We are just about a week away from the autumnal equinox, though the weather here has been flirting with cooler temperatures for nearly a month. There is something absolutely wondrous about the fall. With the changing of the seasons comes change of a different sort. While some of us remember September being the harbinger of homework and pop quizzes, kids nowadays are returning to school as early as the first of August (in one Georgia county, students actually reported on July 31st!). College football is full swing – October baseball is just around the corner.

Here on the land, we are making preparations for our annual fall festival and gearing up for that other big tourist season; the “leafers” will soon be visiting in droves, taking in the fall splendor. We also recently welcomed our fall intern, Audrey Thomas, to the museum. We’ve been having good success this year with interns and it is already apparent that, with Audrey, we’re keeping the streak alive.

Audrey comes to us from the University of Georgia’s Masters of Historic Preservation program. She is in her thesis semester, which means that she’s completed all of her coursework and is now in the process of professionalizing, which is a lot less painful than it sounds. Joining us on September 5th, Audrey is already well into her work here at Foxfire, assisting us with our National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant for museum enhancements.

Our fall intern has a very impressive resume, which includes a Bachelor of Science degree in public history from Appalachian State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Audrey has extensive volunteer experience, lending her talents to the Athens Historical Society and the Appalachian Heritage Council, as well as working as part of the team working to save Boone, NC’s Appalachian Theater. She is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, UGA’s Student Historic Preservation Organization, and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, among others.

Audrey’s working thesis is a study of African American travel guide locations in Portsmouth and Newport News, VA. She also holds research interest in Appalachian Studies and Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies.

We’re glad to welcome Audrey to our Foxfire family and hope, should you spot her here, working on The Land, that you give her a welcome as well.