JCHC Updates: Photo Album

Hello.

I decided to spend today at the JCHC taking photographs of our current exhibits. I had the idea that our website could use a little more flair, and I decided to make a Flickr slideshow that I could embed onto our exhibits webpage.

So after a few hours of photographing and uploading, this is the final result:

I hope you enjoy!

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Journeys

Hello everybody!

It's been really busy here at the JCHC. We just opened up a new exhibit, "Journeys," that focuses on people of color and their experiences in Jefferson County. The exhibit features an Underground Railroad "tunnel" entrance where guests enter into a "dark basement" where a motion sensor triggers the playing of audio that exposes visitors to the sounds and feelings of a group of slaves running away and hiding from Federal Marshals. Also featured in the exhibit is a scale model of the historic Heath house on Pickering Street that was used in the Underground Railroad.

I took the time to record some footage of the new exhibit and put together a short video "trailer" of the JCHC project using my Flip Video and iMovie. Please take the time to enjoy the brief tour of the Jefferson County History Center's new exhibit "Journeys":



This project is supported by a Preserve America grant from the National Park Service and administered under the Preserving African American Heritage in Pennsylvania program of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

-Nathan

Hot Off The Press...

You'll notice that I'm holding a physical copy of the new JCHC brochure that I designed. I'm very excited to get these out for our visitors and to hear feedback!

JCHC Updates: Tour Guide Pamphlet & Pepsi Refresh Project

After a long summer...I'm officially back to work at the JCHC. (Technically I started back last week, but this is my first blog post since the spring.)

One major item that I am working on at the moment is a pamphlet for the museum that acts as an informational tour guide. I had designed a similar item last year, but it never got printed. So, this time around, I had more of a focus on editing the content and creating a visually appealing document. Now that I have a new computer to work from, I was able to utilize Microsoft Publisher to create the new pamphlet. The design is a bi-fold, 8.5" x 11" brochure that has a building map on the inside as well as a description of the museum galleries. Take a look at the front cover...you'll notice a more professional look based upon the organizations "branding." Hopefully these will be sent to get printed within the next few weeks.

Another important item that I would like to address is the Bowdish Model Railroad and its involvement in the Pepsi Refresh Project. Through various forms of voting, the Bowdish Railroad has the opportunity to win a $10,000 award to help maintain and update the popular exhibit.

For more information on how you can help out the JCHC and the Bowdish Model Railroad, please take a moment to read our eNewsletter about the project.

That's all I have for right now. Be on the lookout for more news relatively soon.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: PA Civil War 150 Roadshow

Be sure to check out PACW150's Civil War Road Show this summer at the Jefferson County Fair on July 21 - 23, sponsored by the Jefferson County Historical Society!

JCHC Grad Assistant Blog: Summer

Hello,

It's been quite some time since I've posted anything of real substance on my blog.  This doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot going on at the JCHC, it just means that there has been so much going on with the organization and the wrapping up of my graduate classes for the semester that I have not been able to find the time to post any updates.

Lately, most of my time, I have been working on the "Historic Brookville" street markers in Photoshop.  I basically have three signs done to be shown to the board: the Marlin Opera House Block, the New Jefferson House and Columbia Theatre, and the Sandt Service Station.  I'm very pleased with the outcome of this project and look forward to the continued work on them in the time to come.

Other than that, I have been doing my normal, everyday duties of web upkeep, constantly updating our Facebook, Twitter, and website information.  This has been a major focus of mine since I first started at the JCHC, and I try to take a little time each day to connect with members through our social media.

For me, the semester is coming to an end, and my assistantship with the JCHC is going to go on hold until next fall.  Tomorrow will be my last regular day of work for this academic year, but I am very glad to volunteer my time to work on these projects (mainly the historic signage) from home this summer whenever I have free time while working as a summer member of AmeriCorps.

I will definitely try to stay up to date with this blog during the summer whenever I finish a project or update items on the web.

I'll be back in full swing in late August!

