Include your name on your post
Someone pointed out that the posts don’t identify who’s doing the posting. Just make sure we know who’s talking. Otherwise, everything’s looking good so far! Grace Yeh
First Day
The first day of volunteering was not as expected. After entering the off-site storage facility office, Kimberly showed me the back stock room, which contained artifacts dating back to the 1800s, including a blue, Victorian-style wedding dress worn in the 1870s, a veteran’s uniform used in WWI, and shelves of other priceless historical artifacts.
A pile of unsorted papers sat in the corner, donated from the Louis family. My job was to separate out the significant articles so the rest may be donated to another museum that may take interest in them. The pile contained mainly newspapers collected from the 1980s, consisting of a large majority of Tiger Woods articles and columns written about the Louis family store. However, there were other random article clippings that delved into the personality of the Louis family. Such article clippings unveiled their interest in dance and Celine Dion. These were the articles I found most interesting.During my two hour shift, a philosophy professor, interested in the level of involvement by the student population, asked me a few questions and took an action shot to be displayed in the city newsletter. Overall, my first visit was a very positive and interesting experience.
Jen’s Historical Adventure: pt. 1
Hello ES friends.
I finished my first volunteer shift this past Saturday, the 26th, and it turned out to be a fairly busy one. I managed to add this shift just a few days prior since I won’t be able to make a future one. Anyway, I arrived at the museum just as Leon, the weekend docent was opening the building. After getting my things settled, he informed me that we were to expect a group of about 25 members of a society called the Los Californianos (I’m sure I misspelled that) for a tour at about 10:30 A.M. What they are, from what I recall, is a group of founding families that settled Los Angeles.
The first members of the group, a couple from Colorado, came into the museum not too long after opening. Unfortunately, their names don’t stick to mind. Leon gave them a bit of history about the museum, including the fact that it was one of 142 Carnegie Libraries. He also asked them for a bit of information about their organization. In order to become a member of Los Californianos, you need to retrace your geneaology all the way back to the founding fathers of Los Angeles, and then prove it. The gentleman made himself comfortable at the front desk and handed me a three page “quick-and-dirty” about his wife’s lineage and instructed me to give it a once-over and that I’d be tested on it. I wasn’t sure if he was serious or not, so I made that once-over a thrice-over.
There was one other guy volunteering, so he kept some of the incoming members busy while I tried understanding the reading in front of me. The man kept checking on me to see if I was comprehending it and handed me a pencil to make any corrections I wanted. I didn’t want to mark the original, so Leon helped me make a copy with the maching in the archive room. I ended up marking up the summary like I was planning the best football play ever, but that’s just me. A few things that struck me about the historical summary was the fact that one of the individuals named (and there were many individuals named) was General Mariano Vallejo. I went to school in Vallejo, CA and know that my highschool, as well as one of the middle school’s is named after Mariano Vallejo. I pointed this out to the gentleman and he was pleasantly surprised and then went on to mention that his and his wife’s favorite place is Benicia, adjacent to Vallejo, and that it’s too expensive to live there.
Leon toured the Los Californianos while my co-volunteer and I greeted other visitors. I guess there was a bit of a program to be followed for some of the members and some wanted to leave… after buying books. While the tour was continuing downstairs, a lady approached me wanting to buy books, with another customer not far behind. I, being almost completely unsure about how anything is run in the museum, held onto her money and went downstairs to ask Leon (in the middle of his “schpiel”) what to do with the money. He was actually obliged to help me out and went upstairs to show me how to work the register. I had a bit of anxiety because all I knew was that she bought two calendars and some five dollar book. A total of nine dollars… she handed me the nine dollars but I knew there had to be tax involved. It seems the retail aspect of the museum is pretty easy-going (e.g. tax and discounts), and the register is really easy to operate.
The morning started out quite busy, with the large group, and there were a few visitors for the remainder of my shift as well. There was, as expected, a fourth grader that came in with his family hoping to get some information about California missions. Leon told me to expect this and to tally the children on one of the forms. Other passers-by seemed to filter into the museum casually and some came and took closer looks at the exhibits.
To sum up my first shift, it was a pretty busy one. I had assumed, since it was a weekend following a pretty miserably rainy week, that there wouldn’t be much to do, and had some of my ES readings on hang. It turns out I had no downtime and was pretty busy the whole time. I got a chance to learn how to use the copier, work the register (cash, check, AND credit… you know it!), click the shiny counter thing, and speak with some fellow history enthusiasts. I doubt every shift I volunteer for will be like this, but I’m looking forward to the next one nonetheless.
First Day
My first day volunteering at the SLO museum was on January 25, 2008 from 10AM-1PM.
The two docents who helped me get into the groove of things were Marion and Lynne. Marion advised me to watch the documentary that was played in the Chinese history exhibit, so I can explain the history in deeper context to tourists who visited the museum. We did not receive visitors until about 11 30AM, and what you, the reader of this blog, might find interesting is where the visitors came from. There were two tourists from New Zealand (Wow! I know!), three tourists hailing from the desert state called Nevada, a historian from Pismo Beach or Paso Robles (I can’t remember which one), and a Cuesta Professor and her son. I regret not asking the tourists about how they found out about the museum in SLO, since 90% or more of the students at Cal Poly probably don’t even know the museum exists. Marion and Lynne spoke with the guests most of the time, and by time I felt like doing the talking, there were no more visitors. Aw shucks! I’ll be more assertive next week!
