Washington Press and rushing oral interviews

So you might have noticed, if you follow the museum on Facebook, that we moved the Printing Press almost two weeks ago. This is a project that David has been planning since I came to the museum. We had a very good reason for lifting this enormous press, it was starting to make the floor cave in. So heavy! We slowly lifted it using some boards and the pallet jack that David purchased a month or two ago. In order to stop it from tipping forward and killing us, we ended up putting boards and a railroad jack from the collection on the edge of the jack to stabilize it. I couldn't believe it, but it worked. And we slowly pulled it across the museum floor to the back. We put it right in-between two posts, because the floor is much stronger there. Set it all down and left it.

And then Tuesday, after talking with my boyfriend about it - my boyfriend who is a print maker- I found out that we had to move it back an inch or two. The bed wouldn't open up because the edge was just under the lip of the press. (Now mind you we are missing a part or two to this.) So we got out the boards, got out the jack and started to pull the press back. Only one problem. We forgot to a. push in the bed, and b. hitch up the railroad jack so it wouldn't start tipping forward! The pole meant to press slid out from it's hole and the press started to tip.

Thank God my mother and I were at the front and were barely able to stop it from slamming into (and through) the floor, and potentially killing us all. With a bit of maneuvering and some very sore arms, we managed to put the middle pole back and set the press about 3 to 4 inches from its previous position. And there I hope it will stay until it falls through the floor. (This is seriously how I foresee this press going in the very far future.) If I can get the pieces to run the press, my boyfriend has connections that are willing to do a little event for us. The only problem is, I don't remember what box we put those in. But they are somewhere in the museum. Somewhere.

Now the awesome thing about the Press is it is a beautiful Washington Press, which I'm told is very good, made in the mid to late 1800s. The patent date on it is 1875, but of course it could have been made a little later. The press was used to publish the Cherokee Harmonizer and most likely the Coosa River News who bought out the Harmonizer in the late 1800s. Its a beautiful piece of equipment but is missing the holder for the type and the handle that presses the press down. Of course, part of that handle is somewhere in the museum but we moved it about two years ago and I neglected to note it down anywhere, a very bad curator mistake. 

But enough about the press, let me talk about our exciting Oral History project. As the person who is completing all the paperwork, I can tell you it is not very exciting. But, I have an appointment tomorrow with Jim, the paperwork is all filled out, except what he needs to sign, and I am happily going to be interviewing him for an hour or an hour and a half. I put it out on Facebook that we're doing the project in the hopes that more people will come and I got Martha to agree to come in for an Interview. 

Tomorrow we're having a hard-of-seeing group come into the museum to talk or hear about cotton picking. (Not entirely sure because when David told me about it he couldn't remember if I was supposed to talk to them or just provide items.) Hopefully that will be done with by 1:00 and I may have to talk about cotton picking a little. Anyway, a woman will be there who will be tending to her husband and David thinks she might be interested in doing an interview. Guess I'm going to have to get over my nerves and ask her about it. 

Well that's what's been going on for the past two weeks. Till next time.

No longer any idea how many items the museum contains. 

Super Long Hiatus Broken!!!!

After a very extended hiatus - two years! - I have returned to blog about the doings of History in North Alabama! Lets just say that Grad school leaves no time for anything else. I may drop off the face of the Earth again when I start my Thesis but outside of a little work for Public History I have a bit of a break to possibly post regularly! What?!

For those of you that aren't my grandmother, I am still working at the Cherokee County Historical Museum. Our one disastrous attempt to use interns means that we didn't get any last year or this year. I'm re-picking up this blog because I am now going to be an intern at the museum, instead of just a Volunteer Curator. All of the power and none of the cash. I'll actually be working on Oral histories and I hope to post lots about what's going on with that.

In the two years I haven't been writing a lot has changed. For example, we now have an air conditioner! No more 105 degrees inside the building! Our lovely Pheobe has been kicked off of the program she was on and is only able to come to the museum irregularly. We now have a new docent, Barbara, who is quite nice but very new so we are getting used to her. I actually have a volunteer now too, who is very capable and is helping me get the system together. Kinda. We still don't know everything we have within the museum but we're starting to make progress. And we were able to De-accession a good portion of our broken plows! Downstairs is really starting to look good, the Ambulance is no longer stored there, the truck has left, and our tractor has moved to his permanent spot. (Well yesterday a group was interested in refinishing it so it may leave for that.) Our records are slowly becoming digitized and we're starting to make some connections with the historical community in the state. We're even starting to get some choice donations.

I've learned a lot in the Almost 3 years that I've been at Cherokee County Historical Museum. So much that I decided our entire museum needed a makeover! So in the past few weeks we've been working on re-designing our exhibits. As inexpensively as possible! So, I'll be rushing to do all of that before I finally leave the museum. (Unless they get the money to hire me.) When I finally graduate, which is hopefully in a year! Yay!

Well that's it for this short update. I'll see you all later this week with tidbits about Player Pianos - oh yeah we totally bought one for my mother - and all of the crazy hijinks we get up to in the museum.