We are absolutely thrilled to welcome a new volunteer Dorothy Truman and Denison University Posse Scholar intern Ibrahim Ibrahim to the LHC team!
Dorothy is a retired archivist who worked at the Boxford town clerk’s office, the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum (where she knew Eartha), Historic Speedwell Ironworks (in NJ), the New York Academy of Medicine (in Manhattan) and has experience in dealing with church archives (Episcopal). She came to LHC several weeks ago because she was interested in our Essex Co. collection and before she left asked if we needed volunteers. Knowing the value she, as a seasoned professional archivist, would add to our organization, we eagerly said, “Yes!”
She is now working on processing the Donald J. Christensen Papers, a wonderful collection of material related to the process of textile dyeing. Christensen was chief chemist at Textron and Indian Head and Colport Fabrics - the Nashua Finishing Company. He died in 2007 and in 2012 his daughters (also LHC members and Lawrencians) donated his library to us – nearly 15 boxes of fabric sample books, industry periodicals, chemistry processes and experiments records and much more. Kathy Flynn, LHC volunteer researcher, spent time organizing the material, wiping clean the dusty books, and removing rusty staples and paperclips. Dorothy has taken over the arrangement and description of the collection and her work will result in a finding aid.
Ibrahim is a Denison University Posse Scholar who will be interning with us daily from June to mid-August. We were contacted by him in the early spring about an internship and cited that his primary interests are religion and history. Under the supervision of LHC collection manager Amita Kiley and archivist Dorothy Truman, Ibrahim will be processing, arranging, and describing our large Presbyterian Church Collection which holds records dating back to the mid to late 1800s. These records were rescued from the church upon its closing and we have many researchers interested in accessing them.
Ibrahim will also be learning how about how archives operate, e.g. he will attend Collection Committee meetings, assist researchers, photograph and catalog artifacts, learn various preservation methods, and may even work with students at our summer writing workshop.
Welcome Dorothy and Ibrahim!