Huzzah!

I got it! I got the job I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. What a wonderful relief. The position is part-time, but it's year-round, permanent, and pays well. I'm very happy to have it, particularly in this job market. Once I decide how much detail I'm going to share about the position, I'll update more!

In the meantime, here are some interesting news stories involving museums (from - surprise, surprise! - the NY Times):

• Museum Tours Go Online

• Museum Should Give Disneyana a Boost

• Museum Review: Ford's Theater Museum

• Cleveland Museum Returns Work to Italy
  

Good News on the Job Front?

It's within the realm of possibility. For most of the spring, I've been applying for both full- and part-time positions throughout New England. Because the economy is in such bad shape and so many museums have instituted hiring freezes, I knew this was going to be a hard time to get a job. I'd sent out many, many cover letters and resumes since January and had yet to score an interview.

Until last week. I met with an organization in Massachusetts about a part-time position coordinating museum education programs, and I think it went pretty well. I hope to find out within the next week or so. Fingers crossed!

More Hearth Cooking!

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I made cheese during my hearth cooking shift. A colleague had mentioned how to make it and wrote down the ingredients, so I had a go. And, surprisingly, it turned out pretty well.

The ingredients: whole milk, salt, lemon juice, and herbs from the kitchen garden. The equipment: kettle, fire, wooden spoon, and cheesecloth.

After adding the lemon juice to the warmed milk, it curdles. Then after letting it sit for awhile, I poured the already-separating mix through a cheesecloth.

The whey drained through into the bowl and the cheese stayed on top.

I took the cheese home and after letting it drain in the refrigerator for a day or so, seasoned it with the above herbs: sage, dill, and chive. Yum!

What I did at work last week

This, right here, people, is one of the reasons why I do what I do. Last week, I learned how to make Indian slapjacks on an open hearth at Strawbery Banke! I took some photos, so you can follow along at home.

Here we have the mixin's: equal parts wheat flour and corn meal (where the "Indian" in the title comes from, as that was the 18th century nickname for corn meal), two eggs, a cup & a half of milk, and a pinch or so of salt. We also have my Dunkin' Donuts coffee, poured into that brown ceramic mug to look more "period."

The mixin's, all mixed up. The consistency is something like pancake batter.

First slapjack on the "spider," a frying pan with legs so you can place burning coals underneath it. Actually, I think this is the third or fourth slapjack - the first one didn't look nearly this good!

And the finished product. These slapjacks were a bit bigger than the normal size, but on the whole, I was pretty happy with my first hearth cooking experiment! Stay tuned for more. :)

Break Out the Bubbly . . .

I'm celebrating my successful thesis defense. :)

This afternoon, I presented my thesis project to a committee of professors and museum professionals. I, and it, passed muster and I'm now officially a master!

The project is an online exhibit at the USS Constitution Museum, showcasing the letterbook of Rhode Island sailor Pardon Mawney Whipple, who served on Constitution from 1813-1815. There are a few changes I need to make before the exhibit officially launches, but I will be sure to post the link once it does.

In the meantime, if you live in New England, two of my dear friends recently opened brick-and-mortar exhibits. One is at the Tufts University Art Gallery, called "An Artist's Sense of Place: The Watercolors of Gertrude Beals Bourne (1868-1962)." It runs from May 7-August 2, 2009.

The other exhibit is at Rye Historical Society, called "Rye on the Rocks: Stories from 400 Years on the Land."The opening reception is May 22nd and the exhibit has no set closing date. Both exhibits are free to the public (though the Tufts gallery does ask for a suggested donation of $3). Be sure to check them both out!

Sites of Conscience

For class this past week, we read an article on the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and its work with differing factions in the New York City textile industry. I think that sometimes this kind of work - solving current problems through historical perpectives - can straddle a fine line between objectivity and bias. However, when it's done thoughtfully, it can also bring added value to a museum's community mission.

