Week 4: Digitization

postcard collage on Titan Scanner

Marking another week with lots of new information and fun tasks to share. To start, this week’s meeting had a location change, and I am glad I was able to attend the in-person digitization training, which provided hands-on and visual explanations of the scanners. Not only that, but it was also a great environment to chat more freely with the team members who could attend and continue to build a connection with them.

After being introduced to the various scanners in the room, we took some time to learn how to use the Titan Scanner specifically, as well as the corresponding buttons on the computer, including how to autofocus the camera and, if needed, crop the photo in post-processing. After taking individual scans of the postcards provided by Sarah, another intern, Kaitlyn, suggested combining them to create a collage with me and Ethan after the demonstrations. In placing the postcards on the table, it was exciting to see everything up close, including the vacuum-type function that held them all in place. This may seem mundane to people with years of experience in this type of technology, but for me, it was interesting to finally gain a sense of the tools used to digitize items. We also took some time to write up a metadata sheet for a postcard and practiced using the portable scanner as preparation for future history harvests. Unfortunately, the one for next week did not go as planned, but I will still try to attend the other events taking place instead. These opportunities stem from some of my fundamental goals for how I want to impact the community by collaborating with the members and continuing to preserve individual stories.

Spruell Beall and Family

As the days go by, I am inching closer to completing my metadata assignment, and earlier this week, I was thrilled to uncover more about a family mentioned in one of the last artifacts. Handwritten on a photograph, “Spruell Beall & Family,” I found that Spruell made his way to DeBary from Alabama in the mid-1940s and eventually bought a grocery store at Fort Florida Road and U.S. 17-92. His grandson, Charles Richard “Rich” Beall, was the only resident of DeBary to have been killed in the Vietnam War in March of 1968 at close proximity. He was briefly mentioned in an earlier typewritten artifact letter from Sgt. Grenade, who shared some of the harsh moments in Vietnam around the day of Rich’s death, along with many others. While researching background information on another artifact photographing the first post office in DeBary, I discovered that it was located on Charles Richard Beall Boulevard. Indeed, it is the same person, as DeBary commemorated his service by naming a street after him in 1995, but the photos predate that change by 46 years. Finding just that much information online felt like a great win, and it makes me curious whether any of the other photographs feature Rich and how Ronald’s family is connected to the Beall family.  

Letter from Sgt. Grenade during Vietnam War 1968

After suggesting that I meet with Ronald, I have recently sent an email to Ethan to see if he could connect with him for a potential Zoom meeting. Still, my goal for the end of the week will be to continue finishing the metadata sheets, as most of the other interns are nearing their next assignment. If the meeting does happen, I can always go back and fill in more of the background information.