Light of Day: 'What I Did on My Summer Vacation" by Dave

Working this past summer in the GWU Special Collections has been an interesting experience. Truthfully it’s only the third “real job” I’ve ever had in my life, but it has been by far the most intellectually stimulating. I have learned a lot about the study of history from a perspective which in three years working toward a history degree I had hardly experienced. It has been a valuable experience not only as a history major, but as an experience in an environment where patience is a virtue and an eye for detail is essential.

While I was processing Jack Anderson’s cartoon collection this summer, I sifted through literally thousands of sheets of Anderson’s personal collection. While I was in the midst of this cumbersome process I realized that I was more intimately familiar with Jack Anderson’s style and sense of humor than most people on this planet, and that was an excellent feeling, being so familiar with a piece of history that while small, is not unimportant. Jack Anderson’s cartoon collection, while not as famous or important as the rest of his journalism career, offered valuable insight into his ideals, sense of humor, political views, and general outlook on the world. Working with Anderson’s cartoon collection was great because it was an opportunity that few other people will ever have, and now I can say I did while working at GW Special Collections.

Working in the Special Collections has put me in contact with many things which I could experience nowhere else. I encountered a graduate thesis written by a GW University graduate student in the 1890s and pulled books from shelves for patrons which were published before my grandfather was born. Call me crazy, but the opportunity to deal with items with that much historical value is amazing. It has been an interesting summer working for the Special Collections, and it has allowed me to do things I never thought I would do and further my interest in history in a unique way.