I also believe that black history is an area of local history with which Portsmouth (and many other New England cities and towns) struggles. Valerie Cunningham's work does not get enough attention, in my opinion. The Black Heritage Trail does not see as much foot traffic as it should. Sites like Rock Rest, the Pearl, and the house of the "black Whipples" do not get to tell their stories to most Seacoast visitors, even those seeking history. But important changes could be made. I wrote a paper last year about a potential change to one of the taverns at Strawbery Banke. Here's an excerpt:

Currently, Pitt Tavern is set up like a traditional colonial tavern. It has a small exhibit in one of its hallways and an interpreter during the self-guided season, but much more could be done to flesh out its history. An important and currently neglected element of Pitt’s history was the tavern owner John Stavers’ interactions with African-American slaves. Prior to his tavern keeping career, Stavers was taken to court in 1752 for beating the captain’s African servant on the Princess Dowager, a vessel on which he was Mate.

In his pre-Court St. days, he ran another tavern on State St, at which he and his wife hosted a slave auction in 1760 or 1761. In December of 1760, they advertised the upcoming sale: "To be sold...a few Negroes, lately imported in the snow Gen. Townshend...from the West Indies...at Stavers Tavern.” Later incidents included Staver’s slave Fortune running away, his slave James stealing from him, and his display of an “albino slave” at the State St. tavern in 1764. This last, I think, is the most poignant item.

To the museum’s credit, this is the only colonial tavern on display and they have therefore focused on that aspect of its interpretation. Stavers is certainly included in the exhibit, but not in a Thomas Carlyle, “Great Men” way. However, a more truthful exhibit would incorporate the identities and domestic tasks of James and Fortune, as well as confront the reality of Stavers’ relationship both with them and with other slaves with whom he came into contact. Perhaps an exhibit panel could be included detailing James and Fortune’s biographies (what we know of them) and what tasks they would have completed at the tavern.

In a more provocative, but still necessary vein, another panel could address the slave auction and display of the albino slave child. Valerie Cunningham, Director of the African American Resource Center and important historian of black Portsmouth, found the original advertisement (reproduced below). The line, “his Wool quite White, his Eyes and Noses most wonderful to see,” captures the exploitative element of the scenario well. Perhaps this line, paired with a photograph of either an albino slave or a Portsmouth slave, would suitably express the particulars of the situation to museum visitors.

To be seen at Mr. John Stavers's, A White Negro Boy About Nine Years old, born in Virginia, his Father and Mother both black, his Wool quite White, his Eyes and Noses most wonderful to see; price Six Shillings Old Tenor – may be seen any Hour from Six in the Morning, until Ten at Night. Any gentlemen or ladies, that have a desire to have him brought to their Houses, by applying to the Owner at the Sign of the Earl of Halifax, shall be duly attended on.

Zimmerman House

Last Wednesday, we carpooled to Manchester, took a shuttle bus from the Currier Museum of Art, and ended up here - at the Zimmerman House. The house was built in 1950 for Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in his distinctive Usonian style. Mrs. Zimmerman passed away in 1988 and, as the couple had intended, the house was donated to the Currier at that point.

We had a lovely tour with our professor (who was in charge of the house years ago) and one of the docents she trained before she left. We definitely got a more "insider" tour because of this. Not that we were allowed to run around touching things, heaven forbid, but we did get a lot more process-focused information than the typical visitor gets.

I couldn't find any great interior images, but I think the stunning living room is the best part of the house. It boasts wonderful windows that extend nearly floor to ceiling. They have built-in window boxes beneath them that match up with the long flower bed on the other side of the glass. The museum struggled with whether or not to have real plants in the boxes and eventually decided to. I think this was the right choice, as it helps visitors understand the organic design of the house and its connection with nature, as Wright intended.

For more information on the Zimmerman House, check out the following:

• Zimmerman House at the Currier
• Zimmerman House at Great Buildings
• Zimmerman House at About.com (where the above photo is from)