January, 2003 Volume 34, Issue 1

SOHO Archivist, A Welcome Addition

When SOHO moved its offices of some thirty years from Heritage Park in late 2000, it became more than a little obvious to us that our files needed a thorough going over. With opening the Whaley House, the Museum Shop, and the never ever ending day to day advocacy work, our staff couldn’t begin to undertake such a large and time-consuming job. Although the importance and necessity was there in the background nagging at us constantly. Enter Joyce McBride.

Joyce came to us last summer offering her time and expertise in a project to pull together and coordinate our past thirty years of records. She has a BA in History from Portland State University and is an experienced project archivist for the Oregon Historical Society and museum curator for the Clark County Historical Society in Washington State.

Joyce is organizing, cataloging and preserving our historical and/or primary source material such as historical site reports, legal documents and records, photos, memorabilia, news clippings, etc. Her work will not only sharpen the focus of our historical identity, but will provide a valuable research tool.

She assures us once the project is complete future research will be as effortless as clicking on a finding-aid file in our computer. This powerful cross-reference tool will access such data as historic site information, designations, collections, donations, Board meetings, minutes, correspondence, SOHO events, fundraisers, tours, etc.

Joyce requests, "To all you old-time SOHO members, if you’ve got a box of SOHO’s past sitting somewhere in your attic, garage or underfoot, now is the time to bring it down to Old Town and share it. If it’s a photo, please write in #2 pencil on the back any pertinent data you can remember, like names, the event, dates, etc. If it’s news clippings, please include the date, your source and page number. In my organizing, I’ve learned how a few courageous people formed a tiny pro-active group, went to battle for San Diego’s history and have matured into an awesome force to be reckoned with. SOHO has a great and noble history that its members can be proud of. This clean historical record will be a lasting heritage as we set a fine example for those who follow us."

Joyce works on Fridays and Saturdays and could use a good volunteer or two, especially with the news clippings. Please call the office if you would be willing to help out. Joyce is an easygoing, affable person to work with and you can learn a lot too.