the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Is your institution still stuck in the cycle of the dreaded, annual performance review? I am afraid mine still is, and frankly it’s awful. (I am sure some of my coworkers reading this will rat me out. It’s okay the Boss knows how I feel.) I agree with a Washington Post business writer who called… Continue reading The Dreaded Performance Review
While ALHFAM is not an exhibit-oriented organization, some of its members deal with collections on a daily basis whether it is storage, care, loan or exhibition. Pieces from collections are used as patterns to reproduce that item so that it might, in some sense, provide an “up close and personal” experience for visitors when the… Continue reading Ideas on Preserving and Sharing Collections
I realize the title of this blog could confuse. It is quite logical, given our organization's mission, that I might literally be referring to promoting ALHFAM in a field. However, in this case I'm speaking of the larger "museum field" at the American Association for State and Local History conference last week. Still bountiful but… Continue reading Promoting ALHFAM “in the Field”
Ask any ALHFAMer what they like most about the organization, and nine times out of ten, the answer is sure to be “the conferences,” which provide a chance to learn new skills, share ideas with like-minded folks, and experience new places. Regional conferences help to widen our reach, introducing sites to the magic of ALHFAM,… Continue reading For the Love of Regionals
ALHFAM meetings are not just about old buildings, battle sites, “who did what to whom”, townball, plowing contests, and stuffing information into our heads and notebooks. ALHFAM is about understanding one another.
Enjoy the guest post below by School of the Mule participant Cody Joliff. Also look for videos of the workshop on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using #ALHFAM16. The videos will also be up on http://www.alhfam.org soon. School of the Mule at ALHFAM 2016 was a fun learning experience. We had attended other equine classes and… Continue reading ALHFAM 2016: School of the Mule
Day two of the conference was spent at the Rural Life Museum on the campus of Louisiana State University. Educational sessions were held, as were Professional Interest Group (PIG) meetings, and regional meetings. The day was capped off by the annual auction where funds were raised to support the organization and an overall good time… Continue reading ALHFAM 2016 Day 2: Sessions, Meetings, and The Auction
The 2016 ALHFAM conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has just started and it's already shaping up to be amazing. Many workshops and tours were offered today and, sadly, since I'm only one person, I can just report on mine. I went on the Acadiana tour and visited Vermilionville (a living history site), toured through the… Continue reading ALHFAM 2016 . . . Ready, Set, GO!
The ALHFAM Annual Meeting and Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana starts Sunday. I can't wait! ALHFAM annual conferences offer many opportunities to learn about living history and historic agriculture, keep abreast of trends in the field, forge professional connections, and reconnect with friends. On top of all the good stuff an annual conference offers, we… Continue reading How to Eat Crawfish
Lately I’ve heard of negative visitor reactions to historic (and sustainable but open to the public) farm sites in regards to the animals they keep. It seems not everyone is comfortable with animals on farms becoming food or with the processes that turn these animals into food. Admittedly, it’s easy to dismiss their reactions with:… Continue reading Do Visitors Think We’re Eating Our Pets?
ALHFAM 