Elkins Overview

So next year I will be in Elkins. Here is some basic information about Elkins (which I probably should have looked up before I visited this weekend):

Elevation: 1,926ft. (But to get there, you have to climb above 3,500 ft.)
Population: about 7,000 (Elkins is also home to Davis and Elkins College, which has about 700 students.)
Founded: 1890 and named after Senator Stephen Benton Elkins.

It is located on the edge of the Monongahela National Forest, which has a lot of outdoor recreation opportunities. In town, the railroad depot serves as a tourist attraction with trains that take trips throughout the summer. In the past, this depot was run by the Western Maryland Railway for both commercial and passenger trains.

Pointers and Advice

I just got back from visiting my friend Maribeth who lives in Denver. If you have read my other blog, you'll know her as someone I met in Chile and visited me in Sweden and Germany last summer.

My trip out to Denver was fun on so many levels, but it was also a learning experience. Maribeth started an AmeriCorps VISTA position with Growing Home, a non-profit that helps children and their families, last January. Although I had already heard about AmeriCorps options, Maribeth's experience made me want to look into what possibilities there were. After research and searching, that's how I found the AFHA.

The first piece of advice Maribeth imparted on me was about food assistance. In one interview for an AmeriCorps position I had, they said straightforward that the living stipend was low enough to qualify for food stamps. I figured that at less than $12,000 a year for living, that made sense.

I had no idea how food stamps worked or what the process was to qualify. Luckily, Maribeth had already gone through the experience, which sounded actually more like a complex process, and could give me some pointers. Although it is different for each state, after doing some research, it seems like I will have to go through an equally complex application process, which probably won't start until a month or two after I have started my position.

This coming Sunday and Monday I will get a better idea about the coming year because I will be visiting Elkins. I am going to meet with the director of the AFHA, checking out Elkins, and possibly finding a place to live!

A bit more information...

With my upcoming tour of duty in West Virginia a lot of people have been asking me what exactly I will be doing with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area. Before, I had simply said it would either be heritage development with museum or historical societies in the area or hands-on historic preservation of buildings in the Elkins area. Now, I have somewhat of a better idea of what I will be doing, but the final details won't come until I have actually started.

It looks like I will be spending half my time with Historic Beverly Preservation, which is located in Beverly, WV, about 10 minutes from Elkins. Part of that time will be spent at the Beverly Visitor Center, but it seems like I will also be able to work on a project of interest to me which will encourage heritage tourism development. Still pretty vague, I know.

The other half of my time may be spent doing historic preservation in the Elkins/Beverly area. This is hands-on work that repairs and construction on historic buildings. I may also be doing smaller heritage tourism projects for other organizations. All of these opportunities excite me, since I have the possibility to do a lot of different tasks and learn a lot. One of my personal goals for this year is to learn as much as I can about historic preservation, heritage development and museum work; I hope doing different projects will accomplish that.