Welcome to the FAM History Section Discussion Group!

Be sure to subscribe to get postings sent to you by e-mail; otherwise, be sure to visit this site often to get the latest postings. We hope History Section members will use this area to ask each other for advice, offer deaccessioned items, and seek items for upcoming exhibits. Be sure to check here as well for legislative updates.

We hope this will be a valuable tool for members. If you have any questions or need technical assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Malinda, I think this is a great way to get a "History Musuem Discussion Group" started. I'll email all my list and let them know it's up and running. I'll also monitor the emails and try to develop further discourse based on some of the info I see coming through. Thanks for all your help!
H

The Winter Park Historical Museum is preparing a May 2008 Turpentine exhibition, partnering with UCF Dept. of History. We are looking for loans (approx. one year) of appropriate 1920s-30s era tools related to turpentine collection and production; materials to enhance our "jook joint" (the lives of the turpentine workers); Zora Neale Hurston's WPA interviews. Can you help? We must firm up all artifacts available by the end of March 2008. Contact by phone: 407-647-2330 or email wphistory@aol.com. Check out our website: www.winterparkhistorical.com

Thank you, Marianne

Hi Holly,

I am signing in. While I'm here I'll give you an update of something going on at the Lighthouse.

At the St. Augustine Lighthouse we have launched a small craft, boat building program run by volunteers. On Feb 29th we are having a boat lauching for our "practice" vessel, a Bevin skiff. The design is from the Northern Coastal states. The new boat is named after Lighthouse keeper William Harn, who was also a New Englander. (He was from Philly, and his wife was from Maine.) Since the lighthouse service did not provide boats, the keeper's brought their own traditions South with them. Following the American Civil war when the current Lighthouse was constructed the keeper's came from the North and were considered "professional" keepers.

If you want more information on this and other St. Augustine Lighthouse activities, check out our Blog at www.staugustinelighthouse.com/blog.

I think this is a fabulous idea, Holly and Malinda.

Kathy

Thanks Holly for following through. For Marianne, the best collection I know of is at the Florida Agricultural Museum in Flager County. There should be an associated archive of scientific literature, too. The University of Florida forestry school collection has a substantial archive fo documents as does USDA.

Hi there! CONGRATS TO HOLLY FOR GETTING THIS STARTED!!!!!

 I am also signing in for the first time. We are fine--hopefully may weather the upcoming project budget cuts. We are helping out the Polasek Museum with cases later this year...the History Center also set a new world's record for simultaneous yo-yo ing on Jan 26, which is being submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records: 2102 (!).

In case any of you are interested, we are travelling our Civil War in Florida exhibit later this year and are looking for museums that might be interested. Like all our other travelling exhibits, we can adjust for museum size from the very small to the somewhat large. Let Barbara Knowles at barbara.knowles@ocfl.net know if you are interested.

Hope everyone is having a good season, and I know I will see you all in Tallahassee in a few weeks!

Marianne, If you're interested in going outside the state, Southern Forest World in Waycross Georgia has a turpentine / naval stores exhibition. The collections are stored at the Okefenokee Heritage Center. Also you may wish to try to GA Ag Museum in Tifton...otherwise, the Ag Museum in Flagler County is definitely your best bet!

Holly B
904-241-5657

Sara, We'll be interested in the Civil War! We try to do a war a year here in Jax Beach just to keep things interesting. Last Christmas it was World War II and Doctor Gannon. I'll be in touch after grants....ugh.

Holly

The Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida is delighted to be hosting Golf Swings! an interactive golf history exhibition from the Orange County History Center in Fall 2008. In conjunction with this, the museum will present The Greens of Northwest Florida - A Cultural History of Golf highlight the golf courses of the area and the social and economic history surrounding their development. We are asking for photographs, memorabilia, clothing, etc. pertaining to from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Bay and Gulf counties from other institutions and individuals.

Please contact me curator Amy Hellmich at ahellmich@co.okaloosa.fl.us with inforamtion on materials for exhibit loan.

Michelle Severino
(850) 543-8213

I am so very proud that this is working. I have been so busy with the legislative stuff and writing the 2nd IMLS (with Myriam) that I haven't checked the site lately and wasn't I totally blown away with all of your comments.

Thank you Holly for making sure we got this up and running.

Marianne - talk with Linda Deaton at the Tallahassee Museum - ldeaton@tallahasseemuseum.org about what she has for turpentine collections - they have a commissary on property and she may have items - not sure.

Thanks guys for making this a reality.

And hold on to your hats - the cuts are hitting hard.

St. Augustine Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program are currently hosting our Second Annual Symposium on Maritime Archaeology with partners at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve and the Florida Public Archaeology Network.

Today is the third day of research papers presented from scholars from across the United States. Yesterday a field workshop involved teaching students and members of the public how to record an ship's anchor using proper archaeological methods. Many students have attended from the University of West Florida and Florida State University.

Keynote Speaker, Dave Moore from North Carolina will repeat his presentation about Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge this weekend. His talk is entitled "Ten Year's of Pirate Perspective" and will be given at the St. Augustine Lighthouse Maritime Festival on site on Saturday, March 15, 2008. For more information check our web site at www.staugustinelighthouse.org or .com.

The Maitland Historical Society is opening Destination Maitland in September. This exhibit will be an interactive experience, which highlights the importance of the railroad to this area with major themes including communication, passenger travel, and agriculture. We are currently looking for items to borrow from other institutions. We are particularly interested in anything that has to do with the South Florida Railroad, but we are also looking for general artifacts. Please contact me if you might be able to help us out! acox@maitlandhistory.org 407-644-2451
Hope to see many of you at FAM in Miami!

Hi Angela, While I don't think we have any artifacts that relate to South FL Railroad, just wanted to thank you for using the message board. I think it's a great opportunity for us all to stay in contact - pass on the contact info to every history person you can think of as I'm sure my email list doesn't include everyone (it's ever-changing).

Let me know how you are...
Holly B
904-994-7967

There is an unpublished manuscript "Florida's Ghost Railroads" that might be useful. I have a copy in storage.

RoB Blount, Museum Director

Virginia Key Beach Park Trust

4020 Virginia Beach Drive

Miami, FL 33149

305-960-4608

rblount@miamigov.com
 
Take history for a ride!!: Ask me about the Virginia Key Beach Carousel Campaign
 
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Professionals from museums, libraries, archives, and historic and archaeological collections are planning a statewide assessment of Florida'’s collections and developing strategies to educate legislators and public officials about their responsibility to preserve and conserve Florida’'s collections.

 This is your opportunity to help plan the assessment. Come help shape this important initiative!

Forum 2 – February 26, 2009 at DeBary Hall (between Orlando and Daytona Beach)

Forum 3 – March 23, 2009 at Goodwood Museum & Gardens in Tallahassee

Each Forum is followed by a reception for area legislators. The Forum is free, but registration is required.

For more information and registration:
www.flamuseums.org/programming/c2c/

Hello FAM Colleagues:
The Henry B. Plant Museum is planning for our Annual Victorian Christmas Stroll. This year we will highlight vintage fashions from the Tampa Bay Hotel time period 1891-1932. We are in need of some flexible (petite size) mannequins. Does anyone have any extras we could borrow? or sources? or suggestions?
Thank you,
Susan Carter, Curator/Registrar
Henry Plant Museum
401 West Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, FL 33606
www.plantmuseum.com scarter@ut.edu