My name is Jamie Morris and I have had the privilege of interning at the Historic Village of Allaire this past summer. As a rising junior year at Washington College, I have been interested in volunteering at the village ever since I was a child visiting with my parents. Over countless trips to the village, I probably asked how to get involved over a dozen times and never had the chance to do so because of extracurriculars. Over the years, It has been a family tradition to come to the village at least once a summer and growing up here had a huge part in why I chose history as my major at school. As a fourth grader on a class trip, you’re excited and giddy to get out of a desk and get a breath of fresh air. Most kids just wanted to get out of the classroom and goof off, but me on the other hand, I wanted to learn about the history of Allaire. I found myself more engaged and aggravated with my classmates who weren’t paying any attention to the history of the life of people living in the village, and of course the life of our beloved James P. Allaire. A memory I will never forget was being chosen for an example because I was the oldest of three girls in my household. The volunteer at the time put the water buckets over my shoulders and said “if you lived in Allaire you would have to carry this every day to fetch water for your family”. He let me walk it down to the stream from the Managers House with all my classmates watching. Thinking back on it, it was a small thing, but it resonated and I felt so special. I felt like I was actually a part of the history of the village. From that day forward I have always had a feeling that I would end up getting involved in historical work because nothing compares to being placed somewhere and feeling like you are in the middle of history. Being at Allaire this summer gave me that feeling of importance. The rest of the interns and I became very close as we uncovered Allaire family mysteries and added to the history of Allaire that was unknown or lost. We as young students, made a difference in how all of the staff, visitors and new interns will see the history of Allaire. To me that is the coolest thing anyone could ever do.
Written by Intern Jamie Morris