Summer interns assist in reorganizing Highland House Museum

The Highland County Historical Society’s collection of artifacts and documents stored at the Highland House Museum is being looked at in a new perspective thanks to two Miami University graduate students.

This summer, the interns, Dana Cress and Andrew Hall, are hard at work organizing the artifacts and documents stored in an older archive system to updated and professional standards. They hope to document what is in the collection to create easier access, thus effectively advertising the collection and growing interest in it. Knowing what the Historical Society has can lead historians to the museum and create the possibility of the collections being cited in research.

Cress and Hall are both graduates of Bowling Green State University with degrees in history. Now they are attending Miami University, with Cress focusing on early Ohio history and Hall focusing on old Northwestern and Canadian history. When asked why they chose to intern at Highland House, Cress stated that “an internship is recommended between the first and second years in the program.” They wanted a more hands-on experience at a local level, to be better-rounded in their field.

Hall started as a philosophy major, switching to history after taking a world history class with a professor who really made him think about the subject. His new interest in history led to an internship at a northwest Ohio historical society over a summer. Enjoying the experience made him elect to work there three years. It was during this time Hall began to realize a graduate degree could lead to a full-time profession.

Cress had a love of history from a young age, having lived in an old family farmhouse. She started out as an education major with a focus on social studies. When she discovered her true passion for the knowledge of what came before, it was suggested she switch to research.

Cress and Hall both have similar ideas as to what is their dream job in the field of history. Because she is being taught to be a professional historian, Cress wants to work in public history. This would allow her to meet new people and give her the chance to make more connections with them. Hall wants to be the programs manager at a living history museum. This position is the best of both worlds – research aspects mixed with creative ways to reach the public.

When asked if they had a favorite find from the Highland County collection, both found it hard to narrow it down to just one. Document-wise, Hall cited a complete copy of Stars and Stripes, a newspaper printed in France from 1918-1919 for US soldiers, while Cress found the paperwork for indentured servants interesting. Cress also liked the contents of a box filled with WWI artifacts. She said it was “filled with things like combs, ration books, cigarette cases; not glamorous things, but things people actually used.” Hall particularly liked an “1880/1890s doctor’s kit that still contains medicine, including mercury pills.”

On one final note, Cress and Hall were asked, from their perspective, why preserving our history is so important in a technology-driven, throw-away era. Cress mused on the fact that people today should probably keep journals for future historians to know about daily lives in this era. Hall offered insight on the how the internet can only be used for so much to digitize history. According to him, artifacts tell much more than a picture ever could; a picture of a hat can show you what it looked like, but the actual hat can show what it was made of and how it was made. As Hall said, “we only have so much left, and it needs to be saved as a learning tool for future historians.”