246
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
future historian how to search for his
materials and how to record them.
It is also important for him to learn to
weigh and judge his findings with-
out prejudice or bias. But instruction
should not stop at this point.
The historical writer must know what to
discard and what to retain;
he must learn to arrange his selections
for their most effective form of
presentation. Throughout this tedious
process he must be able to retain
an unabated enthusiasm for his subject
matter. Then too, he must acquire
practice in wielding a facile pen which
will weave with lucidity an attrac-
tive word pattern out of the scattered
threads of historical research. He
must be capable of quoting without
interrupting his narrative and he must
be able to paraphrase without distorting
the meaning. Above all, he must
ever be aware of the possibilities for
improvement. He must constantly be
cognizant of his own ignorance. His mind
must always be alert for new
ideas and his eye must ever be searching
for new materials. He must not
rest content on past laurels nor slacken
his efforts to achieve improvement.
He must be willing to revise and to
polish his written drafts indefinitely.
He must also be willing to check and
recheck tirelessly, to proofread, to
collate, and again to proofread, before
he allows his manuscript to face
the barrage of reader criticism. When he
has conscientiously and faith-
fully adhered to all these rules of good
workmanship, then, and only then,
can he be said to have produced
historical writing in which critical investi-
gation is matched by careful
presentation.
The next speaker was Professor Harlan
Hatcher, of the Ohio
State University, state director of the
Federal Writers' Project.
W. P. A. in Ohio. An abstract of his
remarks follows:
THE HISTORICAL OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED
THROUGH
THE WRITERS' PROJECT
By HARLAN HATCHER
Nearly everybody now knows the story of
the beginnings of the
Federal Writers' Project, which was
organized two and one-half years ago
to provide for unemployed writers of
different capacities. Under the direc-
tion of Henry G. Alsberg, the Federal
Writers' Project undertook the
tremendous task of preparing the American
Guide Series to reveal to the
citizens of the United States a picture
of their country. Books have been
prepared on each of the New England
States, and have been published by
the Houghton Mifflin Company. Guides to
the remaining states will appear
at frequent intervals.
The question is now raised, "What
are the historical opportunities
offered through the Writers'
Project?" First, let it be made clear that the
project is not adapted to take the place
of the solid, substantial and scholarly
type of history now projected under the
auspices of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
The Writers' Project in Ohio em-
ploys 132 people, in all capacities,
including typists, research workers,
writers and editors. In most cases this staff
is drawn directly from the
employment division of the W. P.A. They are not trained historians.
But there is a type of work which they
are able to do under direction
which cannot well be undertaken by
private groups.
The kind of contribution which they are
able to make might best be
illustrated by specific reference to the
books now being prepared by the
Writers' Project in Ohio. Chief among these is the Ohio
Guide which will
become a part of the total American Guide Series, The
first third of this
......................
PROCEEDINGS 247
book will be made up of nearly a score
of essays, treating various aspects
of Ohio history and activity. While we
believe that this section of the book
will be of great interest to the general
reader, and will serve to interpret
the State as a whole, it is unlikely
that it will make significant addition to
the body of knowledge on Ohio.
The second and third sections of the
book, however, will be a unique
contribution. Because of its large
staff, widely distributed over the State,
the Writers' Project has been able to
dig up a considerable mass of inter-
esting information on neglected items in
the State's history. Staff workers
have covered all the important highways in Ohio, and
have located points
of interest and uncovered episodes
which, by their very nature, can hardly
be utilized by the conventional
historian. Using the network of roads as
an organizing unit, the book will reveal
the present picture of Ohio, tell
the story of the activities and
occupations of its people, and pause at his-
toric spots to connect the present with
the past. The result is a new form
and style of history which, we believe,
may provoke the citizens of Ohio to
a keener interest in the heritage of
their State.
In addition to the Ohio Guide, the
project has published, or is pre-
paring, similar publications on the
major cities and the more interesting
counties in the State. A sample of this
aspect of the work is the Guide to
Chillicothe and Ross County, a booklet of about 30,000 words, profusely
illustrated with photographs of the
district, and containing a list of the
points of interest in Chillicothe and
Ross County. A similar book on War-
ren and Trumbull County is now going to
press. When this series is
finished, Ohio will have a more complete
picture of itself and its history
than it has ever had before. Great care
is being taken in the research and
writing, and it is earnestly hoped that
future historians of the State may
find, in this series of books, a ready
and accurate source of information.
After the completion of the formal
program of the session
a brief time was devoted to a general
discussion of the papers
presented. Before adjourning, the
conference took action favor-
ing a similar joint conference next
year, at which time teachers of
history in secondary schools, local and
regional historical so-
cieties and other organizations
interested in history, genealogy and
allied subject should be invited.
This conference will be held Friday and
Saturday, April
7-8, 1939.
Minutes of the Regular Annual Meeting
of the Ohio State Arch-
aeological and Historical Society,
Held April 26, 1938.
A meeting of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society was held April 26, 1938, in
accordance with the consti-
tutional provision concerning the Annual
Meeting. A quorum of
members was present. In the absence of
the president and vice
presidents of the Society, Mr. H. C.
Shetrone was elected chair-
man for the day. The secretary presented the Minutes of
the