(erielack) Volunteering at Steamtown

[Philip Albano <palbano_@_earthlink.net>]

Just got back from a trip to Steamtown volunteering in the archives. Mr. Pat McKnight, Historian/Archivist has hundreds of boxes of D.L.&W. and Erie records going as far back as 1910-1920's.To make them available for research they need to be processed: remove the old rusty metal fasteners and pins used back then, place in new folders with record numbers, date and a description of the record written on the file folder and the information entered into the computer. The files range from ordinary (records of digging waterlines and normal track maintenance) to interesting (installing electrical service in stations and towers) to very interesting (changes in interlocking, one new tower replacing two old ones) to unintentionally humorous (elaborate correspondence between the auditor's office and the division engineer over a 25 cent mistake on a contract) to surprising (found my grandfathers name on a payroll record!)

The surrondings are pleasant - working in a remodeled D.L.&W. office building with steam engines nearby. If you volunteer be prepared to get dirty. Some of the records are brittle from age and require careful handling.It may be a good idea to get a tetanus booster shot just in case you nick yourself on a 80 year old rusty pin. It may not be as glamorous as working on the steam engines, but the information in these records have their own special attraction and is a great resource that will need hundreds of hours of volunteer work to make them accessible to us. 

Philip Albano

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