![](2007/images/Jun07_petition_sm.jpg) |
Emancipation Petition,
Louisiana City Division Archives. |
Slave Emancipation Petition by Jordan
Kruger, 13
Could you imagine being an eight-year-old child who was a
slave and having your father petition for your emancipation?
This project helped me learn about slavery. It would be really
hard to be a slave and separated from your family. I would
never want to be separated from my family. Irene Wainwright,
who works as a conservationist at the Louisiana City Division
Archives in New Orleans, answered numerous questions about
this document.
I found it most interesting that many of the
documents found at their Archives were written in French.
Ms. Wainwright says that it is hard to read them when they
are in English and when the documents are in French they are
even harder to read!
I asked Ms. Wainwright how she got involved
in preservation and she said that it started after Hurricane
Katrina. After the disaster, she and some of her colleagues
went down to their library to uncover documents that were
most likely destroyed. She said it was a miracle because each
document was dry and safe. I found this to be unbelievable
and quite amazing for the documents at the library to be fine.
I would, like her, assume the documents to be completely destroyed
and unusable.
If the documents had been lost, a part of history
would have been lost along with it. I would never have learned
that the petition was granted and the boy, girl, and their
mother were finally emancipated.
Ms. Wainwright’s job sounds really fascinating,
so I asked her if young people should consider a career in
conservation and what guidance she would give a person interested
in conservation. She says if you love history and love to
uncover information, then you should consider a job in conservation.
She says, “Preparing records so that they can be used
by researchers, and meeting and assisting those researchers
find what they need is rewarding.” If you’re interested
in conservation, go for it, it is a very important job that
sounds so much fun! I don’t want to be a conservator
because I don’t have a lot of patience. I can’t
just be with documents. I’m a people person. I want
to teach little children.
![](2007/images/Jun07_pig_sm.jpg) |
Pink Pig, Atlanta
History Center. |
Squeals on Wheels: the History Behind
Two Precious Piglets by Emily Walker, 12
Rich’s Pink Pig Train is a treasured relic of whimsy
at the Atlanta History Center. The train, that used to run
above Rich’s department store in Atlanta, GA, started
in 1953 with Priscilla, the Pink Pig. During the holidays,
Priscilla traveled over the toy department and went through
a candy cane forest. In the 1960’s, she was joined by
Percival. With the addition of Percival, the train moved to
the roof of the store building and went through a small herd
of live reindeer and by Santa’s workshop.
The original pigs consisted of a head car, a
tail car, and a few passenger cars. The pigs were painted
pink and had tails, noses, ears, and black eyes. Before being
taken to the museum, the parts had to be taken apart and reassembled
into two “whole” pigs because of their bad condition.
Each pig is now over 20 feet long and can be complicated to
care for. When the pigs are moved, they have to be stored
outside and may be damaged by weather. They have to be transported
on uncovered trucks as well. Also, people sometimes break
the rules and touch the pigs.
Currently, the pigs are on display at the Atlanta
History Center and are very popular during the holiday season,
when the ride used to operate. Many families come to take
pictures in front of the pigs and remember when they used
to enjoy riding in them. Childhood memories are the main reason
people come to visit the pigs year after year. Rich’s
store is now a federal office building, and Rich’s company
is owned under the corporate name of “Macy’s.”
Don’t be depressed about all these changes though; the
pigs haven’t had their last squeal yet. You may even
be able to ride a new Pink Pig Train! One of the Macy’s
outlets has a pink pig train inspired by the real thing.
Think the pigs are cool? Think you would you
come back to visit ole’ Percival and Priscilla if you
had been the one visiting Santa and his reindeer? I know I
would.
Conservation is important because if we let
artifacts just sit there, people won’t be able to enjoy
them. They’re more interesting than people think. It’s
not just gluing together broken stuff. I don’t think
I could be a conservator because I don’t have a steady
hand.
I would like to thank Deborah Thomas, a curator
at the Atlanta History Center for the wonderful information
she supplied me with. This article wouldn’t have been
possible without her time and effort.
![](2007/images/Jun07_koala_sm.jpg) |
Koala, Riverbanks
Zoo and Garden. |
Koala Ambassadors from South Carolina
Inspire us to Conserve by Alison Klem, 13
There is a very unique collection of koalas at the Riverbanks
Zoo and Garden in Columbia, SC. These darlings from Australia
arrived through a two-year negotiation between Gov. Jim Hodges
and Australian Premier Peter Beattie from Queensland. The
collection of koalas lives in a house that has multiple exhibits
indoors and out. The local community and the zoo’s Executive
Director Palmer “Satch” Krantz are extremely proud
of this rare exhibit of these Australian animals.
