Hello Fort Followers,
John Cardinal here, and I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe! I participated in the 2013 field school, was a Fort St. Joseph co-intern with Aaron Howard from 2014 to 2016, and worked as site photographer during the 2015 field season. A lot has happened since graduating from Western Michigan University and moving on from the Project. It's hard to believe it has been five years since I was last a part of Fort St. Joseph!
After the 2015 field season, I volunteered for a month as an archaeological crew member at Fort Michilimackinac, then continued as the Fort St. Joseph intern until spring 2016. After I obtained my degree in history and anthropology, I worked seasonally for Mackinac State Historic Parks (Fort Michilimackinac) as a paid archaeological crew member under the direction of Dr. Lynn Evans. During the off seasons, I worked a variety of jobs in order to diversify my skill set, including volunteer work for the collections department at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.
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| John working at Fort Michilimackinac as a professional archaeologist. Photo Credit: Anonymous. |
The things I learned from the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, Fort Michilimackinac, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, and various other jobs and hobbies have given me a unique set of skills. In the early summer of 2018, a good friend of mine and fellow Fort St. Joseph alumni Catherine Davis, shared a job posting for, you guessed it, yet another fort! Fort Ticonderoga in Upstate New York, on the shores of Lake Champlain, was looking to hire a Preparator. This newly founded position would include the construction of exhibits, making individual storage and display mounts for collection objects, assisting with on-site archaeology, among other tasks. My previous work history of archaeology, collections handling, general tinkering, and college apartment maintenance presented me a unique opportunity.
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| John assembling a museum display at Fort Ticonderoga. Photo Credit: Fort Ticonderoga Staff |
I accepted this position in late summer of 2018, and I have been a part of the Fort Ticonderoga team ever since! Since I have started working here, I have learned a lot about the current methods for displaying collection’s objects, disseminating information, on-site real-world archaeology, and how institutions function as a whole. I firmly believe that in order to understand archaeology’s role in today’s institutions, one must have a well-rounded set of experiences.
Best,
John Cardinal
