Final Week….

This is my last week in the CLIR CCEPS Fellowship program. The program has helped me hone my skills both as an individual and as a working professional. Through the one year I have worked here, I have been able to understand time management, team work and professional ethics which are key elements for any career seeking individual. Freedom in the work space and being able to adapt based on fellow team members’ workflows also played a crucial role in this program. Being able to use the Hasselblad camera and experiment with lighting techniques for different archival materials was my most favorite part of the program.

Tanya has been a great mentor for me throughout the program in making me understand the process right from scanning till uploading the materials into the collection. Her patience and understanding helped me grasp the process quicker and stay ahead in the work front. I would like to thank her for looking at me as an individual and as a team player.

Report!

This report is reported to report the fact that the report for the newly reported reports has been reported to the person in charge of reporting these reports to another committee responsible for reporting the final report in the form of a physical report. The report should also report the fact that the word “report” has been reported more than what the reporting guidelines would recommend in a report, for the amount of reports with metadata, that is. Lastly, it is reported that the grammar might make no sense whatsoever, reportedly.

Telegrams, telegraphs and letters….

This week I continued working on the metadata for the collections from
the A.K. Smiley Public Library. The items I uploaded this week were mainly telegrams, telegraphs and a handful of letters. They were sent between James T. Taylor, the chief engineer at the Bear Valley Irrigation Company and the Spreckels Bro’s Commercial Company.

The subject that was mainly exchanged was the shipment of a specific type of cement known as the ‘Willingham’ cement at the rate of $3.55. Usually cement prices are measured per ton, but in the materials I worked on, it was not mentioned clearly on what metric basis they were measured in. In 2018, the price of a ton of cement was approximately $125.00. Also, I was unable to find any solid information on what the ‘Willingham’ cement was. The shipping of the cement was done using railroads. Thus, in the telegrams or telegraphs, the number of cars of cement being shipped was stated, which was usually followed by a reply confirming the arrival of materials. When the term ‘cars’ were mentioned, it referred to the railway cars.

One unique letter that caught my eye was a reference letter for a Mr. Marcus A. Byron for a job at the Bear Valley Irrigation Company. Having come near my graduation and as I will be moving into the zone of job hunting where reference letters are a key factor, this letter rather reminded me to change gears and pick up some speed on my career front.

Yellow File Folders

In the room where I work in
Lived a man who sharpened pencils
And he wrote down the numbers of files
In the land of file folders
So we put documents in them
Till we run out of space
And we shoved them back in boxes
With our yellow file folders

Thank you!

There always comes a time when one has to say goodbye to their colleagues and this task may prove to be a difficult one. This week, several thoughts were going through my mind as I was deciding what to blog about on my last day as a CLIR CCEPS fellow. But now, when the actual moment has arrived, I can’t think of anything except two words, ‘Thank you!’ I can’t tell you how enriching my last year has been here at CLIR CCEPS. My mentor, Tanya, has been a great source of motivation and support. There are several fellows who have supported me to complete my tasks in a successful manner (You know who are!) and I am grateful to them. I always worked harder because of their support. My entire journey has not only been the most enriching but also fun-filled. I am going to miss the days spent here and I will utilize what I have learned in my future endeavors.

Once again, thank you all!

Lists, receipts, letters and postcards…

This week I continued working on the metadata for the collections from
the A.K. Smiley Public Library. The items consisted of a mixture of
letters, lists, receipts and postal cards. The lists contained the raw materials that were required for construction of the flumes, such as lead and varnish. The letters mainly addressed issues concerning the functioning of
the flumes, especially during trial runs and the necessary alterations that had to be made with respect to the dimensions of the flume for better runs. Most of the letters also had a
confirmation note from the receiver confirming the arrival of the note,
which was new in the items I have digitized so far in this collection. 

Rocks and railroads….

This week I continued working on the metadata for the collections from the A.K. Smiley Public Library. The items consisted of a mixture of letters, receipts and memorandums. The letters were sent between James T. Taylor, one of the investigators who had to ascertain the most reliable and at the same
time the cheapest water supply to the City of Perris and the California Marble & Building Stone Company.
The subject discussed through the letters was the supply of crushed rock. The amount of rock was measured in yards. The rock was delivered to the Bear Valley Irrigation Company. Transportation was done through railroad cars. The interesting aspect was as to how the rates of the rock per yard changed based on the time of the year. Between the months of January and June, the rates were moderate but gradually increased towards the end of the year. But towards the end of the year, the transportation costs had also increased due to unavailability of railroad cars as they were used for transportation of coal.
The receipts were the payments for the rock along with the transportation costs. The memorandums mainly had information regarding delays in delivery or requesting for further supply of rocks from James T. Taylor. I wonder why this change in price, and how the season would affect the quality of the rock and transportation costs. Hopefully, through items I will be working on in the following week, I will be able to get an answer.

Memorial Day

For the past few weeks, I have been updating and renaming
files for Frankish Letters Book 5. Most of the letters I worked on were written
in 1887. This made me wonder how Mr. Frankish would celebrate Memorial Day. After
some research, I discovered that until
1890, Memorial Day was celebrated in all the states of
the North. It was only after World War I, that the holiday changed to honor the
memory of all Americans who died in any war – not only Civil.

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Pocket Watch

Yesterday I came across a letter written by Mr. Frankish to
Mr. C. W. Filkins. I wanted to learn more about Mr. Filkins and found the
following cool story about him. The year is 1888. One morning, a man named,
John Oakes, walked in a bank and demanded to know if he had any
money on account at the bank. When he was told that he did not, he shot the
cashier and Mr. Filkins who was standing about six feet away. Filkins was
wearing a pocket watch that day, which saved him as the bullet hit the watch. The
pocket watch was damaged but a Swiss Jeweler fixed it for him 18 years later.
Needless to say that Mr. Filkins was very proud of the
watch.
 

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Reference
How a pocket watch saved a Riverside businessman’s life in 1888 bank robbery: https://www.pe.com/2019/01/03/how-a-pocket-watch-saved-a-riverside-businessmans-life-in-1888-bank-robbery/

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