get the word about the Society out to people who would want to know, especially if they don’t have a clue that they would like to know about our collections and our work?!!!  We’ve been grateful for a few pats-on-the-back along the way from you all- telling us you’ve read “Making History 11:45”  Today I learned from my parents who live nearly 1000 miles from Delaware and are in their 70s that occasionally they check in to see what’s happening!  Pretty cool!  Let us know what you like, want more of, would like to see.  We’re all ears (or should I say computer screens!!).  It’s been fun sharing some of the things that fill our days with you.

I’ve been working on a book project and ran across a broadside that I thought you’d like to see.  It was posted in Delaware City about 150 years ago and was encouraging citizens of the town to visit the traveling photographer to have their portrait taken.  Who knew then that photography wasn’t just a passing fad?!

I’ll be in touch-

Ellen

Historic Windows Workshop a Success!

 

Carpenter Displays Cast Iron Sash Weight, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

Twenty people, fifteen chairs, three tool benches, a video camera with tripod, and two monumental window sashes all in the space of one third of the Read House front parlor could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Fortunately, like our preservation project, our October 24 historic windows workshop was a well-choreographed success!

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

While two project carpenters demonstrated the removal of our south elevation front parlor window sashes, as well as various window components, the project manager talked through the process for an audience of fifteen. Both the project manager and the carpentry foreman provided suggestions for techniques and tools that minimize breakage of parts that must be removed to access the sashes and their counterbalancing weights. In addition, the project restoration architect provided helpful context about the Read House windows and window preservation, as well as fielding questions from the do-it-yourselfers in the audience.

Located within a National Historic Landmark district with seventeenth through early twentieth century homes extending for blocks around the Read House, we decided before applying for the Save America’s Treasures grant that we wanted to involve our neighbors in our preservation process. Therefore, we included in our grant application our ideas to keep our followers informed through frequent blog posts and preservation workshops. Much to our delight we have been able to partner with the New Castle Historical Society in our preservation programming as scheduled preservation work has also taken place at their Dutch and Amstel House museums.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Our preservation programs this year have included creating a historic home maintenance plan and a behind-the-scenes look at chimney and hearth restoration in the Amstel House kitchen. We hope to follow our latest window workshop with a session on storm windows at the Amstel House.

Until next time…
Michele

Exploring our Photographs

Driving Excursion ca, 1910, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

On days like today – I can safely say that I have the greatest job in the world! Where else would I be able to explore an absolutely outstanding photograph collection for images from the turn of the century? On days like today, I feel so lucky!

I was looking for images from the turn of the century because we recently formed a teacher advisory committee to give us input and advise on our education programs. (These teachers are a GREAT bunch! I’m very excited to work with them.) One thing they are going to do – is create lesson plans that relate to our educational offerings so we can distribute them via our teacher education list. We (the education staff at DHS) put together a sample lesson plan to give the teachers an example of what we’d like to see. The lesson plan is about using primary sources, specifically historic images, in the classroom. It was my job to find images to go along with the lesson!

Like I said – I’m lucky. I picked the turn of the 20th century because we have a brand new childhood program for this time period so I thought it would be nice to have a correlating lesson. I was in heaven searching through our photograph collection and I found some real treasures. (Below are some of my favorites.) I hope that these images will captivate children to explore history and this time period.

One of the activities in our historic image lesson plan is to draw a picture or describe what happens next.  I’m a hopeless romantic so my favorite of the bunch is the first in the post.  I think that this happy, smiling couple rides off into the sunset and live happily ever after! What do you think happens next for any of these pictures?  I’d love to hear from you!

Until 11:45 Next, Andrea

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Ah Nor’easters…need I elaborate?

Shiny New Copper Gutter, originally uploaded by Delaware Historical Society.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Despite rain, wind, and cold temperatures another busy week has passed at the Read House. Roofers joined the flurry of activity on site this week. They have begun installing new gutters and replacing flashing on all roof elevations. Meanwhile the masons have continued to remove and replace old window caulk on the back buildings of the house. Early in the week the carpenters concentrated their attention on repairs to the west elevation dormer window molding and detail. During the latter two rainy days they turned their attention inside and investigated areas of wood deterioration in one of our third floor north-facing window frames.

