the summer shift

The weekend of June 13^th and 14^th was a slight anomaly in the sense that I headed north instead of south and into the city. This weekend, I was fortunate enough that my dad was in town and offered to come pick me up for the weekend. Taking him up on his offer, we decided to head north to Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park for the weekend. 

The first stop we made was at the FDR National Historic site at Springwood, FDR’s childhood home. We had not been here in many years, (I was both significantly younger and shorter on that last visit, and I remember everything feeling HUGE) and decided it was time to go again and refresh our memories. This site also houses the FDR presidential library (and attached museum), as well as Eleanor Roosevelt’s retreat Val-Kill, and FDR’s retreat Top Cottage.  

We took the 10:30 tour, allowing us to walk around the grounds for a bit and reminisce on our last time here. Apparently, this was where the game “spot the data logger” was born. In this game, one walks around a museum or gallery or library (really any cultural heritage institution) and tries to find their environmental monitoring equipment. Data loggers are usually small box shaped devices in various shades of grey and white, meaning that they can be hard to find when an institution wants to hide them from view (they can be an eyesore). Some institutions chose to turn them into a public learning opportunity, while others prefer to keep them out of sight. In the case of NPS, it tends to vary depending on where you are. For example, it was no trouble to find them in the museum’s portion of the grounds, as they were often mounted on the wall with other BMS (Building Management System) sensors. In contrast, they were slightly harder to find in the historic structures on the site, as there were simply more places for them to hide behind, placing them both out of sight and out of reach for visitors. In my case, Springwood proved to be a challenge in terms of my height, I missed several that my dad later pointed out to me that were placed on a shelf or cabinet that I couldn’t see the top of.  

Anyways, data loggers are used to record environmental data from the setting in which they are placed. The most common forms of data they collect are temperature and relative humidity; however, some also measure things like light levels and air pollution.  This data is super important for cultural heritage institutions, as it gives them a real measure of the preservation of their collections, not only in terms of environment but also for sustainability measures and IPM (Integrated Pest Management).  

In terms of the collection and house itself, I particularly loved the case of taxidermized birds in the front entrance hall. FDR was given a rifle at a young age and given the restrictions that he could only shoot one bird of a species, outside of mating season, and had to taxidermy them himself. The first floor of the house also reflects his love of sailing, as prints and paintings of boats and the ocean line the walls.  

It was planned that Springwood would be donated to the National Parks Service after his death with the stipulation that his family had life access to the property. Upon his death in 1945, it was decided that the remaining Roosevelt family members would relinquish their life access, and Springwood opened to the public for the first time the year after in 1946.  

Also on the estate is Eleanor Roosevelt’s cottage and home after FDR’s passing, Val-Kill. This area of the estate is arguably my favorite as it is representative of the new deal farmers’ experiments that it was initially created by. The Val-Kill furniture company was run by Eleanor and her two friends, Marion Dickerman and Caroline O’Day, from 1926 to 1936. The goal of the company was to teach farmers trades such as wood working and silversmithing, so they had another source of income during the off seasons. After the company closed in 1936, Eleanor turned it into her home, and it became the place that she returned to for rest and contemplative thought through the rest of FDR’s presidency and her life after his passing.

Dad and I also stopped by the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, as a few years ago my Dad’s company, Linden Preservation Services, did a job there working to asses the preservation quality of the mechanical systems in relation to an ongoing soot deposit issue from the historic boilers. For context, I am lucky enough to have worked for my Dad as a preservation intern with LPS since 2021, and this was one of the jobs that I was able to shadow him onsite for.

Anyways, I am slightly behind on posting due to illness and getting permission to share certain images and work experiences. But stay tuned for the next few posts that will cover what I have been up to these past few weeks!