Day 10- February 2nd

I found a letter from the War Department of the United States, dating from 1917 or 1918, which gave a list of desirable books for which to start a camp library. That would explain so much about why George Watson had so many different books, and often in duplicate.

I also found a manual on physical training. It was interesting to see what the physical training standards were for the army in the 1910's- it seemed to be mostly focused on calistenics, swimming, and gymnastics. No real mention of running, or weight-lifting. I had some friends who did PT, and man it seemed completely different from what this manual described.

Day 11- February 3rd

Today we had two people come in that renewed their memberships at the historical society. One bought two maps, which was nice. Another guy came out all the way from California to renew his membership, which was cool.

I really like that I get to interact more with the public here. There's something gratifying in knowing that you're helping people with their quest to learn more about their personal history.

Day 12- February 4th

One of the volunteers, who is an Vietnam War veteran, gave a tour to another Vietnam War vet and his wife. We looked at the second floor displays dedicated to war veterans, and there was strong emotional feel that came off of both men when it came to talking about people who didn't come back from the various wars. It reminded me of the responsibility that you have as a historian- you can tell a story, but you have to treat lightly on certain subjects. There was a part of the tour where the guide opened up a book to show pictures from the Vietnam War, and when they got to pictures of dead soldiers both the guide and the other Vietnam War Vet quickly skipped over that part.

With World War II vets quickly dying off, Vietnam War Vets will(if they don't already) compose the greatest bulk of the American vet population. I'm wondering if that means that there will be an increase in attempts to exhibit the Vietnam War history in the coming decades, especially when Baby Boomers start hitting their 70's and 80's.