Get to Know our Summer Collections Interns
This summer, we have been grateful to work with three Collections Interns: Emma Choe, a rising senior at Natick High School, Celia Lanza, a rising senior at Needham High School; and Caroline Niedermeyer, a rising junior at Natick High School.
NHS Collections Interns can contribute to several projects, but this summer, Emma, Celia, and Caroline have worked with our photograph collections. To date, they have inventoried over 500 photographs -- and they are still hard at work! They've also rehoused the photographs in archival boxes, now shelved at the Natick History Museum on the lower level of the Bacon Free Library. We've shared a number of the images they've inventoried on social media. Take a look HERE and HERE!
We asked Emma, Celia, and Caroline to answer questions about their passion for the past and work at the NHS. You can read their responses below:
1. When did you first get interested in history?
Emma: I initially became interested in history in 5th grade, watching the History Channel on TV. I loved (and still love) how seemingly trivial objects from the past can tell a larger narrative today!
Celia: History has always been my favorite subject in school. My freshman-year World History teacher got me to love history, and three years later, I still think about what he taught me.
Caroline: I got interested in history during my freshman year and quarantine because I had much free time to explore and research Natick.
2. Do you have a favorite set of photos among the NHS Collections you've worked with this summer?
Emma: My favorite collection I’ve worked with has been the Canoe & Boat Livery photographs. It’s always nice seeing the continuation of traditions & activities into the present, but specifically, one photo of a dog in a canoe with a gramophone swayed me.
Celia: My favorite set of photos I worked on this summer was the Casey's Diner collection.
Caroline: My favorite collection with the NHS is either the old Natick Mall photos or Casey’s Diner!
3. What's great about learning local history?
Emma: Learning about local history gratifies me because it proves how much we’ve grown as a community. Because the composition of buildings today is so different from back then, local history is vital to understanding how the town developed into what we know.
Celia: I have always been fascinated to learn about the stories of the individuals who made up our communities in the past. Learning local history is an excellent opportunity to study people from the past that you would have never heard of otherwise.
Caroline: Learning about local history is interesting because you’re around it every day. It’s fun to look around and speculate where things used to be or what they looked like.