Koala bears live in Australia’s eucalypt
forests, which are disappearing due to development. They are
solitary animals that come together to breed. I asked Mr.
Krantz if he thought that this collection is raising awareness
of this problem in Queensland. He answered, “I like
to think that the animals in our zoo act as ambassadors for
their wild counterparts. By exhibiting koalas and appropriately
interpreting their status in the wild, we hopefully will inspire
our visitors to help save them.” I think that people
should take action about saving the koalas and their environment!
As a young person interested in conservation
of our natural collections of unique animals, I think that
it would be wonderful to consider a career in this field.
Mr. Krantz inspired me in his interview by saying, “I
can think of nothing nobler than working to preserve wildlife
and wild places. As the world’s human population increases,
we will be faced with many tough decisions, just like saving
the koala in Australia.” Koalas are interesting to learn
about and ADORABLE. They are my ambassadors to learning about
conservation. This collection was very interesting because
it was about conservation in the sense of taking care of the
earth, and it was also about conservation in the sense of
preserving things for others to enjoy.
![](2007/images/Jun07_photo_sm.jpg) |
Photograph by Marion
Stark Gaines, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library. |
Photographs by Marion Stark Gaines by
Paige Taylor, 13
I profiled two photos by Marion Stark Gaines, the first published
photographer in Mississippi in the early 20th century. One
photo was a flower and the other was of kids with sticks in
their hands. They were very simple. My favorite print shows
children outside playing in front of an old house. This is
because it shows what rural life was like for children over
one hundred years ago -- what the houses looked like and what
the kids did for fun.
Gaines took a variety of photographs of subjects
including African and Native Americans, agriculture, and family
life. There are only prints in the collection, which are in
relatively good condition, dating back to the late 19th and
early 20th century.
Gaines’ granddaughter, Chebie Bateman
donated this collection of approximately 250 artistic photographs
to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library. Mr. Ben Petersen,
director of the library, is delivering a nomination for this
photographer seeking her entry into the National Museum of
Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
I thought there would've been a lot fewer photographs. I’m
not sure how they would conserve them. But Gaines put a lot
of work into making these photos and it would be a waste if
they were stuck in an attic.
I might be interested in a career in conservation.
You’re helping conserve part of history and that sounds
like fun.
![](2007/images/Jun07_quilt_sm.jpg) |
Quilt by Queen Lili’uokalani,
Iolani Palace |
The Queen’s Quilt by Lisa Crosswell,
13
The Queen’s Quilt was started in 1895, during Queen
Lili’uokalani’s imprisonment in Iolani Palace
(now a museum). It is autobiographical, describing important
events in the queen’s life. The quilt is the only artifact
in the Palace that was made by the queen. It is an important
artifact because it helps the viewer understand the overthrow
of the Hawaiian monarchy a bit better, as well as other events
in the Queen’s life. I learned this from Malia Van Heukelem,
Collections Manager of the Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii.
There are a lot of challenges in conserving
the Queen’s Quilt, because, unlike most artwork, it
is made of multiple kinds of fabric, including silk. The varying
kinds of cloth all have one thing in common: they are all
very fragile, thus adding to the deterioration of the Queen’s
Quilt. Ms. Van Heukelem explained that thousands of dollars
were put into the quilt’s preparation for exhibition.
A professional conservator was assigned the task of repairing
and stabilizing the quilt. A custom display case was made
for the quilt, to support and protect the quilt from dust
and handling. The case has a special ultra-violet filtering
window film, to protect the quilt from the harmful part of
sunlight and UV rays. There are many precautions made about
the temperature and humidity of the room in which the quilt
resides. There are shutters in the room to prevent sunlight
from directly falling on the quilt. The Queen’s Quilt
is an important artifact of Hawaiian history, and if it wasn’t
preserved properly, a major part of Hawaiian history would
be lost. Aloha!!!
It’s a cool way to learn history. You
could learn a load of stuff just by looking at the quilt I
don’t think I could be a conservator. I don’t
have enough patience and concentration for it. I want to be
an actor or writer or something in the arts.
