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Cindy Chen ’24 is one of 31 student fellows who completed research with a community-based organization in upstate New York this summer as a part of the Upstate Institute Summer Field School. She describes the project below in her own words: 

The Oneida County History Center (OCHC), located in Utica, N.Y., is a nonprofit historical society that protects and showcases the local history of Oneida County for present and future generations. The OCHC has devoted significant efforts to making its rich collections of historical documents, images, and artifacts available to the public. The research libraries host researchers daily to facilitate their research on topics and areas of interest. Through free public programs and exhibitions, the OCHC engages a broad audience with the local history of Oneida County. 

As an art history major and museum studies minor, I understand deeply the value of preserving historical documents and the importance of community historical museums in educating the public about local history. I appreciate the opportunity to work at OCHC and participate in preserving and presenting history. I have gained valuable insights academically and professionally through working on the newspaper rehousing and exhibition planning project. The newspaper rehousing project continues the reorganizing effort that started during the COVID year. The OCHC houses more than 12,000 copies of newspapers that must be inventoried and archived. My responsibilities have been to inventory them and rearrange the newspaper collection room to a more accessible place for the public and researchers.

My second project has been planning an exhibition on a Utica paper from the late 19th century to the late 20th century called The Saturday Globe. The Saturday Globe is Utica’s first paper to regularly include colored illustrations on the front page, maintain a national distribution, and use newspaper boys. Its achievements are not widely known, so my job was to plan an exhibition to showcase its history and connection to Utica. 

The newspaper rehousing project gave me object-handling skills for original documents and the chance to look into the lives of people who came before us. I have grown to appreciate the backstage conservation efforts by participating in this process. The exhibition planning project contextualized theories I have learned in my museum studies classes and provided me with new angles and experiences for my future studies.

My main focus for this project has been research, label writing, and panel design. I adapted to the differences between academic writing and exhibition label writing and improved my writing skills by working with the collaborative and helpful team at OCHC. In my research stage, as written research about my research topic is scarce, I had the chance to talk to many local historians and journalists. Through this process, I have begun to understand the importance of democratizing knowledge and community memory in a local history center.

Thank you to the Upstate Institute and the Oneida County History Center for this wonderful opportunity.