While studying at Grove City College, I had the pleasure working as an intern at The Pike County Historical Society and The Columns Museum in Milford, Pa. The main draw to the museum is the Lincoln Flag, which was used as bunting on the Presidential Box at Ford’s Theater the night of Lincoln’s assassination. After he was shot, the flag was used to cushion his head, and the blood relic was kept by the stage manager Thomas Gourlay, who in turn gave it to his daughter Jeannie (an actress in the show that night). She moved to Milford in 1888 and the flag was donated to the Historical Society in 1954.
The museum also hosts a variety of pieces from local and national history, such as original WWII propaganda posters, a steel girder from the World Trade Center, among other collections. Some of my duties at the museum included re-designing and creating exhibits, signs for each piece, and even reorganizing the gift shop. I also managed the front desk, gave tours of the museum, and sometimes ran the museum on my own some days.
I also had the chance to focus on a variety of projects. I researched and presented a lecture on World War I medical history, and I also had the chance to create a large display for Pike County’s 200th anniversary celebration and to host several fundraisers. Not only did I learn so much about my home county, but I was able to learn about the administrative side of a museum. This public history internship was a great adventure, and I was so blessed to be a part of it.