NEH Emergency Flood Assistance Grants
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced it will provide $1 million in Emergency Flood Assistance Grants for museums, libraries, archives, universities and other cultural and historical institutions in federally designated disaster areas affected by the floods in the Midwest.

Applicants should contact the Division of Preservation and Access at preservation@neh.gov or (202) 606-8570 to describe the humanities collections at risk and the nature of the damage. The Division’s staff will guide prospective applicants in the preparation of a letter of request to NEH Chairman Bruce Cole.

For more information visit http://www.neh.gov/Flood_Assistance.html.

Disaster Recovery Resources Available from Lending Resource Center
These resources are currently available to be checked out from the Local History Services' Lending Resource Center:

Book:

• Edwards Disaster Recovery Directory, (Edwards Information, 2006–15th Edition)
  This book includes listings for consulting services, mobile buildings, emergency equipment sources, software for planning and data recovery, training, publications, supplies and associations.

Technical Leaflets:

• Disaster Recovery: Salvaging Books (Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, 2002)
• Disaster Recovery: Salvaging Art on Paper (Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, 2000)
• Disaster Recovery: Salvaging Photograph Collections (Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, 1998)

Eligible borrowers include historical societies, museums, libraries, genealogical groups, and Indiana Historical Society staff and board members. The normal lending period is four weeks. Extensions may be granted if there are no pending requests for the borrowed materials. No charge is made for this service, however the borrower is required to pay return postage.

To borrow one or more of these items, contact Jeannette Rooney at (317) 233-8913 or jrooney@indianahistory.org.


Corning Museum of Glass Book on 1972 Flood and Restoration Available Online
In 1972, The Corning Museum of Glass experienced a flood that broke hundreds of objects, saturated over half the Library (and all the rare books), ruined equipment, and covered galleries, cases, offices, furniture and files with a thick layer of slime.

A book has been published which details the flood and the restoration process, The Corning Flood: Museum Under Water, and the full text is available online at http://www.cmog.org/dynamic.aspx?id=1312.

IRS Disaster Relief Resources for Charities and Contributors
This information and guidance is available for those interested in providing assistance to disaster victims through charitable organizations.

For information, visit http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=149938,00.html.

From Drawing Board to Driveway: How Studebaker’s Avanti Came To Be
This program is part of Insights in History for Seniors and will be held on Wed., July 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the Center for History in South Bend.

Admission is $3 and reservations are requested by June 30.

Andy Beckman, Studebaker National Museum Archivist, will give an in-depth examination of the Avanti’s design features and influences, as well as its transformation from a design into a production automobile.

Participants can also tour the exhibit What Might Have Been: Prototype and Experimental Studebakers, on view at the Studebaker National Museum.

For information, call (574) 235-9664 or visit http://www.centerforhistory.org/.

Old-Fashioned 4th of July Events at the President Harrison Home
This celebration will feature an annual naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens on July 3 and the 33rd Annual Ice Cream Social on July 4 at the Presidential site in Indianapolis.

On Thu., July 3, from 10-11 a.m., the Honorable Judge Sarah Evans Barker will preside over the Naturalization Ceremony of approximately 100 new U.S. citizens. Harrison Home Foundation Board President Thomas A. King will welcome new citizens and their families. The ceremony will be held in a tent on the south lawn rain or shine. Admission to the ceremony is free, and admission to the house tour is free that day to the new citizens, their families and friends.

On Fri., July 4, from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., the 4th of July Ice Cream Social will take place. The activities will include tours with live re-enactments at the Harrison Home, a historical treasure hunt for children, Silly Safaris animal show, a Punch and Judy Victorian puppet show, caricaturist, juggler, magician, Victorian games on the lawn, including croquet, refreshments and live music. The cost is $10 for adults, $4 for students (ages 5-17) and free for children ages 4 and under.

The Presidential site is located at 1230 N. Delaware St. in Indianapolis. Parking for the Independence Day weekend events will be available along Delaware St. and in the Landmark parking lot at 11th and Delaware streets.

For more information visit http://www.pbhh.org/.

Ancient Crafts and Tools Demonstration at Chief Richardville House
This event will be held on Sat., July 5, from 1-4 p.m. at the Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville house in Fort Wayne.

Celebrate the history and traditions of the earliest inhabitants of the Three Rivers area at Miami Indian Heritage Day. Join us as Erik Vosteen demonstrates traditional Great Lakes pottery, stone crafts and tools through an informative presentation and hands-on experience using materials and skills that prehistoric people used daily.

