JCHC First Look: "Drumbeat To War"

As March approaches, so does the opening for our first 150th anniversary commemorative Civil War exhibit, Drumbeat to War.  This exhibit is planned to feature depictions, dioramas, and original artifacts dealing with the recruiting process, training, and camp life of the recruits from Jefferson County at the start of the war.

In 1861, many Americans thought that the Civil War would only last a very short time.  Originally, a term of service that men signed up for in the spring of '61 was for a period of only three months.  Soon, the American people would realize that the war would last a lot longer than only three months.

Our exhibit captures the excitement and expectations directly related to 1861.  Right now, we are trying to finish everything up before the opening.  For me, this means work on designing signage.

Take a look at what the gallery housing the exhibit looks like at the moment:

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Winter 2011 Jeffersonian

Today, I uploaded the latest issue of The Jeffersonian, the JCHC print publication that gets mailed out three times a year to members, to our website.  I wanted to share this with you because this issue contains an article that I wrote pertaining to my use of technology within the organization.

Below is an excerpt from my article:

"In today’s world where technology rules and people have access to an endless supply of information at home, at work, and on devices that fit right in their pockets, communication technologies are becoming a huge deal. For us, we see this as an opportunity to connect and share our work with the world. Here at the JCHC, we are changing the way that we communicate with members, patrons, historians, the community, our friends, and other organizations...

[One] step we’ve taken to connect more frequently with people is through the use  of an Enewsletter that gets delivered directly through email.  This service allows us to send out announcements about events and share news in a more frequent manner than our print newsletter.  Our first issue went out in early December and announced the Fieldstone holiday concert sponsored by the JCHC.  If you received this email, you are already on the mailing list.  However, if you did not receive the eNewsletter and would like receive future announcements, you can head to http://eepurl.com/bO6iP or contact us via email or phone in order to sign up."

To read the rest of the article as well as the remainder of this issue of The Jeffersonian, please visit this link: The Jeffersonian, Volume 24, Issue 1, Winter 2011

-Nathan

JCHC First Look: Civil War 150th Anniversary Commemoration

Hello everybody!

Today has been spent working on getting the word out on the next big thing going on at the JCHC.  What we are planning is a five-year commemoration of the Civil War.

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the war, and museums and historical organizations across the country are busy putting together exhibits and programs to commemorate the people effected by the conflict.

To read more about our plans and efforts, please follow this link to the JCHC e-Newsletter presenting the first information about the commemoration.
(Note: This is a sneak preview of the e-Newsletter scheduled for delivery on Monday, Feb. 14th)

A lot of excitement can be felt around the History Center as we prepare to unveil our very first contribution in this five-year event.

Keep looking for updates along the way as more information can be shared about our commemorative celebration.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: MailChimp User Guide

Hello everybody!

Some of you may know that here at the JCHC, we've recently started using the HTML email service provided by MailChimp.  This service allows us to create and send very nice emails to our contact list very efficiently.

Originally, I found the website, started using it to get used to its features, and began sending out our initial emails.  I feel as though, since I am not always going to be a graduate assistant at the JCHC, that I should put together a small, easy to follow users manual for creating and sending emails through MailChimp.

So, I put together a 15 page guide that shows anybody how to log on and use the great features that the website has to offer.

The guide has many pictures showing where key buttons and links on the site are.  I designed it to be relatively basic, yet detailed enough for the user to learn more advanced features of the website through exploration and experimentation.

Now, all I have to do is make a guide for our Facebook...

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: 105th Updates

Hello everyone.  Today, I've been spending some time putting the finishing touches on the 105th project video.  The meat and potatoes of the entire thing is done, but I'm adding a bit more flavor to it.  I decided to add in a little "Effects of the War" portion to focus on some individuals in the regiment and how the war impacted the soldiers.  This portion of the video will include some stories of officers as well as looking at the large number of men lost due to battle. Included will be some images of actual soldiers in the 105th regiment that we have in the JCHC archives.  Hopefully, this will allow the users to connect more to the story of these men and all the miles that they traveled along their five year journey.

Did you know, the 105th regiment ranks among the top ten regiments for men that were killed or died of wounds?  Out of the 1,992 men that enlisted with the regiment, 245 died...that's 12.2% of the members!

On a side note, I also updated the "Board Member" portion of the JCHC website.  I've added pictures of a few of the board members...the remainder are soon to come.

-Nathan