Boston Week One Recap:

Friday May 26th I began my journey this summer pulling into Boston National Historical Park and immediately heading to the Law Enforcement Building. After meeting withmy supervirsor I made my way to my housing (pictured below) the historical Marine Barracks at the Charlestown Navy Yard.  After settling myself in I used the first two days to acquaint myself with the city, mostly by getting lost and rediscovering my location without a smartphone or map.

Beginning my first week I started out in the interpretation division to help get myself acquainted with the park, its resources, and endless amounts of history. Some key points I learned and assisted at was the Great Hall and the Visitor Center at Faneuil Hall, the USS Cassin Young, the Navy Yard Visitor Center, and the Bunker Hill Monument and Visitor Center. A lot of places and even more history to remember, but working with such knowledgeable rangers makes it much easier. Though a lot of information was brought on very quickly I was also able to catch ranger talks at both Faneuil Hall and Bunker Hill to give me a chance to see this knowledge applied professionally by the interpretive staff.

USS Cassin Young

Bunker Hill Monument

Faneuil Hall Great Hall

Freedom Trail

I was also able to travel the entire Freedom Trail and learn at the sites not run by the National Park Service. During my final day for interpretation this past week I was also able to assist rangers with historical weapons inventory, though recreations of older weapons used for reenacting and interpretative measure it was still awesome to be able to handle and see firsthand what weapons used to be like. One key takeaway from this week for me is just realizing the scope of what you can learn about the park, as even just the other day I met an individual who lived in the Navy Yard, and was able to give his own personal stories to tie into the history I had already been learning. A lot has happened and there is a lot more to come I look forward to continuing my internship as week 2 begins!

Stay tuned for a midweek update on the adventures an urban deer rescue!