Liz and I haven’t been able to begin research but, after talking to lead archivist Heather South at the Western Regional Archives (WRA), we have put a lot of thought into how we would like to organize our website. As of now we have (what we THINK will be) our menu laid out, complete with landing pages for “umbrella” topics and subpages that will allow us to explore specific aspects of the umbrella topics. We fully understand that these subpages may change. These pages were created based on where we believe primary sources will be plenty. However, as every student of history knows, sometimes primary sources just don’t turn up the information that you want! Something almost always varies from how you think it will turn out. That being said, we are entering this next phase of the project—the research phase—with an open mind. Our menu is a tad extensive so I won’t go over the whole thing now. For anyone who is interested in seeing it, go to http://xroads.coplacdigital.org/unca/.

We are preparing to reach out to archives/agencies that we believe will help us in our research. This step will be done tomorrow and will most likely be a joint effort. There are five or six places that we must contact, so we will divide this work up. Our first big “milestone” is to complete our Timeline JS and StoryMap JS additions. I will be developing the timeline and will most likely be using sources that I can acquire from any computer with internet access, so I can put off delving into the archive stacks for just a bit longer.

As far as the time period that our project will cover, we foresee it spanning over a 50 year time period, perhaps a little longer if we decide to elaborate on the more recent influence the Parkway has on Western North Carolina. However, we do not expect to go through 50 years of history on every page! The construction of the Parkway will only cover a certain period of time, as will the page discussing displacement of locals. Likewise, the section discussing locals who worked on the Parkway will be a small number of years. I know this seems like a long period to cover, but we fully believe it possible as we will not be covering each section as extensively as an academic paper would. Seeing as it is a) a website and b) meant to target the general public and not historians or scholars, it will have to be somewhat succinct to keep the attention of our viewers. I’ve seen some history websites before and… well… even for a history major they can be kind of boring and dry sometimes. That’s definitely not what we want! We are going for a more outward-facing writing style as opposed to a strictly academic style.

I was already looking forward to creating this website, but as our plans develop and we get an ever-clearer idea of what we are doing, the site begins to come alive and with it the Parkway’s history. I can’t wait to uncover the story that it has to tell.

As per request by Professors Dunn and Turner, this post was also to include goals and due dates. I already write a lot anyways, so I simply included an excerpt from our contract containing our “milestone” dates, which can be found below:

Schedule of Milestones

• • September 25th: Both members must establish contact with all community partners and archives that house sources to be included in project.
  • September 30th: Kristen will have complete (or near complete) list of newspaper articles to be included on TimeLine JS. Images of all newspapers must be included. Liz will have complete list of locations that she will include on StoryMap JS. Images of all sources must be included.
  • September 31st: If partners have not already visited at least two of the archives/organizations that house BRP documents, this must be done by today.
  • October 3rd: Integrate our Timeline and StoryMap into the project site.
  • October 5th: Complete and submit final contract.
  • October 26th: Have basic structure of website set up, complete with project description/interpretation on “Home” page, description/interpretation on landing pages of each section on menu (“Construction,” “Locals,” and “Tourism”), near complete “Acknowledgments” page, possibly and “About Project” page, and description/interpretation on one to two subpages under each section of menu. This means we intend to have at least one subpage done under “Construction,” “Locals,” and “Tourism.”
  • October 31st: Rough Draft of websites due by 4pm.
  • November 9th: Gathering of Primary Sources to be completed. Finish interpretation of sources and construction of website pages.
  • November 19th: Complete all pages, begin refining and proofreading.
  • November 23rd: Add any finishing touches. Website should be ready for full launch by midnight. The week should be spent getting comfortable with site and preparing for final presentation.
  • November 30th: Present website to the class.
  • December 7th: Complete any additional final touches as recommended by class, professors, and Leah after presentations.
  • December 11th: Final Website due.