A Student of Communities and Santa's Celiac Baker

Forgive the cliches, but sometimes I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. Other times, I feel like a square peg who fits comfortably in a much larger round hole. Please bear with me while I explain.

I have never been a "traditional" archivist. At various times in my life I have worked as an assistant curator, a reference librarian, an "Internet Coordinator," as well as an archivist. I've worked in historical homes, city archives, museums, a science institute, public libraries...in fact, probably a wider variety of places than I can count on two hands. So, rather than self-identifying with any one type of place or profession, I  lately have been calling myself a cultural heritage professional with a specialty in archives. I spend my life exploring all of these institutions -- examining archives as a common thread among them. Today, while taking a long walk, I realized that I should also consider myself a student of communities because what really interests me about all these institutions is their community connection.

Outside of my consulting work, one of the largest projects on my plate is my Life in Context Project in collaboration with Sue West of Space4U Consulting. I will not rehash what I've written before about "Life in Context," but a meeting with Sue yesterday got me thinking about this subject. We are currently working on an aspect of "Life in Context" called "Food Memories." I am not a foodie by any means. I eat what I can on a restricted Celiac diet. I usually only cook big meals at Thanksgiving and other special occasions. I like to go out to eat, but I'm not a connoisseur. However, food is a good launching point for self-exploration and for exploring how one fits into a larger society. We all eat! And once I start thinking about a particular subject, my mind jumps to connections. Sometimes, serendipitously the connections present themselves.

As a case in point: This week, my daughter and I are preparing for our baking weekend. We bake cookies for our friends and for Santa. I only bake gluten free, since I have Celiac Disease. One year, we were concerned that my daughter might have Celiac Disease too, so gluten free baking was particularly meaningful. That year, we discovered that each December Santa sets up a fabulous little shed-like house at the end of a cul-de-sac in a neighboring town. We were told that the lighted houses along the street were a sight to see and Santa would be waiting for us at the end of the road to listen to what we want for Christmas. We drove up in our car. My daughter hopped onto Santa's lap and he offered her a candy cane. I told him, "I'm sorry Santa, but my daughter needs to eat gluten free and we are not sure if the candy cane is okay for her." Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but I'm glad I  did. Mrs. Claus started practically jumping up and down. "Santa has to eat gluten free too!" Who knew? So I drove home and grabbed a tin of my special gf cookies. I drove back with my family and gave Santa the tin. "Merry Christmas Santa! You can have these cookies. They are gluten free." I thought Mrs. Claus was going to cry. We visit Santa's special shack every year and bring him his cookies. Mrs. Claus gives my daughter a special ornament instead of a candy cane. (I don't have the heart to tell her that after receiving medical test results we learned my daughter can eat normally now!) We also leave gluten free cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. I tell my daughter to not divulge to her friends that Santa is a Celiac because they would feel badly about leaving him gluten cookies all of these years!

Why am I telling you this? Besides being timely, this food story reveals my interest in communities. First of all, and perhaps most obviously, this annual December "event" is special to my whole geographic community. Cars line up down the street to see Santa in his shack. Secondly, I feel like I have a special connection to Santa since we are both members of the Celiac community. Third, I find it funny that I tell my little girl to not divulge Santa's food secret. When I was young, I didn't celebrate Christmas and my mother used to tell me to not tell other kids that Santa isn't real! My daughter is a member of a community in which I was not and it's interesting to see how some aspects of her childhood differ from mine because of it.

So, as a student of communities and a cultural heritage professional with my feet in many different camps, I sometimes see things in unique ways. I suspect that is the case with us all. While we may identify firmly with certain communities to which we belong, we may just have a bit of a toe dipped in others. To me, cultural heritage and "memory" institutions are fascinating for this very reason. They stand as their own communities, they can be vibrant parts of a larger community or communities, AND their holdings include the resources that shed light on societal groups - how they overlap and differ.

So perhaps my world-view and my professional view is a little different. (In fact, I was even the girl in high school who floated from one group to another group. I was a jock, an artist, and a school newspaper editor - taking it all in and examining my place.) I have always explored the idea that no matter what you believe, where you live, or what you do, you can find some community connection to anyone else on earth. I find this fascinating. I'm looking forward to continuing my exploration of documents as a "lens" into communities and to exploring communities more fully through my work with our collaborative "Life in Context" project.


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If you are interested in learning more about our soon to be launched "Food Memories", See "Life in Context" on Facebook or follow URlifeincontext on Twitter.

For more about my work with communities see www.archivesinfo.com

All I Want for Christmas

A recent search in a database that seems to reveal the death of my great-grandmother at Nazi hands and a Blog about History post of Nazi "Christmas" photos (http://bit.ly/faAjgn) have inspired my own pre-Christmas blog post today.

To me, Christmas is about all that is decent in this world. It's a celebration of goodness and compassion. It encourages us to show our love for others. It is a recognition of our mutual humanity and an understanding of shared lives, communities, and traditions.   Though I only began celebrating this holiday in my own home as an adult, as a child I celebrated with friends and neighbors. I remember decorating my friend Bobby's Christmas tree and walking through the snow to Beth's house on Christmas to share her mother's fabulous baked goods. I remember admiring the Christmas tree and menorah side-by-side at the mall. In my community growing up, the dominant religions were Catholic and Jewish. We respected each other's beliefs, went to separate places to worship, and shared each other's holidays in small ways -- with an air of respect and friendship.

