Week 11 LCHS

This week at the Luzerne County Historical Society, I continued cataloging the Welles collection and came across two interesting books. One small book I came across was titled “Twenty-Two Years of Protection” by Henry V. Poor, written in September 1888. In his book, Poor discusses the transitions of America’s financial history from the colonial period to the late 1800s, dividing the transitions into three distinct phases:  ‘The Period of Construction’ (1789-1829), ‘The Period of Attempted Destruction’ (1829-1865), and lastly, ‘The Period of Restoration’ (1865-1887). Throughout the book, Poor discusses each phases of America’s financial history, but focuses on the last phase extensively. I thought the book was appealing because of the title, even though I don’t have much interest in its topic. On the other hand, if any readers are interested in America’s financial history, they should not hesitate to take a look at it.

The other interesting book I came across was titled “The Right and Left Hand Blessings of God: Designed as a Cure for Covetousness” by Rev. Nathaniel West. The book got my attention as I was reading the title and its claim that it can cure one’s greed. Inside the book, there are excerpts of scripture, right hand blessings, and so on. These components highlighted by West were, and possibly are presently, believed to be a way to heal a greedy individual’s spirit. Due to time restrictions, I unfortunately could not look further into the book. However, when I do have the time I would like to read it, because the “right hand blessings” highlighted in the book, such as the ‘Length of Days’ and ‘Riches and House’,  seem interesting to me. Anyhow, as the semester is coming to an end, I am going to continue cataloging the Welles collection until mid-December. Thus, I wonder what I will find next week in the collection!

Week 10 LCHS

This week at the Luzerne County Historical Society I unfortunately did not have a new assignment, so I was back to inventorying the Welles collection. Some things I came across in the collection were interesting, such as paper money that represented 25 cents, 15 cents, etc. The paper money sparked my interest because it was paper money, not coins identical to what we have today. Also, what was unique about the paper money was the different colors and designs on them. One 25 cent bill had a bright orange and yellow colors on it and an elegant design. Another interesting objects I came across were vintage gift tags from the 1800s. Some were with people, men, women and children or them individually, and others had flowers or birds. The flower and bird gift tags were charming and had nice colors.

In the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to interview the individuals from the historical society on their positions and gain more insight into the organization and their specific careers. I had an interview with the librarian and archivist of the Luzerne County Historical Society, who shared information about the process to get to where she is now. She informed me that there were specific tests she had to take. For instance, a test the librarian/archivist had to take was the Civil Service exam. She discussed with me that it is an exam in order to work for the state. Additionally, she advised me that for jobs in this career to check the state website first before anything else. She said that the state website is simpler than other ways to locate a position that I am looking for.

Another individual I had the opportunity to interview is the Executive Director of the Luzerne County Historical Society. She discussed with me her history that led up to her position here and it was quite interesting. She has a bachelor’s degree in history, one master’s degree in history, one doctorate degree in history (both the master’s and doctorate are with specializations), and now is working on her second master’s degree in business. She is well-educated in history and now business which is obviously well-suited for the position she is in. She worked at various small and large historical societies and museums. Thus, she advised me to decide whether I would want to work at a small or large society or museum. Making the decision to work at a small or large location is important because in a small location an individual would have more responsibilities in contrast to a larger one. In all, I am very grateful for both the librarian/archivist and the executive director willingly assisting me in my path towards a career choice.

Week 9 LCHS

This week at the Luzerne County Historical Society, I was assigned something new to do. I was assigned to go through the Luzerne County Historical Society’s Vulcan Iron Works collection. In the collection, I had to locate anything that would be useful for a research request. The specific individual was looking for information pertaining to a gentleman named Theodile Guibar, an inventor from Belgium. Theodile Guibar made many fans and other ventilators that the Vulcan Iron Works used in their locomotives in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The individual was looking for any letters between Theodile Guibar and engineers who worked for Vulcan Iron Works or any other documents mentioning him. Unfortunately, there were no letters between an engineer and Theodile Guibar or documents that mentioned his name. Many of the documents and books in the Luzerne County Historical Society’s collection consisted of sales records, books with records of executive meetings, inspection records, and any information related to the locomotives. Even though I could not assist the individual with any documents that had his name or letters, the archivist/librarian at the Luzerne County Historical Society stated that she would refer him or her to another historical society that has a Vulcan Iron Works collection.

During the few days I researched that collection, I came across some interesting information about the location. The Vulcan Iron Works was founded in 1849 by an individual named Richard Jones. Richard Jones was an engineer whose focus was to build iron machinery for mines. Before he founded the Vulcan Iron Works, Jones was an employee of another company named Riddle, Chambers, & Company. Subsequently, The Riddle, Chambers, & Company went bankrupt because of a depression in the early 1840s. The rising demand of the mining industry in the 1800s made the Vulcan Iron Works a financially successful company. The 1870s primarily was the pinnacle point of the Vulcan Iron Works’ financial success. One way this occurred was by the demand of machinery that made vertical shafts in mines. Thus, Vulcan Iron Works’ hoisting engines, elevator cages, and related items were in great demand.

In all, this assignment reminded me of the Luzerne County Historical Society’s willingness to assist an individual in his or her research project in any way they can. Also, the assignment was another way to utilize previous archival skills I learned from my last internship, which is great. I am excited to find out what new assignments I may acquire next week.

LCHS Week 8

       Similarly to my post last week, I came across another booklet recently concerning mineralogy that I found interesting to read. The booklet is an excerpt of the journal named The American Journal of Science and the article is titled “On Bixbyite, A New Mineral, and Notes on the Associated Topaz”. The article was written by S. I. Penfield and H. W. Foote, regarding Bixbyite and Topaz, minerals that Maynard Bixby discovered. Penfield and Foote discuss the physical features of bixbyite, the hardness of it, and the different mathematics to studying the mineral. Additionally, Penfield and Foote explore the method they used to analyze the mineral. Penfield and Foote laid out the procedure of the chemistry used, such as a thallium-silver nitrate mixture, and the addition of other chemicals, such as chlorine, in order to conclude that the mineral can dissolve; even though the mineral’s hardness is high (6-6.5). Furthermore, Penfield and Foote go on to discuss the other mineral, topaz. During their analysis, Penfield and Foote state that some topaz minerals can be over four centimeters long and can be either transparent, white, or a light wine color. Towards the end of the article, Penfield and Foote continue to discuss the chemistry behind their study of topaz.

I found this booklet to be quite interesting. I found it neat that there is a mineral named after Maynard Bixby. I would estimate that if a mineralogist found a new mineral and had it named after the individual, it would be quite rewarding. I think it would be rewarding to the individual because all of their hard work and determination paid off. However, I was not keen on all of the chemistry behind it, only due to my disinterest in the chemical components of a mineral and the chemical procedures. In all the discovery was a fascinating find and I learned a lot about these two minerals that I have not heard of previously.