Name: Jillian Lunoe
Class Year: 2022
Major: Cities and Comparative Literature
Hometown: Perkasie, Pa.
Internship Organization: Perkasie Historical Society
Job Title: Intern
Location: Perkasie, Pa.
Award: Class of 1987 Internship Fund
What’s happening at your internship?
Each day at the historical society brings something new. A lot of the time I am helping with the archival process, either scanning in documents and articles or logging items into the museum’s Past Perfect software system. I have also helped prepare for community events and the hosting of the Visit Bucks County tourism board, aided in the creation of a display on local historical pharmacies, and am currently doing research for an article on local roads which will be posted to coincide with the town’s annual car show.
Why did you apply for this internship?
Before reaching out to the historical society I was aware of their presence in the town but only had a basic understanding of the number of tasks they performed. I knew that they maintained four of Perkasie’s historical sites: the Stout cemetery, the 1832 South Perkasie Covered Bridge, the carousel, and the museum itself, and that they also hosted presentations and walking tours. I hoped that by working with the organization I could learn more about my hometown and community while also examining urban planning and architecture on a small town scale, which connects to my interests as a Cities major. I have been fortunate in that the internship is both what I imagined and more, allowing me to explore my personal interests while gaining a greater understanding of my local community.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
Performing archival tasks for the museum has encouraged me to think in new ways, as it is always necessary to consider how the work being done now will be understood and used by people in the future. My supervisor and vice president of the Perkasie Historical Society, Louise Doll, stresses the importance of organization, consistency, and robust object and article descriptions when creating catalogs, as these will help preserve the past and ease the difficulties of future researchers. This mindset, which requires the consideration of not just current but also future audiences, paired with the research skills I am developing through these tasks will be especially helpful as I begin working on my thesis.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
Some of my favorite experiences so far during this internship have been those which relate to my interests in urban planning and architecture. With museum curators Rick Doll and Matt Lynch I was able to tour the Perkasie Borough Hall, where I met with the borough manager and secretary Andrea Coaxum and learned about local development projects, including a new zoning ordinance related to rowhome construction and the designing of a new recreational community space. I have also been shadowing the historical society as they track down and photograph blueprints for local buildings and homes designed by the eastern Pennsylvanian architect Milton B. Bean in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which has been both an exciting and fascinating experience.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.