Meet The Interns…Alyia Marasco

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behind-the-scenes, collections, curator, deep love of learning, design, education, exhibition, hands-on education, History, homeschooled, independence, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Museum Studies, museums, Ramsayer Research Library, Walsh University

Hi! My name is Alyia Marasco. I’m currently a junior at Walsh University where I’m pursuing degrees in History and Museum Studies. After graduation, I plan to eventually go on to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in Museum Studies. My end goal is to be a curator of collections and work with exhibition design. I love history and spending time in museums, so I’m very excited to be interning at the Ramsayer Research Library for the 2021-2022 school year!  

Growing up, I had a unique education. Being homeschooled, I had the freedom to choose what topics I wanted to study. I also had the freedom to explore outside of classrooms. Because of this independence, I was privileged to have a hands-on education. This meant I took tons of field trips exploring nature centers, historic sites, monuments, and– my favorite– museums. I’m originally from Medina, Ohio, so I was also lucky to live near the city of Cleveland, which has a great wealth of museums. Some of my favorite memories from “school” are taking classes at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, going to the Cleveland Museum of Art for my birthday every year, and visiting the Great Lakes Science Center with my friends. I also had the opportunity to visit the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum several times growing up, so interning here and seeing behind-the-scenes has been such an interesting experience. My unique course of education has given me a deep love of learning that I still value to this day.  

I decided to major in History and Museum Studies so I could share my love of the two subjects. In the future, I’d love to create and design exhibits to tell the stories of a museum’s collections. If I could inspire others to love history and museums like I do, I feel that I could make a difference.  

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Meet the Intern: Hamed Alwusaydi

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Canton, Communications, Family, Intern, learn, listen, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, ohio, passion, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Stark County, Train, volunteer, Walk with the President, Walsh University

My name is Hamed Alwusaydi. I was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am in the final semester to graduate from my BA at Walsh University in Communications. I have always wanted to be a part of the President McKinley Museum family because of my passion for learning about the history, interest in it and its care. I am currently working as a volunteer and seeking to learn and train and listen to the advice and guidance of Mr. Mark Holland, who has always made me feel his desire to train and mentor me. I am currently working on developing the visual aspect of the Walk with the President program, and I am working on adding some important pictures to present to those looking to understand the past and those interested in it.

Meet Our Intern: Grace Doringo…

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Art History, choir, History, honors program, Intern, Library, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Museum Engagement Team, museum professional, Museum Studies, Walsh University

Grace Doringo is an intern at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum for the 2020-2021 school year. She is currently a junior at Walsh University majoring in Museum Studies and History with a minor in Art History. At Walsh, Grace is a participant in the honors program, student government, the Museum Engagement Team, and choir. Grace is looking forward to gaining experience working in the McKinley Museum’s library and archives so she can one day be prepared to work as a museum professional.

A Walk with the President…

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A Walk with the President, Advertising, archivist, Canton, Collaboration, Communications, historical impact, McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, ohio, partnership, President William McKinley, Public Relations, service-learning, Stark County, Walsh students, Walsh University, Writing

The Walsh University Com 365 Writing for Advertising and PR service-learning class has partnered with the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum to promote “A Walk with the President” in Stark County.

“The Walk” consists of twelve stops in downtown Canton in which President William McKinley had an historical impact.

The Walsh students, working with the Museum’s Archivist, Mark Holland are planning a virtual First Friday on April 3, and contributing content for the Stark-Tusc County Cultural Collaboration. The Collaboration is many of the Stark and Tuscarawas County’s Museums sharing content Monday – Saturday on Facebook.  The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum will be sharing the students’ content on Monday, April 6 at noon on its Facebook Page.

Student teams recreated the museum’s brochure and produced table tents and posters for local businesses.  In addition, the class has contributed to the Museum’s social media presence and has shot video content with QR codes for stops along “The Walk.” The goal of the class is to use each student’s talents for different elements of the project. These videos will also enhance the McKinley Museum Mobile App and as a patron walks with the President, he or she will have additional information about each stop along “The Walk.” Link: https://www.vamonde.com/adventure/a-walk-with-president-mckinley/781

The class met on Zoom with Professor Lee Horrisberger and Archivist Mark Holland for the second half of the semester. Students used this time to plan and coordinate tasks for “The Walk,” give and receive feedback and to support their peers when needed.  Jennifer Loudiana, Director of User Support and Classroom Technology at Walsh University also has been attending online meetings to assist with the technology being used and to help if trouble arises.

Please enjoy an overview of the Walsh University COM 365 Writing for Advertising and PR project by clicking this link:   _________.

