Submitted by Ali Dzienkowski on
Kendall Milton worked as a Collections Intern at our Sam Rayburn House Museum State Historic Site in Bonham during June and July 2006. She is currently an administrative coordinator and office manager at a custom framing and art display services shop in Houston that works with private collectors, galleries, and museums to archivally frame and display artwork and artifacts.
"One of my favorite memories of my internship is bringing home vegetables from the garden. My work was all indoors—in the house or my work area in the outbuildings. But there was a home garden in the back which Jackie maintained along with the property. There were chickens and a mean rooster, plus all kinds of vegetables. One day Anne [Ruppert] (the Curator) sent me home with a bag full of corn, beans, okra, and other farm-fresh goodies that I cooked up for dinner that night. Delicious!
I also remember helping with the inventory of artifacts in the house—checking every sheet, pillowcase, and napkin in the bedroom drawers and every demitasse teacup in the dining room. It was good preparation for future museum work. And vacuuming the comforters and quilts a few square inches at a time through the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) screen—whew! A little Steve Miller Band on the portable CD player helped on those days."
Valerie Patterson (photo unavailable) was a Curator Intern at the Sam Rayburn House Museum during summer and fall 2009. She is currently a front-desk agent at the Renaissance Clubsport Hotel in Walnut Creek, Calif.
"My favorite thing about the THC was when I was given the responsibility to help create the Cemetery Walkthrough, where I spent I believe a week or two first going to all the markers and learning so much about the cemetery. And researching was fun. That, the Cold War Christmas, and the various events that I got to help create and be part of (at least in spirit) made me realize one thing: that I love events. I love making them and creating and figuring things out. That is why I went for my second bachelors in Events and am working at a hotel to move up to the events department. I still talk about the THC to this day."
This is one in a series of “Memory Lane” blog posts in which former THC employees, commissioners, interns, and partners recall their favorite moments at the agency. It’s part of our “60 Years in 60 Days” campaign on Facebook and Twitter, which began on Sept. 19 and leads up to Nov. 17, the 60th anniversary of the THC.
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