Antietam National Battlefield - Week 3

Jim and I spent this week with Cultural Resources. At the beginning of the week, we really didn't know what this team did. We thought that they dealt with archaeologists but we quickly found out that most of their work is done on restoring and maintaining the buildings around the park. They work to return the park to how it would have been the night before the initial battle in 1862. We spent Monday morning going through the park to see the work that has been done in past years - going inside the houses and getting a general idea of what the guys have been doing.It was really interesting to go inside of these homes, most of which are in good condition. We learned that they have to use the same materials that would have been available during the 19th century. Since these homes are still standing, these products were made to last unlike what we are using today! After the overview, we got to work with the guys on one of the houses in the park, the Miller Farm. We spent the week chinking and dubbing, two techniques that were used in the 19th century. It involved a mixture of lime and dirt then pushing it into the siding of the house to fill the gaps. It was a lot of fun to be involved in this process. We learned so much about the restoration process - an element that neither of us initially knew anything about.

Although it was extremely warm this week, the Law Enforcement Officers had to do th

eir PEB's. Jim and I chose to participate in order to get more practice in.

We were able to get a taste of what we will be going through annually working with the Law Enforcement Officers. During the PEB's it was really nice to see how much the officers supported and encouraged each other. It showed how much these individuals enjoy working together. It really drives Jim and I to do our very best so that we can continue on this career path. We are looking forward to the next week!