HR: The project is unusual in focusing on developing cohesive history content for a hiking/biking trail that is not in itself a historic route. LHT: Is this project unique in any way? Mercer County is rich in history, but you’ve worked all over the country – how is this area different? What is access to historical documentation you seek out like here versus in other areas you’ve worked?
COL. RICHARD HUNTER GIRLS VERIFICATION
Verification of information comes from use of multiple concurring written sources, primary archival references and professional judgment. In the case of the LHT project, local sources – knowledgeable residents, local historians – are critical. HR: Information is in libraries, archives, public agencies, local historical groups, and increasingly online. LHT: Where do you look for the historical information and archival imagery for a project like the LHT’s historical signage project? How does that process begin? How is information verified? Most of our staff graduated from one or more of these programs. In our region, the University of Pennsylvania (Historic Preservation), Rutgers University Camden (Public History), and Monmouth University (Anthropology) offer relevant degrees. Today, it’s a more established career path with degree programs set up to give students exposure to the field. At that time, cultural resources management as a professional service was in its infancy, in large part due to strengthening of the nation’s historic preservation laws and regulations. It’s probably fair to say that those of us of a certain age were lucky enough to stumble into our jobs in the 1970s to mid-1980s. Professionals in this field go through college studying history, anthropology, archaeology, geography, and related disciplines and move on to jobs in the public and private sectors (government agencies, museums, large architecture/engineering firms and smaller private concerns like ours). HR: Involvement stems from having a passion for history and a desire to make history relevant in today’s world. LHT: How does a person get involved in this type of work? What was your career path like?
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