The third floor, however, is not the only area where we face wood deterioration. Overall, the old growth wood used to construct the Read House windows is in good condition, but on all elevations wood that has endured prolonged moisture and weathering has deteriorated. This is true on the interior as well as the exterior, where water has infiltrated or bricks have retained moisture over extended periods of time. Such was the case for the header of the third floor window and the lintel of a first floor window in the Laird dining room. These wood members located above Read House windows are very important because they carry the load of the brick above them so that a window can be located below. If unrepaired, their eventual failure could cause damage to the window below as well as the wall and structural elements above.

Image by Delaware Historical Society via Flickr

Repair to the third floor window header is straightforward. The carpenters have removed the window casing and also a portion of plaster above the casing to expose the window frame, fully investigate deterioration, and repair with steel reinforcement. The first floor Laird dining room window, however, is framed by fragile hand-painted wallpaper. Carpenters, masons, and architects have thus spent a week attempting to devise a plan to carry the load of at least four wythes (a continuous vertical section of masonry one unit in thickness) of brick while they examine and reinforce the lintel. Their calculations have included the possibility of removing a section of brick several feet wide, which could be more disruptive than accessing the lintel from the interior.

Thus, we are currently in the process of contacting a conservator to examine the wallpaper and offer an opinion regarding approaching the lintel repair project from the inside. Preservation of multiple materials in close proximity often provides challenges! In the meantime, much of the glassware has been removed from the room and the china cabinet closest to the window encased in a plywood box to protect these important collections pieces. Check back with us to see how we deal with this and other preservation challenges.

Until next time…

Michele

All Aboard for the Whistle Stop Tour!

Image via Wikipedia

It’s 11:45 and I just got off the telephone with the last piece of the promotional puzzle we’ve been working on for six weeks.  We’re calling it “All Aboard Delaware in 2010.”

In May of 2010, our Delaware History Museum will be opening an exhibition featuring the history of Delaware’s railroad industry – everything from the rail and wheel makers to the conductors and engineers.  It’s a great idea BUT how are we going to get people to see it?  Sure, people like to learn about trains, but they like to see and ride trains a lot more.

Our PR coordinator, MaryLynn, and I put our heads together.  First, we contact the Wilmington & Western Railroad – a tourist railroad in the suburbs that takes visitors through Delaware’s beautiful Chateau Country – then the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, where they display more than 100 historic rail cars and railroad memorabilia.  The three institutions each agree to offer $2 discounts as part of the All Aboard program and to jointly promote each other’s venues.  We call it “The Whistle Stop Trail” (is that cute or what?)!  And to encourage travelers to visit all three attractions on The Whistle Stop Trail, the names of people who visit all three will be entered into a drawing to win great prizes every week.  BUT what kind of prizes?  Better put our heads together again.

How about two free Amtrak tickets?  Great idea! Our next call is to the regional Amtrak community relations guy.  He’s interested, BUT “what does Amtrak get out of it?”  By now our heads are getting pretty bruised, but we put them together one more time. What if we put a discount package together to encourage visitors to come to Wilmington on Amtrak for The Whistle Stop Trail?  We’ve got some great hotels and they love the idea, BUT if visitors come to Wilmington by train, how are they going to get to the hotels that aren’t in walking distance – not to mention the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania that’s 44 miles away?  Wilmington only has 21 taxis – that’s seven per eight hour shift!  Once more, heads come together.

Hertz and Budget have offices near Amtrak station but they never return calls.  However, we’re nothing if not “enterprising” – Enterprise Rent-a-Car that is!  Sure enough MaryLynn visits one of the local offices and gets an immediate “buy in.”  BUT, they wonder, how are we going to get the word out to prospective visitors outside of Wilmington?  Ok heads – well you know the drill.  Let’s bring our regional convention and bureau on board as a partner and piggyback on their promotions.  A ten minute call at 11:05 am and we’ve got a 9th partner and the final piece of the  puzzle.  Now, onto our next exhibition…quilts.  HEADS!….

-Greg (Chief of Development)