After analyzing nearly two hundred documents in the form of letters between water leaders, riparian maps, and vivid speeches by passionate politicians from the Prendergast Collection over two months, my time with the CLIR Water Project has come to a sudden and unexpected close. I would like to thank my coworkers and Tanya for putting up with my constant questions and making my experience with the project a pleasant and informative one. I enjoyed donning the detective’s hat and putting together the whos, whats and hows of documents over half a century old. It has given me an understanding of what it takes to work in the field of history and more confidence in my decision to be a history major.
This archival position was also gratifying to me because I felt as if I was honoring and preserving the legacy of those who toiled so hard to ensure that we Californians have the most basic and essential resource, despite living in deserts and other barren areas. The overarching story of putting aside Northern and Southern California rivalries and cooperating to preserve the booming population centers for generations to come is inspiring and impressive, especially in our day and age.
While I will no longer be working on this project, I will retain this appreciation of a pivotal moment in our state’s history, as well as the practicalities and importance of archiving which I learned from Tanya, for years to come.