Visitors may tour the historic 1827-built home of Miami Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville at 5705 Bluffton Rd. in Fort Wayne. This restored site affords visitors an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our area’s history. The first floor of the Chief Richardville House is handicap accessible.

The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and free to History Center members and children under 5. Parking is free.

For more information, call the History Center at (260) 426-2882.

Starke County Historical Society Annual Ice Cream Social
This event will be held on Sun., July 6, from 1-3 p.m. (CST) on the lawn of the Starke County Museum in Knox, Ind.

The annual July Open House and Ice Cream Social has been traditionally a social event for the community–a time to show off new exhibits in the museum and have some fellowship together on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Last year more than 300 people attended.

See exhibits that you have never seen before, both inside the museum and outside on the lawn: antique fire engine, old autos, trucks and tractors, Indian arrowheads, a Studebaker buggy and a spinner with her wheel creating yarn from wool. Also available will be the Starke County Interim Report. Is your historic house or business listed in it?  Hear the old time tunes played on the dulcimer, and have some of that great ice cream at the Starke County Historical Society Museum.

The Starke County Historical Museum is located at 401 S. Main St. in Knox. 

Annual Civil War Encampment at the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum
This annual encampment weekend will be held on Sat., July 12, from 2-9 p.m., and on Sun., July 13, from 1-5 p.m. at the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum in Crawfordsville.

The scent of campfires and the sounds of Stephen Foster songs will fill the air once again at the annual Civil War encampment weekend. This year, however, visitors will get a rare chance to dig deeper into the experience of life as one of General Wallace’s rank-and-file soldiers.

The Museum has partnered with Mid States Living History Association, Inc. out of Indianapolis to present several activities on the Museum grounds over the course of the weekend that offer a greater insight into life as a soldier during this tumultuous time in American history. In addition to live demonstrations of camp cooking, construction, medical care, music, telegraphy and artillery training, visitors will have the chance to interact with General Wallace himself, listening in as he reflects on the controversial battle of Shiloh and his innovative defense of Cincinnati.

The live activities include School of the Piece, an instructional training exercise for cannoneers that demonstrates the degree of textbook and practical training required to function on the field of battle. Visitors will also be invited to participate in infantry training drills using toy “Woodfield” (wooden) rifles. Demonstrations in Civil War-era medical care, camp construction and cooking and using a working telegraph (one of the last remaining of its kind in the U.S.) will also be held throughout the weekend.

On the evening of July 12, guests can experience the Civil War re-enactors preparing dinner and readying their tents for nightfall on the lush Museum grounds during their twilight tours of the encampment.

For further information, contact the Museum at (765) 362-5769 or info@ben-hur.com.

Day Trip to the Civil War Era in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Fountain City, Ind.
This event is hosted by the President Benjamin Harrison Home and will take place on Wed., July 16.

The tour will include a visit to the National Underground Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati on the banks of the Ohio River, which separated slave states from free states in the period of American history when slavery was sanctioned in law and supported as a critical component of the national economy. The museum tells the story in major exhibits and programs.

The tour will then visit the Levi Coffin House, an underground railroad station that is located in Fountain City. The Levi Coffin House is a Federal-style brick home built in 1839 and is now a registered National Historic Landmark.

The trip is open to the public and will include lunch at the Porkopolis Tavern and Grill in the Rookwood Factory. The bus will leave at 7:30 a.m. from the Presidential site at 1230 N. Delaware St. in Indianapolis. 

The cost is $70 per person, which includes transportation, museum entry fees, lunch, snacks and gratuities. 

Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Jo Baize at (317) 631-1888 or by e-mailing volunteer@presidentbenjaminharrison.org.

For more information, visit http://www.pbhh.org/.

Kiddies’ Day at the Marshall County Historical Museum
This event will take place on July 19 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Marshall County Historical Museum in Plymouth.

Children ages 12 and under, are invited to enter a costume contest, join in a parade and spend a few hours at the Museum for games, face-painting and other fun activities.

The costume contest will begin at 11 a.m. Children may compete in the category of their choice. Kids may also decorate and enter a favorite wagon, bicycle or tricycle.

Costume prize categories:

• Best Animal
• Most Patriotic
• Best Duo or Group
• Best TV or Movie Character
• Funniest
• Best Historical Costume
• Most Creative Use of Materials
• Most Unusual

Vehicle prize categories:

• Most Patriotic
• Best Vehicle/Costume Combination
• Most Creative Use of Materials
• Most Unusual

Following the contest, there will be a short parade beginning at the Museum and circling around the two blocks bordered by Michigan, Washington, Center and LaPorte Streets.  The parade will coincide with Sidewalk Days and the Rotary Pancake Breakfast, which barricades Garro Street and makes a safe and easy crossing from one block to the next.

