600 Dolls and Data Entry

 I just had such a pleasant afternoon.  I haven't said something like that in literal years so you might be wondering what happened.

I just spent an hour listening about whale oil lamps and the origin story of glassware in the Colonies.  No, I didn't have to buy a ticket or find a podcast. I'm volunteering at the county Historical Museum.  One of the other volunteers brought show and tell from his home and it was oddly fascinating.

He had a whale oil lamp like this but with red glass overlay
It was gorgeous!

One of the other volunteers collect these lamps, paperweights, and many other objects.  As you can imagine, he's probably on the spectrum as he has encyclopedic knowledge and he's not only happy to share, he presents it in an interesting way.  I would have enjoyed history so much more if presented the way he does.

What had happened was:

A few months ago, there was a request for volunteers to complete data entry.  One of the requirements was the ability to read cursive.  I thought about it but because school was beginning, it was bad timing. I decided that I would reconsider later in the Fall.

Then I ran into a childhood friend at my hometown's historical display.  She is on the board for both museumsj and asked if I would ever be interested in helping.  I mentioned that I considered volunteering for the data entry and asked what she thought.  She was very positive and supportive so that added to the interest.

The startup for the school year went very smoothly this year and suddenly my schedule was open again. I reached out and they were all "When can you start?"  I chose an afternoon shift because my work day is usually finished by then.  Then I chose a Thursday so I wasn't starting out the workweek already feeling overloaded.

The drive is longer than I thought it would be: 35 minutes!  But it's so beautiful there, the town and the museum. (it's above a tourist town that's located on the water)  The people are really nice.  In fact the person who runs the front desk/greeting area happens to be my boss's best friend.  Such a small world in the valley.  The person I work with is young - 4 yrs out of university - but really knowledgeable and very motivated to do big things.

Unfortunately, because we live in the dumbest timeline, the funding is being eliminated by the County.  The museum is also funded by private donations, grants, and other sources so it's not dire. But it's nto great either. Today was spent impromptu brainstorming ideas to get attention for the museum. Podcasts! Walking tours! Cemetary tours! Scavenger hunts!  Haunted house!

Now, this is where I learned about donations.  An estate bequeathed 400 dolls to the museum.  They joined dolls who already resided there; increasing the doll population to over 600!  And they're all stored in a specific room. This is where I adamantly DECLINED to help in that particular area.  Even the curator was all "Oh, they're haunted for sure. Even I don't like going in there"  

What I have been doing is scanning documents and data entry which sounds boring (a little) but you're reading what you're working with (museum donations) and that makes it interesting.  There are other volunteers and one lady - who is my age and Am I That Old? - is capital C chatty.  But it's kind of nice. She is the daughter of my driver's ed teacher.  Again: the valley is small. lol  Then today I met the gentleman with the encyclopedic knowlege of glassware.

It's supposed to be like a two month commitment and I've been wondering if I want to continue once the project is finished.  I kind of want to, depending on what they need. (no fundraising for sure)  But that is a long drive for just volunteering and we're going to be in Winter soon.   The coordinator mentioned that she thought this specific project is getting completed sooner than planned so there's that.  Then today we discussed doing display inventory (actually seeing/counting the items) and other more hands-on projects.  Again, my curiousity is piqued.

As a bonus, I've been able to take family historical photos -including pages from my paternal grandmother's albums - there for donation.  That feels good; knowing that they're preserved at the museum and not just sitting in a drawer here and I didn't realize what a relief that would be to have them somewhere safe and useful.  Also, I'm surprised how accepting they are of items. Another local museum is hyper-specific and the County museum is all "Sure! We love it!"  

So, the moral of this story is volunteer if you're able.  Organizations like this museum are losing funding and support due to living in the dumbest timelines.  It's a great learning experience and I've met some interesting people.  Also: it's getting me out of the house.  Everyone wins.