Here is a copy of my acceptance letter. It's hard to read, but they are giving me between $1300 and a $2000 stipend after the completion of the program!
The next day, I received my "orientation" materials. Joshua Lane, the Summer Fellow tutor, sent along a book entitled Historic Deerfield: A New England Village which details the history of Deerfield and of the living history museum's establishment. He also provided a packet of information about the Fellowship.
I will be arriving in Deerfield on either June 11 or 12. My boyfriend Andy and I will be taking a short trip to Boston beforehand. I will be living in one of two apartments attached to historic museum houses, either the Allen House or the Wright House. Each apartment has a full kitchen, two shared bathrooms, and dorm-style bedrooms. They furnish each room with a bed, desk, chair, lamp, shelving, and closet space. The kitchens will be stocked with breakfast food for each day, but lunch and dinner will either be made for us or we will go out to eat. I'm also glad we get a window air conditioner so I don't die in the Massachusetts summer heat!
I am excited for doing research at the Memorial Library in Deerfield, but I also get borrowing privileges at the University of Massachusetts Library. Exciting!!
As for the work: I know we will have to give tours of the historic houses, but I'm not sure which one (s) yet. Our main group project will be to research and write labels for a group of objects to be displayed in the Flynt Center lobby exhibition cases next spring. That will definitely be a great museum learning experience! Our individual project consists of researching and writing about a topic of our choice related to the history of the Connecticut River Valley. The final paper will be 20+ pages and will be due on August 5.
After the completion of the paper and the program, we will be going on a week-long field trip to Washington D.C., Colonial Williamsburg, and the Winterthur Museum, with other stops along the way!!
Fortunately, we get three days off from July 1-3, so I will probably come back home for two days.
There are a total of 7 Fellows, including myself. 5 girls and 2 guys. Most of them have just graduated from College this semester. They amount of diversity is great: we hail from Kansas to Massachusetts to Virginia to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and even France! I am anxiously awaiting my arrival in Deerfield (and Boston) and aim to prepare myself for an interesting, busy summer in the meantime! I'll keep you posted.
