Getting to Know Ann & Myself
The first time I met Ann was at Curatorial Methods – a two week course at Harper’s Ferry Center that is now defunct. We all appreciated any session during those two longs weeks in a class room that didn’t put us to sleep. When I saw ”Cataloging Natural History Collections” on the agenda I thought we might be in trouble. Not to worry. Ann started out with a joke (suggesting something about the Natural History Cataloging Handbook being useful for more than a door stop). It was the first time I saw anyone use Far Side cartoons in a slide presentation . . . her Dinosaur comics were a hit . . . and a technique I’ve used ever since.
Skip ahead about a decade and there we were in the basement (opps – Garden Level) of the regional office in Denver paneling about a million cultural resource project proposals in a week. It took me a while to figure out where I had seen her before and then I remembered those Far Side comics. By the end of that week and relentless process I knew Ann was a very bright and dedicated National Park Service employee. She was someone I wanted to be around when the opportunity presented itself.
Skip ahead about another decade and there we were together on this committee trying to put together a regional strategy for museum facilities. This project made the rating panel look like a walk in the park. There were many days in a room trying to get our heads around the scope of our charge. I remember Ann in the midst of a long day tucking her legs up into a squatting position in her chair and wishing I was fit enough to sit like that! That regional plan was one of the hardest projects I’ve ever worked on. Ann’s understanding of natural history collections and how they differed from cultural collections was invaluable. She patiently and doggedly helped us history-type curators understand how the needs of a natural history collection and its users were fundamentally different from what we knew. It was Ann that crafted sections that allowed appropriate use and accountability of natural history collections that we could all comprehend and accept.
Now comes my favorite time with Ann. Through an amazing opportunity, Ann and I participated in the Cultural Resource Development Detail. A program we personally designed to meet our own develop needs led to our paths directly crossing twice – a week in Santa Fe and a week in Washington DC. It was a time away from our daily professional and personal routines that provided a format for observation and soul searching. Several times our conversations focused around how to balance being true to ourselves with the demands of the NPS. Ann had the strength and wisdom to never compromise what was most important to her. And she had an amazing ability to do it in the most appropriate and professional manner possible. And we each had a husband and Aussie at home!
It was during this detail that I learned from Ann something that has helped me every since. I was reading one of these professional development books. It told me I should really figure out what it was that I was most naturally talented at and liked to do. I was having a little trouble figuring that out. I have a piece of paper that tells me I’m a historian but I know that isn’t true. I also have many people telling me I’m a good museum curator. But I’ve seen good museum curators in the NSP and I know I’m not at the top of the heap. So I asked Ann . . . what do you think I’m good at? Ann took her time answering and I began to feel sorry I had put her in this awkward position. Then she said, “You’re good at getting things done.” Yep, that fit. I am good at getting projects done. In fact, its what I’m best at. Thanks Ann for somehow knowing me better than I did myself. I regret I didn’t get to know you better and so blessed to know you as well as I did. I’m sure going to miss you.