The Museum is located on the southwest corner of Michigan and Garro Streets in downtown Plymouth.

In addition to the event on the 19th, the Museum will host an exhibit on the history of Kiddies’ Day throughout the rest of the summer. The Museum has unique artifacts related to Kiddies’ Days of the past, but they are looking for more.

For more information on the Kiddies’ Day event or to contribute to the exhibit contact the Museum at (574) 936-2306 or visit http://www.mchistoricalsociety.org/.

Field Trip to Explore Vincennes
The Sheridan Historical Society is now taking reservations for their fifth annual day trip that will take place on Oct. 11.

This year’s location provides the chance to see the Old Cathedral Church near the Wabash River in downtown Vincennes, the old Indiana Territory Historic Site and an original French house.

Lunch at a Vincennes steakhouse is provided in the package, and those joining the Sheridan delegation will be serenaded by French violins—capturing a taste of the early time period of the community which served as the Indiana Territory capitol. 

In the afternoon, passengers will have a chance to attend the Grouseland Festival of Quilts or take the coach to the Indiana Military Museum, which houses rare military memorabilia, vehicles, artillery, uniforms, insignia and equipment as well as artifacts spanning the Civil War through Desert Storm.

Regrouping in late afternoon, the agenda provides time to visit Grouseland, the home of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States. A light meal will be provided before the journey back to Sheridan.

The cost is $90 per person. Reservations require a $45 down payment with full payment by Aug. 15.  Motor coach seating is limited.

For more information or to make arrangements to join the expedition, contact Donna Pickett at (317) 758-5765 or Connie Mossburg at (317) 758-4790. 

Concerts on the Canal: Independence Day Bash
This concert is held in partnership with the Indiana University School of Music at IUPUI and will be held on Fri., July 4, from 4:30-9:30 p.m. at the Canal Plaza of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center.

The event is free to the public.

This Independence Day Bash will feature the Impalas and the Indianapolis Municipal Band

Free seating is available on the Plaza steps and on the greenway across the Canal. The cost for reserved table seating for four is $30 or $25 for IHS members; for tables of eight: $40 or $35 for IHS members. Tables may be reserved in advance by calling the Welcome Center at (317) 232-1882.

Attendees may bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages to the concert. Attendees may NOT bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises. All alcohol must be purchased on site.

No pets and no smoking allowed on Plaza.

The Café, cash bar and outdoor grill will be open from 5-7:30 p.m.

Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration and Conference
These events will take place on Aug. 8-9 in Indianapolis.

With the help of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is presenting the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration and Conference, which includes free performances, exhibits and activities as well as a conference. Many of these will take place at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

Fri., Aug. 8

• The two-day celebration will kick off on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the west entrance of the Indiana Statehouse, where there will be a reenactment of Lincoln’s February 1861 Indianapolis speech with noted Lincoln interpreter Fritz Klein at the Indiana State House. Music will be provided on-site by the Red Bank ReUnion Band, an Evansville group that performs patriotic and popular 19th century music in period costume with period instruments.
• On Friday afternoon, more free Lincoln-related family activities will be available just a few blocks away at the History Center from 1-4 p.m. The IHS will offer music, crafts and its Freedom: A History of US and The Faces of Lincoln traveling exhibitions, in addition to a self-guided Lincoln walking tour.
• Friday evening marks the beginning of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Conference. Lincoln enthusiasts, educators and scholars can attend a dinner and lecture at the History Center with scholar, author and Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission co-chair Harold Holzer.

Sat., Aug. 9

• The Bicentennial Conference will continue on Saturday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., featuring a keynote address by Edna Greene Medford, associate professor of history at Howard University and author of Lincoln, the War and Black Freedom as well as other Lincoln-related writings.
• The conference will also include several concurrent sessions for: libraries and local historical organizations, facilitated by Joan Flinspach (CEO of the former Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne); schools and educators, led by IHS education staff and Martin Tuohy (National Archives and Records Administration – Great Lakes); and history enthusiasts, directed by Holzer and Medford.

The cost to attend the Bicentennial Conference is $40 for the Friday evening dinner and presentation (cash bar), $35 for the Saturday sessions, or $70 for Friday and Saturday combined.

For more information or to register, contact the IHS at (317) 232-1882 or (800) 447-1830.