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Facebook & Gift Shop

Hello everyone!  It's been awhile since my last post.

I've been really busy working on the designs for the signage that we are planning for Main Street.  However, today I took a little break from that to update a few internet resources.

First of all, we are really close to getting the jchconline.org virtual gift shop up and running with paypal.  Hopefully by the end of the month, people will be able to use this service to order our specialty books.

Secondly, I took a little time to update our Facebook profile picture.

I'm also working on networking some more to get new fans for our page so that our news and events reach more people.

-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 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

JCHC Updates: Back From Break

Hello everybody!  After a long hiatus from being on winter break, I'm finally back at the JCHC.  There is a lot that I have to look forward to, and I'll discuss that later.  Right now, here is a brief update:

Over the break, I finished my work on the 105th video project and am just waiting for some critique and any corrections or changes that need to be adapted into the project.  I also just finished an article for our print Newsletter that will be sent out in the next week or two.  The article was on the technology that I've worked into the JCHC including Facebook and our eNewsletter emails.  Speaking of the eNewsletter, there will be a new issue being sent out sometime between today and Friday.  Very exciting stuff!

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: e-Newsletter Now Live!!

Hello everyone!

I'm happy to say that today marks the maiden voyage of the new JCHC e-Newsletter emails.

We launched this new campaign based on a compiled member list from everyone's email contact list here at the History Center.  We hope that this helps to spread the word about news and events from the JCHC.

This first email focuses on the special Fieldstone concert that we are sponsoring on Dec. 22nd.  If you didn't receive this email, or would like to sign-up for the list, please follow the link at the top of my blog for a sign-up form.

Click here to view the email.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: New e-Newsletter

Hello.  It's been a while since my last post.  Most of my work has been on the 105th video project trying to wrap it up.  However, today, I dabbled a bit into a new project.

Here at the JCHC, we are lacking an email circulation where our members, patrons, and guests can be added to a list to receive emails about events, news, and promotions going on here and in town.  After some research, I found a really neat and useful tool online called MailChimp.  This tool allows users to create great looking HTML based emails that can be sent to entire lists of people.  So far, this tool is proving to have a lot of potential for the JCHC.  Here is a sample email that highlights some of the items that we would like to be able to send our members.

I'm really excited to get this email stuff rolling.  Hopefully within the next week it'll be up and running, and I'll even have a sign-up form here on my blog for anybody that would be interested in receiving these emails.

As always, feel free to leave any questions or comments.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Video Narration

Grinding away at the narration for the 105th.  I have both 1861 and 1862 scripted and ready to record.  Only three more years to do...

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Back To Work on the 105th

Hello everybody.  Today, I went back to work on the 105th video project after a small hiatus.  Basically, I paused the project so I could have a break from the monotony.  So, the 105th is back in my foreground right now, and video editing is consuming myself.  I'm looking to have all the timing done on the videos before next week so that I can start the narration process from home over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hopefully by being at home, I'll have a quiet place to record the audio without the hustle and bustle of people in and out at the JCHC all day.  Stay tuned for more information and some previews in the near future.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Informational Brochures

Hello everyone.  Our busiest time of the year when all the students come in for visits is finally over, so focus can now be spent on improving upon the organization.  For me, this means revamping the JCHC informational brochures and working on connecting with our members and patrons in different ways.

Most of you probably already know that the JCHC can be found on both Facebook and Twitter, both of which can be used to keep track of our news updates and event information very easily.  Check out the links below:

Those two social media links for the JCHC have been up and running for a little over a month now, and hopefully they continue to help us reach out to interested parties in a quick and accessible manner.

The informational brochures that I am working on were mostly my idea due to the fact that our previous ones are outdated and very low in supply.  So, rather than just copy the old one and make changes, I decided to start from scratch.  When planning out what information would be effective and appropriate, I determined that more than one brochure was needed to relay the desired information based on the audience.  So, I started designing a general information brochure, a brochure for teachers interested in the JCHC as an educational resource, and one for students (K-12) who might be working on a class project or assignment.  The work on these brochures is mostly done except for the proofreading, editing, and tweaking before I can declare them to be finished.  Stay tuned for digital copies of these brochures in the near future.