Our archives remind us of humanity's struggles. Many unhappy events have occurred in the name of religion.  This hits very close to home for me. Much of my mother's family perished in the Holocaust. It was senseless and horrible and crashes greatly with what I recognize in my fellow man.  We are diverse and we have the capacity to respect this diversity.

This Christmas, I am reminded of all that I like about my adopted traditional celebration and wish my readers a season of joy, love, and understanding. May you find happiness no matter what you believe. May you create wonderful family and community memories that you document with care. Show the world and humanity's future what is good about the twenty-first century and its people.

Merry Christmas!

More Finds at the Local Antique Shop - All Dressed Up with Someplace to Go

I love this group photo of people all dressed up in fancy winter attire.  Elaborate hats, bow ties, and groomed mustaches add to the charm of the scene. The first thing I thought when I saw this in a shop a month ago was that perhaps those pictured were heading out to church on a snowy Christmas morning. Someone took the photograph to document the special occasion. It seems appropriate to post the image now with the holiday only a little over a week away.

Christmas seems to be one of the few times we care to dress up any more. Where people once prettied themselves to go to dinner, travel, and even go to work, today we are quickly losing this aspect of human culture. Almost all the restaurants I frequent are casual. Comfortable dress is the ideal on a plane or cruise ship. Suits are becoming less and less the norm for everyday business wear. Images such as the one above remind us why it is nice to sometimes be formal. There is something special about seeing people in their finery. Taking care of our dress reminds us of the occasion in which we are participating, heightening our awareness of self and our sense of place.

A Gift of Ephemera - Replicated Antique Christmas Cards

As I sat in a class on antiques earlier this fall, the instructor showed us a replicated artifact. A question about the motivation for making copies of historical items ensued and over the length of my 6-week course the subject of copies was re-visited over and over again. At one point, I raised my hand to give my two-cents as a history professional with an alternate perspective. We are all aware of forgeries, recognizing the desire for some to dupe professionals or to con eager buyers of materials to make a buck off of them. Museums, libraries and archives often run into objects of questionable authenticity. (Off the top of my head I can think of at least two very recent inquiries into the authenticity of found Picasso drawings and Ansel Adams photographs.) However, I was realizing that the people interested in antiques were seeming to consider all replications as "forgeries." I had never really thought about this before this time.  Replications are not always created with malicious intent and can be a boon to historical institutions that wish to share what they have. Yes, of course, cultural heritage institutions re-create and sell items to make a little money in the process, but there is no design on passing them off as the real thing.

The original item shown in the class was a kitchen aid from the 18th century. (Unfortunately, my full memory of the object itself is faulty so I'll make no pretense to state exactly what the item was, but as I remember it it was some kind of stone trivet or pan.) The "forgery" looked to me like something I would pick up in a museum gift shop. The instructor told us that often such items are made in China and flood the market with the intention of duping prospective collectors of a popular item. The popularity of specific items ebbs and flows, so the U.S. market could be flooded with different items that make their way into the antique world and float around for ages.  So this all got me wondering, how often do the items that museums create for their gift shops fool people who think they are the "real McCoy."

Above are antique "replica" images with full disclosure intact on the front of the item. Though I'm pretty sure that no one would confuse this with the real thing, in light of my antiques class I am glad that it is blatantly put out there. This is a booklet that was given to me by my friend Regina as an early Christmas present. (She was so excited to give it to me that she couldn't wait and her enthusiasm, as always, was infectious.) The booklet  includes 6 pages of perforated and replicated cards. Each postcards says "Merrimack Publishing Company, N.Y...Printed in Hong Kong. REPLICA OF ANTIQUE ORIGINAL." They REALLY want to make sure that you know this is not the real item, but there is no mention of where the real items are located. 

A quick Internet search of "Merrimack Publishing" did not yield detailed information about the company itself, but the search did reveal that most of their items were selling in out of print bookstores. Items included replicated ephemera similar to mine, reproduced children's and history books. The word "Replica" appeared over and over. I also did a quick business search through my local library's databases to no avail. I am still left wondering where the originals of my replications are housed. I will probably trot to my local library later to see what I can dig up in traditional sources.

Ephemera is a wonderful gift that can be quite meaningful. The historic images in my item are lovely. Should I mind that they are not original? Perhaps not, but I would love my item better with a history and if I find out more about the publishing company that might be good enough for me. If I can find the location of the original items, that would be even better, but I'm not sure how much time I will devote to that task... It is interesting to see the old-fashioned images that are really flaring up my Christmas spirit and the generosity of my friend in thinking of me when she purchased these makes them extra special. Though I don't get the excited feeling I generally have when I touch something old and can dream about the people who touched it before me, there is certainly much to appreciate in this replicated historical item. My daughter will certainly admire the cherubs and Santa when I show this to her. The replica will be a useful tool to teach children about archives...I just wish that I hadn't seen one perforated card from this book advertised online for 9 dollars. I am left with my torn antique class feeling all over again