Information is also available at http://www.indianahistory.org/.

Children's and Family Program Coordinator at the Kentucky Historical Society
The Kentucky Historical Society, an agency of state government, seeks an individual to develop and implement programs for children and families that provide innovative, hands-on Kentucky history-based experiences in our three museums and off-site.

Programming responsibilities include weekly children's activities, summer day camps, scout workshops and activities that enhance learning in exhibits for families. The coordinator also produces a children's history newsletter and website materials, plans and implements occasional outreach activities for children throughout the state, and coordinates a monthly lecture series for adults.

Minimum requirements include a bachelor's degree in history, education or a related field and an understanding of museum education standards. Excellent organizational and communication skills and work on evenings and weekends as necessary are required. Two years of experience working with children is preferred.

Salary is commensurate with education and experience; the minimum monthly starting salary is $2,548.82. Benefits include paid health and life insurance, vacation and sick leave, holiday pay, state retirement and optional deferred compensation plan.

To apply, send a cover letter and resume to JohnB.Moreland@KY.Gov. Please no phone calls.

The application deadline is July 15, 2008.


Part-Time Tour Guide at the Robert R. McCormick Museum in Wheaton, Ill.
The Tour Guide will provide guided tours of the Robert R. McCormick Museum (RRMM) to a variety of visitor groups, including schools, specialty tours and daily visitors.

Responsibilities:

• Lead group tours through the Robert R. McCormick Museum.
• Ability to relate to groups of varying ages and interest levels, especially school and senior adult groups, and tailor tour content to specific group interests and abilities.
• Research topics related to the history of Robert R. McCormick, early 20th Century Architecture, Chicago Tribune newspaper, DuPage County or similar material related to McCormick and his Cantigny estate and develop personalized tours on these topics.
• Serve as museum greeter and provide both general Cantigny park information and orientation information to visitors as needed.
• Ensure visitor safety and museum security during museum tours.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• College education with courses in history, education, architecture or related field
• Public speaking experience with groups of at least 25 people and must have excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Ability to become First Aid and CPR certified
• Available 2-4 days per week, 2 weekends per month and holidays as required
• Patient, positive, polite and professional demeanor

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to:
Jeff Anderson, Tour Coordinator
Robert R. McCormick Museum
1 S. 151 Winfield Rd.
Wheaton, IL 60187
JAnderson@Cantigny.Org

The RRMM is part of Cantigny Foundation and is located in Cantigny Park in suburban Wheaton, Ill. Information about the museum and Cantigny can be found at http://www.cantigny.org/.

Curatorial Research Assistant in Kirksville, Mo.
The Still National Osteopathic Museum and National Center for Osteopathic History at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Mo. is seeking a Curatorial Research Assistant.

The position is full-time at 32 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Conducting curatorial research for Museum, ATSU/KCOM staff, faculty and the general public. This involves talking and/or corresponding with researchers from around the world to determine their interests and needs; identifying research resources; making judgments about scope and timing of assistance; handling reference services, including usage policies, reproduction requests and fees; overseeing use of the reading room.
• Assisting Curator with donations. This includes preparing and tracking gift lists and donor correspondence; maintaining donor records; cleaning and storing new acquisitions.
• Assisting Curator with collections care. This involves maintaining collections records; doing data entry for computerized inventory; monitoring status of stored artifacts; overseeing cleaning of storage areas.
• Conducting inventory of Museum collections. This involves combining three collections into one numbering system and placing this information into a computer program. Basic computer skills and digital/scanning skills are required.  This is a very detail oriented job; you will be researching past accession records and placing this information along with new information into the system. This is an extensive task and you will work closely with the Curator.
• Working as part of a close-knit team. Because we are a small staff with a large scope of activities, everyone is both a specialist and a generalist.  Staff members take individual responsibility for their own areas but also work collectively on group needs and fill in for other staff as needed, especially with public functions (front desk, etc.).

Requirements

• Knowledge of Excel, Microsoft Word (2007), Adobe Photoshop, Omni page and Past Perfect preferred.
• Patience, creative problem-solving skills, discretion, integrity, initiative and attention to detail. 
• The ability to lift and carry artifacts and boxes (approx. 40 lbs. max.) short distances and to stand on a ladder at times.

Please send your resume and salary requirements to:
Jason Haxton, Director
Still National Osteopathic Museum
800 W. Jefferson
Kirksville, MO 63501
museum@atsu.edu

For more information, visit www.atsu.edu/museum.