If anyone has questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Virtual Gift Shop

Today, I've been spending some time getting our gift shop portion of the JCHC website up and running.  I started out yesterday picking out a list of important books that we have helped publish and that we sell in our gift shop.  These books will be featured for purchase on our website in the near future.  I had to go through, pick out the books off the shelf, take photos of the covers, mark down the price, tax, and shipping cost, and compose a brief description of the product.  Hopefully we will have these online soon.  Right now, it's rather frustrating because things aren't working the way that they are supposed to.  I've been working all morning trying to figure out where the errors lie and get them corrected.  Anyways, I just wanted to keep everyone posted about what we're working on here at the History Center.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  We look forward to having two student visits this coming week...more school kids on Wednesday, and on Friday, we are going to be visited by a group of students that are home-schooled.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: New Poster

Today, I decided to take a little time and see what I could do in the field of graphic design to help promote the JCHC.  I figured using our Bowdish Model Railroad exhibit as a test subject would be rather appropriate since we have shows open to the public every month.  Using photoshop, I was able to come up with this:

This is just the beginning.  I really enjoy doing things like this, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can come up with in the future.  

To update you on the status of the 105th project, I started doing a lot of research regarding Colonel Amor A. McKnight.  I figure on having a separate video in the project just based on his life and time spend commanding the 105th.  He was a very interesting man, and I hope to show him in that manner.

That's all for now.  Feel free to contact me for any reason.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: 105th Project Updates

Hello.  This is my first post in awhile.  I ended up leaving work early last Thursday and did not make it in on Friday due to a cold that has been going around.  But, now I'm back at it with some updates for everyone.

First of all, on Thursday before I went home early, our website designer came in to give me some walkthroughs on how the site is managed and maintained.  He also gave me a rundown on how our touch screen podiums work throughout the museum.  A lot if it is really technical and will take some time to practice, but with time I believe that I will be able to do a lot more and incorporate some of my own ideas both on the touch screens and the website.

Last week, before my sick hiatus, I continued my work on the 105th video.  Right now, a lot of the work is going into scripting the narration as well as editing the video's timing to match.  This is a lot of time consuming work that is very monotonous and dull at times.  Blogging is a great way to take a break and escape the dull for a little bit.

Today, I finished up the final outline for the "1861" narration as well as the video timing that goes along with it.  Since the office here isn't the best environment to record audio narration, I moved on to doing the same for the "1862" video.  While working on the narration, just like before, the opportunity for supplemental slides presented themselves.  So, along with the scripting and editing, I also designed a few more still slides to better help visualize different thing from the video.  Here is an example slide:

Hopefully, images like this will add to the overall presentation of the project and make the video more accessible to all the viewers.

That's it for now.  Stay tuned for more updates along the way, and as always, feel free to contact me with questions or comments.

-Nathan

JCHC Updates: Facebook and Twitter

I thought today I would share some new things that I've done for the JCHC and the blog.  First of all, you might notice the new header image I added to the top of this page.  I designed the image to give a better overall look to the blog.  I used Photoshop to make the simple image, and I found the fonts that are used at a really cool website.  It's called FontSpace, and it's home to thousands of free fonts for you to download and use.

Today was also spent connecting the JCHC beyond my blog and our website.  Social media is a huge medium right now that only continues to grow.  I thought it would be appropriate for the JCHC to have a Facebook page and a Twitter account to keep our patrons updated with news and special events.  I also added a box on the right-hand side of this blog that shows the Facebook updates right here on this page.  Here are the links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jefferson-County-History-Center-Brookville-PA/128002143919027?ref=ts

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JCHConline

Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, share us with your friends and family, and keep updated!  Enjoy!

-Nathan