During this week, I focused on reaching out to my various contacts and aimed to solidify some important community connections. This involved sending multiple emails, making calls, and doing further investigation. As I was completing these tasks it became clear that I was slowly developing an "Olustee network." This network is revealing itself to be multi-faceted. Though I am interested in learning the opinions of the community, I also hope this upcoming week to learn more about the administrative side of Baker County. I believe understanding this node will aid in contextualizing how the Olustee story has been framed thus far.
I began the week eager to follow up with the contacts I discovered within the Baker County commissioner meeting transcript. I realized that it would be easiest first to compile the appropriate questions. Therefore, I consulted Dr. Gannon for her input and drafted specific questions centering on Baker County, Olustee, and Civil War memory. After this, I sent one email to a community member with the questions listed. However, I have not obtained any response yet. While I was waiting, I realized that the email format may not be the ideal method to send my multiple questions. Therefore, I moved the questions into a Google
Form. I believe this mode is more user friendly. More importantly, it makes it easier to keep track of the multiple responses I hope to receive. Following this correction, I have slowly been making my way through the large list of community members by sending this Google Form to them. By continuing this task, I hope to be able to properly understand the thoughts of the Baker County community or at least become acquainted with community activists there.
Next, I thought it apt to in a sense go back to the drawing board. I wanted to think about other ways I could learn more about Olustee and Baker County. This led me to retracing my steps and reaching out to contacts made during the spring. I left a voice message for Mr. Christopher Esing, a historian who is knowledgeable about Olustee. He expressed early interest in helping with the project during the summer. I am currently awaiting his response to both my call and email sent to him. Then, another important source discovered during the spring semester was the Baker County Historical Society. The team was unable to get into contact with them in the past due to their hours of availability. But, now that some time has passed I plan to follow up with them. This Saturday will be the third Saturday of the month when they are open. I anticipate asking them questions about the Olustee battle and most importantly the African American cemetery. I hope these questions will lead to revelations about the mass grave. However, even the lack of answers would prove advantageous for the Olustee project. It would reveal how well-known this story is or if it has always been a hidden part of Baker County's history.
Overall, this week was utilized to regroup, review, and renew my methods towards understanding the Baker County community. I hope the time taken will yield informative results and inspire new avenues for the project.
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