Microfunding Grants Program Results

NHN is very pleased to announce the results of the first cycle of NHN’s microfunding program. The proposals represented a geographic range from Northern California to the Olympic Peninsula. Approaches to history ranged from from oral history projects to field trips to quilting workshops.

The proposals were reviewed by members of the NHN Project Committee, and by three history professionals who served as outside reviewers. The Project Committee presented the top-scoring proposals to the NHN Board. The NHN Board approved funding for the top two proposals, which earned enthusiastic support from our reviewers:

Project:"Digitizing Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association’s irreplaceable oral history recordings to preserve them for the future."

Organization: Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association

Project Director: Laurie Tucker, vice-president and Collection Committee chair

With their $240 award, the organization will convert videotapes of oral histories on the archaeology and ethnography of Vashon Island intoo digital files

Project: "Hoover-Minthorn House Museum Material Culture Analysis"

Organization: Hoover-Minthorn House

Project Director: Sarah Munro, Director

With their $250 award, the organization will hire a consultant to catalog a collection of 19^th century agricultural and household artifacts.

We received many more outstanding proposals than our budget allowed us to fund. Because the response to this program was so positive, we are planning to run a second funding cycle in 2014.

Call for Microfunding Proposals

The Northwest History Network is seeking applications for competitive awards of up to $250 to fund equipment, services, and other one-time needs for history projects. 

Proposed projects should advance one or more of NHN’s organizational goals:

•  Provide professional support for community partners documenting, preserving, and/or presenting their histories.

•  Facilitate communication and foster collaboration between public and private organizations, educational institutions, libraries, museums, and archives.

•  Protect and increase preservation and access to historical resources and materials.

•  Expand historical education by using non-traditional venues to present public history projects.

•  Use varied strategies and technologies to promote appreciation and understanding of the past.

•  Foster a non-competitive and supportive atmosphere for those committed to public history.

To apply, please respond to the following:

1. Project title or brief description (15 words or less)

2. Contact information for Project Director (individual responsible for managing project and communicating with NHN)

3. Summary of project (200 words or less)

4. Describe how this project relates to NHN’s goals listed at the top of this document (200 words or less)

5. Amount of funding requested up to $250 and how it will be used

Submit completed proposals to the NHN Project Committee Chair, maija [dot] anderson [at] gmail [dot] com. Proposals are due May 1. In June, the Project Committee will recommend projects to the Board for funding. You will be notified of the Board’s decision by early July.

Annual Holiday Party

NHN invites all Associates to its Annual Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 18, 2012.

It's the history social event of the season!

Where: 8725 SE 36th Avenue, Milwaukie 

When: 5:00 to 9:00 PM

Who's invited: NHN associates and their spouses, friends, colleagues, 
and other such history nerds

What's to eat: Potluck dinner; bring your favorite dish to share

What's to drink: Wine, beer, soft drinks, juice, tea and coffee

How to get there: Drive, bike, bus #75 

RSVP: Morgen Young 

morgen.young at gmail.com

Reprise: Who Hires Consulting Historians Program

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An example of project where a consulting historian was hired by an institution.

The NHN professional development program, “Who Hires Consulting Historians?” was held on November 8 at the Architectural Heritage Center. Four panelists, moderated by NHN board member Morgen Young, responded to questions pertaining to instances when they hire consulting historians, finding consulting opportunities at their institutions, necessary skills and qualifications, determining factors when selecting a consultant for a project, and successful experiences with consultants. Audience members then joined the panelists in a discussion that elaborated on those topics.

The panelists were Maija Anderson, Head of Oregon Health & Science University Historical Collections & Archives, Denyse McGriff, Senior Project Manager at Portland Development Commission; Christina Robertson-Gardiner, a planner at City of Oregon City; and Greg Shine, Historian at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

The program was recorded and is available here as an audio file.

Eclipse of the Occidentals

The fifth anniversary of the official founding of Northwest History Network was celebrated at an outing at Fort Vancouver on Sunday, July 21. The highlight of the day was the 1860s baseball game between the Occidentals and Sherman’s Army. NHN member Val Ballestrem of the Occidentals acknowledges that the call went against him—“I wuz robbed!”—when he tagged a Sherman’s Army man at home plate. The valiant Occidentals immediately lost the game by a score of 11 to 10. It was indeed a historic occasion.

The Valiant Occidentals

The Fifth Anniversary Cake

History@Work

The recent NHN professional development program was featured in a posting at History@Work from the National Council on Public History. A short transcript on “practical business advice” is included in the post.