26 Jul The Homestead Family

¡Hola!

Back when I was arranging the date for my arrival to Homestead National Monument, I was told that it would be best to drive there so that I would have a car. Homestead is a bit isolated from town and even getting to a grocery store takes about fifteen minutes. I gave it a lot of thought, but ultimately decided that I could not trust my little old car to make it from California to Nebraska. So I flew there and immediately set out to make friends. It wasn’t very hard to do. Everyone here was so friendly and told me that I could let them know if I ever needed anything. The artists in residence that have come and go have all been helpful too. We live in the same quarters so if they ever needed groceries they would take me with them so that I could buy groceries too. I made friends with a couple of them and we still keep in touch. I send them “Homestead updates” when something funny or interesting happens at the park. The rangers have also been great to work with. They’re all hard workers but they make the workplace fun too. The maintenance crew are the best because they have a good sense of humor. They’re jokesters and will have you laughing during lunch or whenever you run into them. They also maintain the house that the artists and I live in, so I appreciate them very much. The YCC crew that works with maintenance have also been fantastic. I think everyone here agrees that they have done exceptionally well with park repairs, with preparations for events, and with the preservation of our environment. Last but not least are my museum friends. Archivist Amy Neumann has been my mentor for the Dempster project and I could not have asked for a better mentor. She had already accomplished so much with the project before I arrived and has been amazing in guiding me through it all. I learned with her that archival work requires a lot of decision-making and the best of your judgement. There isn’t an exact science when it comes to organization of records, so it’s been a little hard for me as a perfectionist but it is also interesting to figure out what the best organization methods are for this project. About a month ago, I met Robin Matty, who was to become our Museum Technician. She has become a good friend and also another fantastic mentor. I respect her knowledge in museum work and I love to hear her share what she knows about museum conservation. She has been here two weeks as the Museum Technician and I wish her the best with her career and her time here. As the weeks dwindle down, I feel sad knowing that my time here will come to an end. I will miss the Homestead family for sure.