Aristotle Ou
First Day in the Research Room
When I arrived, I was immediately put to work tracing a map of SLO County in order to research the ethnic communities in the area. I was told they hope to get the project onto the website, which I think will be a great resource for visitors interested in local history. I started with a two files labeled “SLO County History” (yeah, that’s BROAD), looked up a few names in telephone directories, etc. I haven’t found the “nuances” of ethnic communities Ron was interested in, but there is plenty to look through.
The most challenging aspect of any research project is orienting yourself and deciding exactly what you’re looking for; with all the resources in that room (vertical files, telephone directories, newspapers, photographs, books, etc), I can see why they’re so excited about students coming in to tease through it.
One of the volunteers was working on assembling a book of Atascadero postcards, and I was recruited to help. I labeled each with an item number while asking a few questions along the way. I learned a lot about the history of the city and its founder, E.G. Lewis. The best way I can sum him up: He loved churches, the women’s suffrage movement, WW1 veterans, and the exclusion of non-white citizens from his planned “utopian” community. One postcard in particular had a “description” of the community as one with an abundance of fruit, churches, and fun activities for white people.
Everyone at the museum is friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic. They are wonderful resources!
Through talking with a few other volunteers, I learned that in addition to the historical Chinese community, there may have been a Jewish one in SLO, and I am very interested in finding out more. I was also encouraged to look into the Native Americans who lived here, considering, in the words of one volunteer, “When we think of ethnic communities, we rarely think of the Natives.”
-Erica Bashaw
Californianos
My first day at SLOCHS should have been my second day: I totally blanked on Friday, tired from a tough and rainy week. Though I’ll unfortunately have to make up for those hours eventually, I feel that today’s shift, with over 30 visitors in 3 hours, should make up for my lost time…
At first, it was just the three of us, Leon, Jen and me. After we signed in, Leon went over the basics of how to act and what to do when people arrive. Soon, the first visitors started to show up. Leon had told us that we were expecting a group called “Los Californianos” (or “Los Californios”, http://www.loscalifornianos.org/) who were stopping by for a tour. We greeted them as they arrived, and had them sign the guest book. Some of them came from as far away as Montana and Colorado.
Basically, Los Californianos is a group of people who have proven their genealogy to go back to the early Hispanic settlers of California. They all have an interest in family history in general and specifically the history of California and its inhabitants. And though their research does not center on Asia or Asian-Americans, the exhibit, and especially the resource room downstairs, were able to offer them new sources for their studies.
Several of them decided to stop by the shop after their short visit. I jumped to the opportunity to learn how to use the cash register, and soon figured out how to deal with cash, credit cards and checks, as well as the special 10% refund for members of the Historical Society. This was probably the most fun and rewarding part of the day, as I had never used a cash register before…
Finally, I learned that Leon has not only been to Europe before, but has taught at two High Schools in Prague. And right before we left, Jen and I also made the acquaintance of Glenn, one of the Docents of the library.
All in all, an interesting experience. Hopefully Jen can help fill the blanks. It was kind of crazy at times…
My first shift
My first shift was the afternoon shift today. I showed up and got an introduction to what I’d be doing. I just greeted people and invited them to sign the visitor log then tell them what the exhibits are. I also kept a tally of the visitors. That was about it.
There were about 25 visitors during the shift. Some spent a fairly significant amount of time looking at the displays and a few people were in and out in 3 or 4 minutes.
People seemed to show up in waves with long periods of no activity in between. I had quite a bit of time to walk around the exhibits and look through the different books that are available. I also spent some time flipping through the docent binder that is under the table. It didn’t have information on the exhibits but it did have some history about the area and a page on how to work the cash register (along with information on emergency procedures incase there is an earthquake or something).
Leon handled the majority of the visitor interactions and fielded most of the questions. He has quite a spiel about the history of the mission’s name that he gave to the 3 different families that came in with kids doing their 4th grade mission report.
Someone did ask me if the chairs were original from the library. They are. There’s a photo of the library in the display just inside the front door that shows the chairs and tables from the reading room (the tables are downstairs now).
Overall it was a pretty uneventful afternoon but it was interesting talking with Leon and the other docent.
Day One
Hey guys,
So it appears that I have worked the first shift, so I will give you a brief rundown on what happened.
To be completely honest, not a whole lot. I arrived and was promptly put to work editing brochures that had the wrong time on them with a permanent marker. That took all of 20 minutes, and essentially that is all the real work they had for me today. I think that I provided good entertainment for the other volunteers, but especially since it is a rainy day there were not too many visitors. I was quite surprised to see the three that we actually did have. I did not interact with them too much since I do not know too much about the exhibit yet, but I did listen to the other women while they conversed with the guests and learned a lot. I think the best way to learn about the museum and what it has to offer is to listen to the other docents and hear what they have to say.
I also spent some time perusing the exhibit, but unfortunately am still not totally impressed. I have not spent too much time discovering the real story, but I do think that it needs to be expounded upon. I think that A. H. Louis has a good story to tell, but there is not really much here to read. I honestly am still unsure as to what he contributed to San Luis Obispo.
I think perhaps next time I will look more into the story of what he really did, and hopefully get a better understanding of the exhibit.
Well, good luck to you all I hope you have a great time:) the people are wonderfully friendly:)
Oh and I found this blog site a little confusing at first, but hopefully you all figure it out alright.
Welcome, CBL students of ES 212 and 244!
We’ll use this blog as a forum to share your SLOCHS stories, give advice and tips, and ask questions. Here are the requirements:
- Check the blog before your shift so you can read what others had to say.
- Post after your shift so you can contribute your own experience.
- Leave at least one comment to another person’s entry.
- No word minimums or maximums. But do be earnest in your posts.
- Remember that this is a public forum so anyone (from your professor, to your mom, to the museum) can view your entries.
