Wednesday, December 1, 2010

VOLUNTEERS, ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION

Calaveras is a small County with their own building, with staff, that runs and maintains a treasure of historical documents, as does nearby Tuolumne County and Amador County. The Calaveras County website gives you access to researchers and information. You can order copies of documents. They maintain research hours for your convenience and they research for you for a fee. A very valuable service.
  /www.co.calaveras.ca.us/cc/Departments/Administration/Archives.aspx

 Volunteering has always been a way of life for myself and other family members. And, since I am a founding member of Calaveras Community Television, a Public Access organization, I joined  archivist, Shannon Van Zant, Public Television employee and journalist, Sarah Lunsford, and Historian, Julia Costello, to choose tapes produced by our access groups for archiving. The choices are those tapes that deal with historical families, events, or places of historical interest, such as historical buildings or places where amazing events happened. It kind of makes me realize I'm becoming an old fossil myself.
It also makes me realize we are all a part of history in the grand scheme of things. I'm glad to be in the company of these talented women and grateful for the project.
Calaveras County also has an active Historical Society, of which I am a member. There website provides wonderful information about displays and the history of this county, a very interesting history, I might add.  www.calaverascohistorical.com/


I volunteer with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department Archives which has no paid staff and no regular source of funding. The difference is telling.  Take every chance you get to support historical and archival projects wherever you are.
Maybe some day, a Ken Burns will come along and make your history exciting and viewable on PBS television.
Hey, I'm working on that.

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