Zen and the Art of Local History

Carol Kammen has been writing about doing local history for many years. The first edition of this book came out in 1985; this edition is greatly pruned and expanded. She has edited The Encyclopedia of Local History (two editions) for Alta Mira Press and AASLH and has written editorials for History News since 1995. In addition she has written a history of her county, of the City in which she lives, and Cornell: Glorious to View (2003) and Part & Apart: The African American Experience at Cornell, 1865-1945 (2008) and edited First Person Cornell: Student’s Letters, Diaries, Email and Blogs (2006). She has also written two-dozen dramatic presentations using local history, including Between the Lines, Peaches and Bird, The Language of War and others and writes a history column for her local newspaper. She lives in Ithaca, New York, taught at Cornell University, and serves as the Tompkins County Historian.Bob Beatty is Vice President for Programs for the American Association for State & Local History where he leads AASLH’s professional development program including workshops, an annual meeting, affinity groups and other initiatives, and publications as editor of History News and a member of the AASLH Editorial Advisory Board. From 1999-2007 he directed the Education Department at the Orange County (FL) Regional History Center where he led or oversaw dozens of community outreach programs ranging from school partnerships, youth/family activities, adult programming, and community partnerships.

• Foreword by Lorraine McConaghyAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1: About Being a Local HistorianCall: Not for a Test, but History for Life, Response: Spencer DowningCall: Perambulation, Response: Aaron SachsCall: Inappropriate Questions, Response: James L. BaggettCall: What We Tell the Youngsters, Response: Kate BetzCall: We Are Not Journalists, Response: Jeffrey J. KollathCall: Local Knowledge, Response: Mary AlexanderCall: Abby Hemenway, Response: Rebecca ConardCall: Water Buffalos, Wildebeests, and Gazelles, Response: Robert B. TownsendCall: Educating Our “Other” Audiences, Response: Karen Graham WadeCall: The Local History Apprentice, Response: Kate TillerCall: Millenialism, Response: Robert RichmondCall: Taking the Prize, Response: Donald P. ZurisCall: History’s Long Rangers, Response: Michael PotaskiCall: Retiring Sorts, Response: Richard L. WilliamsChapter 2: The Clay for Our Wheels and the Pots We MakeCall: Getting Involved, Response: Allyn LordCall: Out of the Closet, Response: Paul LandryCall: The Clipping Point, Response: Scott Muir Stroh IIICall: An Ode to Scrapbooks, Response: Kelly NolinCall: The Envelope Please, Response: K. Allison WickensCall; Replevin, Response: Galen R. WilsonCall: Local History and the Underground Railroad, Response: Dina Bailey and Richard C. CooperCall: The Hall’s in Your Court(house), Response: James D. FoltsCall: Down for the Count, Response: Lila Teresa ChurchCall: Small Changes, Response: Darlene RothCall: Rethinking Local History, Response: Bruce TeepleCall: Around and About, Response: William L. LangCall: Recording the Home Front, Response: Courtney L. TollisonCall: To Blog or Not to Blog, Response: Kate TheimerChapter 3: Mingled Yarn Call: Community Education, Response: Lynne IrelandCall: Seeking Diversity, Response: Patricia Williams LessaneCall: History Tents, Response: Linda W. ChapinCall: Travel at Home, Response: Janet VaughanCall: Travel at Home (Redux), Response: Amy H. WilsonCall: In Memoriam: Quite a Decade (Prelude and Postscript), Response; Jessica DormanCall: Acts of Nature and Other Disturbing Events, Response: Beverly C. TylerCall: When All is Lost, Response: Alice ParmanCall: The Poor are Always Among Us, Response: Robert ArchibaldCall: What’s in a Name, Response: Mary E. MontgomeryChapter 4: Truth and ConsequencesCall: When Not Being Wrong is Not Good Enough, Response: Constantine DillonCall: Ducking, Bobbing, and Looking Away, Response: Charles F. Bryan, Jr.Call: Unintended Consequences, Response: Joe MeehanCall: Making it Up, Response: Tim GroveCall: Truth and Fiction, Response: Mark T. MannetteCall: Just All the Facts, Ma’am, Just Not All the Facts, Response: Annette AtkinsChapter 5: Words in StoneCall: History for Our Times, Response: David A. JanssenCall: In Context, Response: Paige LillyCall: Local History’s Audience, Response: J. Kent Calder and Thomas A. MasonCall: Community History, Response: Stephen L. CoxCall: The Things We Ignore, Response: Philip V. ScarpinoCall: To Note or Not to Note, Response: Chris BrewerCall: Defining the Field, Response: Matthew GibsonChapter 6: Work and Play in History’s Sandbox Call: A Fourteen-Step Program for Local History, Response: Cinnamon Catlin-LegutkoCall: Clanking of Canes: A Survey of North American State and Local History, Response: Burt LoganCall: The Future of Historical Societies, Response: James M. VaughanCall: An Abundance of History, Response: Lisa AndersonCall: Cultural Tourism, Response: Carolyn BrackettCall: In the Company of Our Peers, Response: Janice B. KleinCall: The Importance of a Good Chair, Response: Tobi VoigtCall: Out of the Box and Into the Fray, Response: Katherine D. KaneCall: Tripping over History, Response: Lawrence J. YerdonCall: Radio Waves, Response: Stan DeatonCall: Random Acts, Response: Cynthia Cardona MelendezCall: Into the Archive, Response: Kathleen D. RoeCall: On Boards, Response: Kent WhitworthCall: Being On Board, Response: Kathleen M. O’LearyTitle/Author indexSubject indexAbout the Authors

The only thing better than a Carol Kammen 'On Doing Local History' essay is sixty-eight Carol Kammen essays. The only thing better than sixty-eight of Carol's insightful, spot-on, wonderfully crafted essays is marrying each with a talented colleague laboring in our rich field somewhere in this great country who provides equally compelling commentary and reflection. This volume is a superb idea taken to the max - at once readable, cerebral, practical, philosophical, and fun. Buy it. Read it. Pass it on.