And So It Begins...

Until now I have only put together paragraphs here and there...today I start writing. Currently, I'm on the Introduction, but I might move on to the chapters. I'll let you know, but fingers crossed I can focus!!

Not Surprised

While at the dentist this morning I had the obligatory conversation during the procedure {mine was complicated by novocaine - it's hard to talk when the whole left side of your face is numb}. He wanted to know about my summer & then my thesis. The following is a run down of our conversation:

me: "I'm doing my thesis on sustainable tourism in New Bedford"

dentist: "New Bedford. What's there, I don't really know anything about it."

me: "..whaling, industry, mills, urban blight, immigrants, blah, blah, blah...tourism...potential..." {the usual run down I give}. "They have had that National Park since 1996..."

dentist: "I have lived here my whole life {i.e 45 minutes away} & not only have I never been, but I wouldn't know the first thing to do or really anything about it...."

This conversation has happened so many times this summer I can't even tell you! It's the reason I'm doing my thesis in a nutshell! We are so close to New Bedford & yet it remains a total mystery.

Status Update

Vacation is over. Did I get much done while in Maine? Eh...not a whole lot. Here's where I'm at:

The day before I left I attempted an oral history with my Mémère. It turned more into an information gathering interview about family history & her feelings about New Bedford. It probably isn't as detailed & organized as I had imagined it would be, but I think I have some good information - both in terms of family posterity & some information about the city & how it got to where it was 20 years ago & where it is today.

I got an interview down with the owners of Travessia Winery about local food/products, which was incredibly interesting.

I found a book buried on my Mémère's shelf {she's a hoarder} about the history of W.H.A.LE in New Bedford & how the downtown became a National Park. It's entitled Not Just Anywhere. I have skimmed all of it, but plan on reading it cover to cover. It's an amazing resource & I'm glad I could convince Mémère to lend it to me...she wasn't so convinced she would get it back!

I'm about 30 pages into Tourists in Historic Towns by Aylin Orbasli which is perfect! I'm so glad I came across this in the University of Delaware Library. I have probably pulled out 25 quotes already.

I have a few pages on the usage of Web 2.0 & a complete outline for the introduction. My Chapters are organized & I have plenty of sources. I'm basically ready to get going on some serious writing.

Outline

A few weeks ago I made a calender, or time line, of how I wanted my research to flow this summer. I have more or less stuck to that, but I need to start writing. Start constructing paragraphs of some of the information I have found or thoughts I have had. My advisor wants an outline of my thesis on Monday. I have things in mind that I need to address, but not sure they are in a solid enough form for an outline.

Here are some of the concepts - not necessarily in order of any kind - that will need to be included in my thesis:

• Definition of sustainability
• How the concept of sustainability fits into the world of historic preservation
• Definition of Heritage tourism
• Definition of sustainable tourism
• Definition of sustainable heritage tourism
• Why this concept fits into New Bedford
• The positives & negatives of local tourism currently in New Bedford
• 5-10 suggestions for improvement - which will target things like transportation, history, farmers markets, urban gardening, etc

I think I have narrowed down the research area to the downtown, but it seems like the whole city needs to be addressed at one point or another. Sustainability, by its very definition, is also way too broad of a topic, so taht needs to be narrowed down...

Thoughts?

Calendar

After a discussion with my thesis advisor yesterday about the best ways to go about researching & writing, from a time management perspective, I realized that I needed to make an outline. This will mostly be for organizing my research process, not necessarily in the set up of the paper, yet.

This is what I have so far:

This week: History & some current events {by default of setting up a blog}

Next week: Organizations involved in tourist activities & historic preservation

Last week of June/beginning of July: Problems & positives {what's helping & what's hindering economic growth through tourism}

July: Oral History with Mémère & interviews with business owners

All throughout this time line: basic information on sustainable & heritage tourism

August: start seriously writing, although I hope to have some paragraphs regarding the above research in process. This is another reason why I think researching through a blog form can be beneficial, all hopes of public outreach aside, this will be a way for me to gather information, photos, thoughts, & news in one space.

I know it looks idealistic, but I can work really efficiently when I want to/have the time to! Fingers crossed.

{image: City Data, Palmer's Island Lighthouse}

Research Launch

The semester has finished.

The PEMCI summer program is completed.
Now, there is nothing in my way of beginning the long journey of this thesis adventure.

I woke up feeling productive, went into work, & promptly went over to Morris Library. I had the intention of dropping off some books on sustainable tourism I have been hoarding for a few months & to see if there was anything on the general history of New Bedford to get me going.

I was correct in my skepticism that the University of Delaware Library wouldn't have too much in the way of this topic; it's outside of the state after all. I have more hope that when I head home to Massachusetts I'll be able to find much more than this unbelievably heavy tome I have been lugging around with me: History of New Bedford and Its Vicinity 1602-1892 by Leonard Bolles Ellis (Syracuse, N.Y: D. Mason & Co. Publishers, 1892). It's a little ancient to say the least.

I was lucky enough, however, to check out a small, and in quite poor condition, reprint of the Diary of Rev. Moses How: An Epoch in New Bedford's Early History. Rev. Moses How was the "Pastor of the Middle Street Christian Church, New Bedford, from 1819 to 1826 and from 1837 until 1844. Chaplain of the Seaman's Bethel from 1844 until 1859" according to the first page of this booklet. There is not a date or location of publishing on this version, but the complete diary is available at the New Bedford Public Library, so I will be able to look into the remainder of the text at that location. The diary also contains fragments of Rev. How's son's journal, W.S.G Howe, dating to 1851. It was in this section that I, surprisingly, found this perfectly appropriate, excerpt:

Monday, May 24. "...At last the city authorities have commenced the sacrilegious act of levelling down 'Johnny Cake Hill.' The first charge on the ancient rock was made last Saturday afternoon. The time will not be far distant when all the landmarks so familiar to the present generation will, by the unsparing hand of Improvement be taken away from our view, and exist only in some ancient picture, or on the tablet of the brain, to be treasured up as memorials of former times...." {located on page 28 of this reprinted edition from the University of Delaware Library}

Interest in historic preservation dating back to 1851! W.S.G Howe, unknowingly {obviously}, aided in my New Bedford focused thesis 159 years earlier! I'm a huge advocate of preserving our local heritage, not just for reasons of tourism and economic development, but as a key to the empowerment of town residents. Not every town's history has to have a George Washington or an Abraham Lincoln to be considered important & worthy of saving & appreciation. Although, New Bedford has some pretty heavy history in its corner!

{image: New Bedford Port Society, Our Community}

Stay with me on this adventure as I learn more about this remarkable city's history & how, I think, it can use it's heritage to its own economic advantage!