Read time: 4 min.

I’ve been busy this summer: I started the year as a lab technician at a plastics factory. Now I’m the production planner for all the company’s North American facilities! Beyond that, I’m still getting over the bloody repercussions of recent surgery. If that wasn’t enough, I agreed to be the new editor of the Delaware County Historical Society’s newsletter, The Society Quarterly, in July. I’m excited!

I write a lot here on my blog: I’ve penned 208,000 words in 2023 alone! I wasn’t looking for more, but the opportunity to edit The Society Quarterly was too great to pass up since I’m a fourth-generation volunteer at DCHS. My great-grandmother, Rosemary Holloway, served as its president forty years ago when the society acquired its current property from the estate of Mary Elizabeth Youse Maxon.

My grandma and mom volunteered too over the years, and a trip they took to find as many one-room schoolhouses as they could started my obsession with them. I’ve wanted to add to their legacy ever since I was twelve.

I completed the schoolhouse project, and I’ve achieved a lot through volunteering at DCHS. I’ve helped at the historical society for four or five years as an adult by staffing its resource center, manning the desk at the Moore-Youse Center, and even curating an exhibit about the old Delaware County Courthouse! I’ve written articles for the newsletter for several years, and I’m excited to play a greater role as editor.

As much work as I’ve done for DCHS, I love my blog. The stuff I focus on here will inform my stewardship of the newsletter, since I strive to write varied content. I think that’s what makes The Society Quarterly such a valuable publication! Each of its contributors -many of whom have the actual academic credentials I lack- dive deep into a spectrum of diverse interests. 

That variety of concerns casts a wide net. The last volume before I took over featured articles about the Bee Line Railroad, Emancipation Day in Delaware County, Muncie’s Bethel A.M.E. Church, notable women of Muncie, historic picnic sites at “High Banks,” and a new pocket park on DCHS property. That edition featured a huge amount of great content!

I hope my initial edition of The Society Quarterly will be interesting, too. It’ll publish in September and go live thanks to folks who’ve helped as I recover from surgery. I’m truly grateful for their expertise!

If you’re a local, the newsletter represents one of the best ways to improve your knowledge about the history of Delaware County! It only involves an inexpensive DCHS membership to receive it, which starts at ten bucks for a student, $25 for an individual like me, and $35 for a family.

I’m glad to edit The Society Quarterly, I’m also stoked about the prospect of new opportunities that might arise from my new role as editor of the newsletter since I’ve got several elaborate projects in the works that my new status may help push forward.

As always, I’ll keep you posted as they unfold!