![](2007/images/Jun07_hibi_sm.jpg) |
Apricot Orchard,
by Hisako Hibi, Hayward Area Historical Society Museum |
The Apricot Orchard by Meredith Randle,
13
I profiled the Apricot Orchard, a painting by Japanese American
Artist Hisako Hibi located in Hayward Area Historical Society
Museum (HAHS) in Hayward, CA. It’s a good choice for
me because my family lived in China and we’re into Asian
art. This was the last painting she did before she was sent
to an internment camp. It made me think about her thoughts
when she was painting. This was interesting because it was
Asian and flowy and American all in one.
I found this painting very interesting, since
it shows Hibi’s artistic license. In this painting,
it is believed that Hibi included herself planting in her
garden, even though she was painting an empty orchard. HAHS
Executive Director Mr. Jim DeMersman and I also saw that in
the lower right hand corner was a speed limit sign, showing
that it was a busy street, even then.
I believe that this painting is significant
to our country’s history, since a young Japanese-American
who was put in an internment camp painted it. This painting
shows that our history was not perfect and if we keep this
painting alive for other generations, they will know how it
affected them and their culture. If people make sure this
painting is conserved, their history will be conserved. The
museum received it 1988. It was in “good” condition,
but they really have no idea what that means.
Some of the conservation issues are how to keep
the paint on the canvas without damaging the painting. The
best way is to clean it with human spit. It’s a soft
solvent that cleans without harming the painting. I might
consider becoming a conservator. I think I would like it because
I like history and art and it’s a way to show history
through art. I could do what I like and get paid for it.
![](2007/images/Jun07_hours_sm.jpg) |
The Hours, by Edward
Greene Malbone, Providence Athenaeum |
Teenage Girls Can Do Anything! By Tess
Stryk, 13
In 1854, the Providence Athenaeum in Rhode Island obtained
the painting The Hours by Edward Greene Malbone due to the
fundraising efforts of a teenage girl, Elizabeth Patten. The
painting is a miniature on ivory of three female figures that
represent the past, present, and future. Despite the scoffing
of the Athenaeum Vice President, Elizabeth’s father,
the daughter raised the large sum of $1,200 (one third of
the museum’s yearly budget) to acquire the important
painting. This is the only item in the Athenaeum that was
purchased; all other objects were donated.
According to Collections Librarian Kate Wodehouse,
the “painting has always been well cared for and stored
away from direct light, which is why it remains in good condition
today.” It is the largest and most well known painting
by Malbone, a Rhode Island native, considered one of the most
important miniaturists of the 18th century. After being recovered
from a robbery, the painting now hangs in a special locked
wooden case above the circulation desk.
Fortunately this object has never needed conservation
treatment; especially important since the museum lost funding
for the conservation position several years ago. The artist
applied watercolor paint to slithers of ivory that were backed
with white paper or aluminum foil to give them a luminous
sheen. The conservation of such an object would require the
search for an ivory specialist, which is why the Athenaeum
takes great care to keep it in good condition.
Young people should follow their passion, if
they intend to pursue a career in conservation, Ms. Wodehouse
advised. “Caring for and working with precious objects
to preserve them for the future generations to enjoy is a
very rewarding career,” she said. Her job is to care
predominantly for books dating from 1300 to the present, making
sure they are free from environmental hazards and that their
contents is available electronically for library patrons.
![](2007/images/Jun07_pines_sm.jpg) |
Princess Pines,
Adkins Arboretum |
Preserving Princess Pines, an Ancient
Form of Plant Life by Leila Spolter, 13
The princess pine, also called running cedar or crowsfoot,
grows naturally at the Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely, MD and
was there when the Arboretum was formed in 1980.
The roots of the princess pine form an association
with a mycorrhizal fungus, which makes them very difficult
to propagate because they do not live long without the fungus.
They are also very slow to mature taking 6- 20 years before
they produce spores. The genus, Lycopodium, is very old and
ancestors of the princess pines grew to be the size of trees.
Princess pine is traditionally used to make
Christmas wreaths on the Delmarva Peninsula and in other parts
of the United States. The spores of Lycopodiums are also used
to make an explosive powder.
It is important to conserve the pines because
they represent a very ancient form of plant life and are a
sign of a healthy, mature forest, according to Dr. Sylvan
Kaufman, conservation curator at the Adkins Arboretum.
The difficulty in propagating them and their
slow growth rate is a challenge in conserving these plants,
he said. Young people should consider a career in collections
and conservation because museums play an important role in
educating the public about our cultural and natural heritage.
It is a career that offers a combination of teaching, research,
and writing and you can learn a great deal about the collections
you care for.
If you are interested in conserving these plants
then you should learn all the basic sciences and choose the
topic that most interests you to pursue in your career. It’s
also important to learn how to communicate and be well-organized.
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