Partnership With Walsh University…

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#Team, Ida Saxton McKinley, immerse, Library, mobile app, Museum, partnership, President McKinley, Story, walkwiththepres potus canton ohio firstladieslibrary WalshUniversity Repository SalvationArmy McKinleyPresidentialLibraryandMuseum archivesbringgoodfeelings  seekthethreads, Walsh University, winter

Check out what is happening in our Library this Winter. Our museum is partnered with Walsh University to immerse you into the story of President McKinley and his wife Ida Saxton McKinley and how they fit into the Stark County Story. The Walk with the President is getting a major facelift. Our team is just getting started and this is what we did this morning.

The Walsh University Team on A Walk With The President Tour # 1

Found Among The Cars…

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1830’s, 1886, 1892, 1937, accident, Aultman, Aultman Hospital, bicycle, Bicycle Club, brain injury, bullet proof, Canton, Canton Bicycle Club, Canton Police Department, Cars, Char Lautzenheiser, Deuble, Deuble family, Deuble Family Genealogy, Deuble Jewelers, dishes, Family, Found, glassware, High Wheeler, hospital physicians, Intern, jewelry, Library, Little Chicago, Martin, Martin Deuble, meant to be, member, merchants, Movers & Shakers, Norman Deuble, Ohio State University, operation, picture, relatives, request, Saxton Street, Studebaker, Tom Haas, Walsh University, watches

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Recently the library received a request from a member of the Deuble family who wanted to know about some of her relatives, specifically Martin Deuble.  She wanted a picture of Martin to complete a Deuble Family Genealogy that she is writing.  The Deuble family was synonymous with high quality jewelry, watches, dishes, and glassware.  Deuble Jewelers is one of Canton’s oldest merchants beginning in the 1830’s.  The requester also wanted to find a picture of Norman Deuble, Martin’s son.  It seems Norman was an active High Wheeler as far back as 1886 and an early member of the Canton Bicycle Club.  Norman was participating in a bicycle race in 1892 when he got in an accident. He fell off his bicycle, and was rushed to the newly built Aultman Hospital with a brain injury. This is what is believed to be the first operation ever performed by hospital physicians at Aultman. Unfortunately, Norman did not survive.  The requester knew of a studio photograph portraying the Canton Bicycle Club that included Norman. in 1886, at the age of twenty-one.  Our archives have a newspaper quality image that fits this description. Enter the phrase that we use in the library every day: “If it is meant to be it will find its way to you.

Our current intern, from Walsh University, Alyssandra Howe is researching the time in Canton’s history known as “Little Chicago.”  One of the major sources for her project is a master’s thesis from a student at Ohio State University who authored Saxton Street: The Reconstruction of a Red Light District.  In the course of her study she read about the 1937 bullet proof Studebaker the Canton Police Department commissioned, which now lives at the Canton Classic Car Museum.  Volunteer, Tom Haas, and I took Alyssandra to meet Char Lautzenheiser, the director of the museum.  Char gave Alyssandra a lot of rich history of “Little Chicago”, as well as a tour of the museum including the 1937 bullet proof Studebaker.

While Char and Alyssandra were playing around the cars, the photographs hanging on the wall drew my interest.  What did I find hanging on the wall in the shadow of the bullet proof car?  The very photograph of the Canton Bicycle Club in 1886 with Norman Deuble and other Canton “Movers & Shakers”.

Welcome Samantha Weaver…

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Archives, Blog, education, findyourquest, findyourwhy, friends, high school, History, life, morethanamonument, ohio, school, seekthethreads, Stark State, volunteer, Walsh University, William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

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We want to welcome our followers to get to know Samantha Weaver, an intern and now a volunteer at the Presidential Library!

Born in Canton, Ohio, Samantha has lived here in Stark County her whole life. Growing up fairly close to downtown Canton, she has many memories of going to the Stark County District Library with her family. She loved reading and writing from a young age, even having a short story she wrote to be published in a book when she was in junior high. As a young girl, she also remembers going to different museums all over Ohio, which helped inspire her when she was growing up as to what she wanted to be when she got older. Her careers growing up changed from teacher to forensic analyst to paleontologist and now to her current goal of pursuing a career in records management/archives in the museum field.

She attended Hope Academy from 1st grade to 5th grade, transferring to Dueber Elementary for 6th grade, and then Lehman Middle School from 7th to 8th grades. She then got accepted to Timken Early College High School, which she went to for all of high school. While in high school, she was also in the Upward Bound Math-Science program at Stark State for all 4 years, where she found her love for museums once again after visiting the Field Museum in Chicago. She then found out about Walsh University’s Museum Studies program and from then, it was set for her. In 2017, Samantha graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Stark State College and a high school diploma from McKinley Senior High School. She began attending Walsh University in fall of 2017 with a Museum Studies major and Art History minor.

In her free time, she likes to read about art history, write on her blog, learn about different museums and to visit them as well. She likes to draw and keep herself occupied by reading biographies, non-fiction, and mystery books.

