This summer the Leelanau Historical Society hosted three emerging professionals through a summer internship program. This was an immersive experience, offering hands on opportunities within the museum and archives. Each intern assisted with the ongoing digitization of the LHS collection of historical photographs, documents, and artifacts. They also learned how to utilize a variety of resources for historical research, and exhibits. They worked closely with the staff and museum visitors.
THANK YOU!
These paid internships were made possible through the North Lake Foundation.
Meet The 2023 LHS Interns
Name: Diana Baxter
University Attended: Colgate University, NY
Area of Study: History, Geography, Japanese Language
Graduated: May 2022 – Bachelor of Arts
Why were you interested in working at LHS?
As a history major, I spent a lot of time doing archival research, especially while writing my thesis. This experience made me want to get behind the scenes and see how a historical society operates, maintains its collections, and preserves the history of the area it serves.
What have you enjoyed most about the internship?
I have really appreciated the level of independence that LHS has given me to do research and
writing. So far, I have written panel text for the museum’s exhibits, written a long form blog post, and helped fulfill research requests about various topics. [Read Diana’s Blog]
What is something you learned about that you found interesting?
I was a geography minor, so learning about the historical place names of the Leelanau Peninsula has been particularly interesting. Lake Leelanau, for example, used to be called Carp Lake, and the town of Lake Leelanau used to be called Provemont (from the word “improvement”). Try to answer each question with a two sentence concise response.
What did you find most interesting or informative about your visit to the North Manitou Shoal Lighthouse?
While I knew a bit about The Crib, its history, and its restoration before going on the tour, exploring it in person really drove home how much ingenuity and creativity it takes to restore such a structure. How, for example, do you prevent birds from using it as a nesting site, when they had done so freely for the 40 years that the lighthouse was shuttered? The North Manitou Lightkeepers (NMLK) have tried several strategies to mitigate cormorant nesting, the most successful of which has been a propane cannon that releases timed blasts to scare away the birds. Additionally, how do you best raise funds to restore a structure that is largely inaccessible to the public, except by chartered tour? NMLK has found that funding drives for specific parts of the lighthouse (ex. sponsoring a single window, or a pane of glass in the lantern room) are generally more successful than seeking donations for a general funding pool.
Name: Jared Oosse
University: Western Michigan University, MI
Area of Study: Department of English/Majored in English: Literature and Language
Graduated: April 29, 2023 – Bachelor of Arts
Why were you interested in working at LHS?
As a descendant of Port Oneida settlers, the history cataloged by LHS is quite often my history. Additionally, this internship advertised the development of several key skills that apply to my future career goals.
What have you enjoyed most about the internship?
I have enjoyed assisting a local writer* with the editorial process. Editing is my passion and LHS has given me the opportunity to work with a writer in that capacity.
[*Staff Note: Jared worked closely with Susan Wasserman, LHS’s 2022 Leelanau Press Research Fellowship recipient. Stay tuned for more information about Susan’s book.]
What is something you learned about that you found interesting?
As evidenced by James B. Hendryx’s* typewritten letters, the usage of a series of symbols in place of curse words was common practice, Ex. son of a %$#*#$. This is interesting to me because this style is used in modern texting as well.
[*Staff Note: James B. Hendryx (B.1880 – D.1963) was a popular adventure novelist who lived in Suttons Bay. The James B. Hendryx Collection is part of the LHS Collection and contains personal drawings, correspondences, manuscripts, and copies of James’ published works.]
What did you find most interesting or informative about your visit to the North Manitou Shoal Lighthouse?
Having grown up with chickens, I have always considered birds to be unintelligent creatures. However, the owners of “The Crib” have been challenged over and over again by the tactics exhibited by the local cormorant population. To protect “The Crib” from the incessant barrage of cormorant excrement, the owners have utilized all known deterrents from air cannons to decoy birds. Yet, the cormorants have time and time again become wise to these tricks and returned to “The Crib” in utter defiance of humanity’s attempts to maintain an excrement-free environment.
Name: Nuala Burke
University: Saint Ambrose University, IA
Area of Study: English Major with Concentration in Creative Writing
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2024
Why were you interested in working at LHS?
I was interested in working at LHS because I am an art history and museum studies minor. Leland is one of my favorite places, and getting to spend the summer working with the archives was one of the best experiences.
What have you enjoyed most about the internship?
Out of everything that I have done, my favorite thing was working in the archives with the old photos that were brought in. Seeing how things looked specifically in the 70s was one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to do. View Nuala’s additions to the LHS Online Archives*.
[*Staff Note: Jill Cheney (B.1942- D.2023) was an avid historic postcard collector who donated over 1,200 digital scans from her personal collection to the Leelanau Historical Society Digital Collection. Nuala added 70 image records of Jill’s to the LHS Online Archives.]
What is something you learned about that you found interesting?
One thing that I learned that I found interesting was working with a uniform from WWII. I had to research what some of the different pins and medals meant, and that was very informative.
What did you find most interesting or informative about your visit to the North Manitou Shoal Lighthouse?
I unfortunately was not able to make the trip to The Crib, but when I saw the presentation given on my first day here, I learned a lot. I am not from the area, so everything that was spoken about was new information to me. The thing that I found to be the most interesting was how many people are involved in running the lighthouse and keeping it all safe and up to date. With something as interesting as the lighthouse itself, I hadn’t thought deeply into the “behind the scenes” of it all.
2023 Summer Intern Trip
In July, the Leelanau Historical Society partnered with Fishtown Preservation Society to take both organization’s interns for a tour of the North Manitou Shoal Lighthouse, aka “The Crib”. The day was spent with tour guide Dave McWilliam of the North Manitou Light Keepers exploring this unique off-shore lighthouse and learning about the preservation efforts and future goals of the historic structure.
Read Fishtown Preservation Society’s 2023 Intern, Jordan Evan’s blog about the trip.
