The field trip to Baybrook, last Saturday, was very interesting. It helped me to better visualize the image of Baybrook and understand the reasons to support the project’s fundraiser for Filbert Street Garden. I enjoyed Filbert Street Garden’s tour by Jason Reed. I liked the methods of using the garden to support the community itself such as school children learning about gardening and teaching the adults as well. Later, I glimpsed where Fairfield-Bethlehem shipyards. This was helpful since it is my research assignment. The shipyards were used in World War II to build Liberty ships. At the end of the war the ships were stripped apart for metal then sunk in the Baltimore Harbor which polluted the water. This caused a problem which continues to today.

                                

                           http://mappingbaybrook.org/?people=794

The oral history readings were fascinating and an important part to understanding Baybrook’s past. I can see how much effort is involved with oral histories and building stories to tell the audience about Baybrook. Catherine Leocadie Benicewicz’s oral history was a good one since she was lived and grew up in Curtis Bay. She provided the stories telling how Baybrook was in the past.  

For the research assignment, Katie has kindly given me some information about Fairfield-Bethlehem shipyards from her own research to start my own. The Fairfield-Bethlehem shipyards are certainty full of rich history. It was a vital part of World War II and Baltimore’s past that is slowly fading and being forgotten. I will continue to work on it. I plan to gather more information from the library, internet, and newspapers especially Baltimore Sun.  http://ghostsofbaltimore.org/2013/10/16/great-photo-bethlehem-fairfield-shipyards-1941/

Blog 3 Prompt

I am looking forward to meeting the art students today.  Unfortunately, I did not attend last Tuesday’s class so I’m curious what ideas they offer relating to creating a logo for Baybrook project and image(s) for the t-shirts. I’m interested how AMST students and art students will work together on numerous projects. I’m interested in how the two groups will work on the present and the past to represent the future of Baybrook’s history through art and documentation.

The Bringing to Life Baltimore '68: Riots and Rebirth—A How-to Guide by Jessica I. Elfenbein is very interesting to read. It shows lots of work and effort to provide an overview of Baltimore ’68. I noticed the documentation was difficult even with history information. It encouraged the universities and communities to work together for public history projects especially ours.     

For the research topic/focus, I found several topics of interest to me. First is Fairfield-Bethlehem shipyards WWII since I enjoy World War II history. The shipyards have a rich history with shipbuilding especially Liberty Ships for military assistance during the war. I’m curious about the shipyards’ past and present with Baybrook. I’m also interested in the neighborhood’s opinion of the shipyards such as is the shipyards a curse or blessing from the past to present. Overall, I hope I will learn more about the history of Fairfield-Bethlehem shipyards and how use it to support the fundraiser.

Second topic is food deserts. I’m interested in Baybrook’s history of deserts, the timeline of such as when it has their development, pre and past war. Food deserts are defined as:

“An area where the distance to a supermarket is more than ¼ mile, the median household income is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, over 40% of households have no vehicle available, and the average Healthy Food Availability Index score for supermarkets, convenience and corner stores is low (measured using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey).”
http://www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/AgenciesDepartments/Planning/BaltimoreFoodPolicyInitiative/FoodDeserts.aspx

I’m curious about the neighborhood’s opinion concerning food deserts. For example, how did they feel about their deserts in Baybrook. Same with the shipyards, I would like to learn more about food deserts.

http://www.curtisbay.com/vintagenews/index.html


The social mission of AMST 422/680 class’ project is to advocate the cultural/historical importance of the community of Baybrook which is “the two adjacent neighborhoods, Curtis Bay and Brooklyn,” to understand the significance of preserving places of the past, and to raise awareness on social-environmental justice.

The goal of the project is to raise money for the community garden called Filbert St. Garden in Baybrook. The purpose of AMST 422/680 is to learn the steps to make a successful fundraiser. The steps are to develop skills in collaborative work (teamwork), cultural documentation research (for example, using oral histories), and professional development (using skills for future work) to reach the goal. Social entrepreneurship is one of the steps to recognizing new opportunities or using innovation. Another step is “Learning to Do Historical Research” by William Cronon which offers an opportunity to use the history, stories, and memories of people who lived in Baybrook’s lost neighborhoods to create a piece of the history to help remember the past and its importance. The coming fundraiser caused me to think of different kinds of ideas to contribute to the project. For example, the class can build a relationship with the people of the community during the semester to create a positive surrounding the fundraiser. Another idea is to create a fun event for everybody especially the children such as eating contests or set a concert.

The whole idea of the fundraiser with a goal to raise $10,000 has caused me to pause.  I was wondering how we, as in several groups plus a certain professor, would be able to raise such a large amount. However, after listening Dr. King’s past unsuccessful projects I want to work hard to try and ensure that this year’s project will be a success. No matter the outcome, I will have a good learning experience.