Samantha began as an intern at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in August 2018 and is now staying on after her internship as a volunteer in the library. She chose this museum for her internship because it is close to where she lives, but it is also her favorite local museum and she has many fond memories from over the years. She loves being a part of a team and talking to the other volunteers because they are so knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Samantha feels like she has finally found a place where she belongs and can be creative in this positive environment. After being here, her love for the archives has grown and she sees herself continuing a career in this field.

Samantha would like to end with one of her favorite quotes:

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi

We want to thank Samantha for letting us interview her and allow us to share her story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!

If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043

 

Goodbye and Congratulations to Sarah Dickes…

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Blog, education, findyourquest, findyourwhy, History, Intern, Malone University, Museum, ohio, photos, preservation, school, Walsh University, William McKinley, William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

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With heavy hearts, our team at the McKinley Presidential Library say goodbye to one of our interns, Sarah Dickes.

Sarah has been an intern here since August 2018 and has been a real pleasure to get to know. She has been a huge help with many of our ongoing projects and helping wherever she can. We are so fortunate to have had her in our library and the opportunity to get to know her during her time here. Sarah has a blog where she has posted about some of the projects she has worked on here. You can see some screenshots of her blog below by scrolling through the slideshow.

She has just completed her last year at Malone University as a History major and Communications minor and is moving on to Syracuse, New York to pursue her career in Museum Studies and Library Sciences for graduate school.

We want to congratulate her on her journey and wish her all the best as she moves forward!    

 

 

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Project McKinley Correspondence…

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25th President of the United States, accessible, archivist, binders, Canton, chronological order, citizen, conference, conserving, correspondence, create labels, custom-made folders, database, dedicate their time, documentation, documents, education, file folder, finding answers, findyourquest, Guest Blogger, Historical, information, letters, librarian, Library, long journey, managing, Mckinley, McKinley Correspondence Project, McKinley Librarian, motivation, museum software, obstacle, ohio, preserving archives, Presidential Library, protocol, pursuing this project, research requests, researchers, scanning, sleeves, systems, track, transcribed, volunteers, Walsh University, William McKinley

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Our volunteers at the Presidential Library want to show you the long journey of the McKinley Correspondence Project.

To start, we want to tell you our motivation for pursuing this project. One of the major aspects of the library is making sure our information is accessible, especially for our researchers who dedicate their time to finding answers. Our volunteers at the library take their research requests very seriously and we have systems in place so that information in our library can be accessed by our volunteers and archivist.

Our project began around 2005 with one our current volunteers, Judy Pocock and Janet, a former McKinley Librarian. At the time, the Presidential Library was not how it looks today, and it wasn’t as organized or put together for accessibility. There were many projects that needed to be started and one of these projects was the McKinley Correspondence documents. This project consisted of letters to and from William McKinley during his life. They began by thinking of the different directions they could go with this project, and where to start.  It is so important to have a plan and take the time to think before you start on your project. The main goal was to find some way to summarize and put the letters in chronological order. Judy began to write out abstracts for each letter, which was a daunting process because most of the letters are handwritten. It was very time-consuming, but they were able to get a majority of them completed before Janet, the former librarian left and the project was put on hold.

This brings us to 2016 when our current archivist Mark Holland attended a conference about managing, conserving, and preserving archives. There he learned that keeping documents in binders with sleeves was not appropriate protocol anymore and he began to think of ways that they could house the McKinley Correspondence letters properly. There was a major obstacle in the way: retail stores do not sell the correct length and height of the documents. Thankfully, he was able to work with a company who put him in contact with a third-party and they were able to create custom made ring folders. These folders would allow the strain to be placed in the folders and the housing and not on the documents themselves. Once that part of the project was completed, there were still more steps that had to be thought out. The letters had to be transcribed and have correct abstracts so they could easily be found. The letters were transcribed by our volunteers, Susan Henry and Judy Pocock and former Office Manager, Rita Zwick. This part of the project took years to be completed. Volunteer, Rosemary Shaheen spent many hours entering data on the letters that researchers can find online.  Moving on to 2018, our library had an intern from Walsh University who began working on the digitization process of the project. Samantha did more of the technical side of the project by scanning and adding each piece of the sleeve to our database using our museum software. After the scanning and cataloging was completed around December, those involved in the project were able to see the results of their hard work. After having a couple of meetings to discuss the next steps, Judy and Samantha worked together to put the sleeves into our custom-made folders and create labels for each file folder, making sure everything was in chronological order and placed in the appropriate area. We are so excited to have this project completed, as it makes our research easier and more effective than just leaving it in huge binders with documents spanning five years or more per binder.

Completing the McKinley Correspondence project was extremely important because we can track what William McKinley was doing and who he was writing to during his life and even letters written by people close to him confirming his death. These documents are very important to the Presidential Library because it relates to William McKinley as a citizen of Stark County, and it  gives historical documentation about the 25th President of the United States.

March 26, 2019
McKinley Presidential Library
Guest Blogger, Samantha Weaver