Ah, Ned, things have changed since we went to school. Since the 1970s,
history departments across American almost went to the dumpster and a new wave of
history-minded public arose. By the mid-1980s, the field of "public history"
came into being and embraced those very little old ladies in tennis shoes that
you so often dismiss. Public history embraces geneologists, local museums, oral
historians, folk historians, and local community history buffs. Most
importantly, it embraces the folks who were the "salt of the earth" and not just dead
presidents or wars. I am sure you know this, but I just wanted to toss it out
there. From those arenas embraced by public history, a new high school student
has emerged with sparks of interest in primary records, family geneology, and
a reverence for family heirlooms. It is they who we wish to catch in our nets
and shape into archaeologists.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.