Today, Public History Institutes and Museum Studies
Programs are opening and thriving because there are plenty of real jobs in public
history. In Massachusetts alone, where I am based, there is a new Public
History Institute at Gordon College, a similar program at Simmons College,
museums studies programs at Harvard and Tufts Universities, and the list goes
on.
What is “public history,” you ask?
Very simply, it’s “history”
done outside of the classroom. Reenactments, tours, historic house
interpretation, traditional skills and crafts demonstrations – all of these are
good examples, and then there are more static methods like history murals,
statues of historical figures, interpretive panels in parks or along walkways, and
historic markers.
For your business, public history provides incredible
opportunities for visibility and to show that you care about your local history.
Think about the word “public” in “public history.” Public history is done out
in the open, in public, and reaches potentially thousands of people.
And I can’t think of one public history initiative that doesn’t
need support. The talented people involved are doing what they do out of love,
but they deserve to be paid and public history projects need to be funded. Telling
our stories – which is really what history is – is about who we are
historically, how we got to where we are today, and what we can learn for
tomorrow. The stories are inspiring, thought-provoking, and important. When
they are told outside of the classroom, the stories resonate. They stay with
us.
By supporting public history practitioners and sites with
your business dollars, marketing, and PR savvy, not only will your business
derive huge benefits from your investment you will also be part of something “larger”
– something meaningful and lasting. Those are two very big “wins.”
Here are just three examples of the kinds of public
history initiatives you could back.
• Contact your local National Park Service site.
Many Park Service sites have a Friends Group that provides
essential funding for programs, publications, collection acquisition,
restoration projects, marketing and PR – you name it. And I happen to know that
within the Park Service itself, historic house sites receive the least amount
of federal funding (for inexplicable reasons). These sites need financial,
program, and marketing help and they do some of the best public history work
that’s out there. Think about Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord,
MA; Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, MA; Salem Maritime National
Historic Site in Salem, MA; and Longfellow National Historic Site in Cambridge,
MA. I am lucky enough to enjoy warm relationships with the staff at each one of
these places, and they present STELLAR tours, talks, reenactments, and demonstrations
– all for free. Park Service rangers really bring history to life with talent
and passion. And when you get involved with them, you will have the prestige of
the National Park Service associated with your business. That’s big.
• Seek out the reenactors in your community.
It’s no fun being a starving actor, and these people make
history “real” in ways that have a significant and lasting impact on their
audience. I’m sure you have encountered actors in historical character, whether
it was at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA; Orchard House in Concord, MA
where “Louisa May Alcott” (aka Jan Turnquist) makes frequent appearances; at
events like the Margaret Fuller Bicentennial when “Margaret” (aka Jessa Piaia)
and Edgar Allan Poe (aka Rob Velella) engaged in a spirited conversation about
literature and Transcendentalism at Concord’s Old Manse; or at the Derby House
in Salem, MA, where “Mr. and Mrs. Derby” (aka real-life husband-and-wife Jim
Hollister and Emily Murphy) discuss early 1800s Salem politics, business, and gossip.
Kids, especially, love this stuff! And you can be a real hero in your community
by backing these talented performers. And don’t forget to invite them to
perform at your place of work!
• Work with your local historic house museum.
Many of these houses are owned by your historical society,
but some are managed by independent or regional nonprofit organizations. Here
in New England, for example, Historic New England and The Trustees of
Reservations own dozens of important historic houses, along with the National
Park Service, historical societies, museums, the Daughters of the American
Revolution, and family trusts. Whatever the size of the managing organization,
all historic houses need help with preservation, marketing, and fundraising.
You’ve probably visited some of these places yourself, so you know that, done
well, historic houses “illustrate” the past in a compelling way. They preserve
what we historians call our “material culture.” Through tours, talks,
traditional crafts and skills demonstrations, these homes of our ancestors give
visitors a vivid sense of what it was like to live in previous centuries. Find
out how you can contribute!
The tactic to take with any of these suggestions is “partnership
from the start,” to use a phrase coined by the business coach Lisa Sasevich. You
are not just writing a check, you are entering into a strategic partnership
that will benefit both sides.
Be shamelessly proud of your association with your public
historians, sites, or projects. Market the heck out of what you are doing and
why. You will attract new customers and give your existing customers one more reason to be loyal to you.
Invite your new partner to make a presentation at your
place of business for your staff and customers. Host a special reception for
customers and prospects with your partner. Offer a discount for anyone who joins the nonprofit.
The possibilities to promote and celebrate both sides of your partnership are
endless!
The benefits to your business, to the individuals and nonprofits you support, AND to the public can be huge – and deeply rewarding. Lots of “wins.”
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2010 © Bonnie Hurd Smith
History Smiths works with service-oriented businesses to use history — their own and their community's — to achieve customer loyalty, referrals, and high status. Subscribe (above, right) to our free Ezine, Connections, where we share ideas and examples of businesses embracing history to achieve business goals.