Troy Masters told the Forum he feels the Rimrocker Historical Society “is the treasure of the West End.” When the ladies who operate it, Sharon Johannsen and Jane Thompson, called him for some technology support this past spring, he agreed to help them. Once he assessed their needs, he then became a volunteer for them.
The ladies had gotten a scanner, made possible by a grant through the Telluride Foundation, and they had plans to digitize old newspapers, photos, yearbooks and more. Masters, who is an IT expert, said he sat down with them and did a “solution discovery session” to see what the goals were and make plan for scanning and storage. Then, Masters helped them get a Microsoft grant, one specific to nonprofits, that helps with computer programs and cloud storage.
Masters also built the Rimrockers a curator app, so that their searches are streamlined and there are no duplicate files.
“I’m working to help those ladies because what they do, and Marie (the late Marie Templeton), and the others before them to preserve this history is nothing short of remarkable,” he said. “They deserve all the honor, and that’s why I am dedicating my tech background to support them and show the value it really has.”
The archive, though, Masters said is not just any archive. In fact, he said he’s had some conversations recently with representatives of History Colorado and the Denver Public Library. Masters said the Rimrockers’ new system will be state of the art and an example for others.
Already, the old Nucla Independent newspapers have been digitized. Two weeks ago, when the Forum stopped in and saw the archive work in action, the ladies were working on the old Forums. Johannsen demonstrated how after the original pages are scanned they’re laminated and put into big books. They’ll be protected, but can be handled.
In this way, the artifacts remain in the museum, but they’re also stored digitally online too. Cassie Farmer, of Art the Apothecary, another volunteer in the ongoing archive project is also making a fabric edging for the laminated pages.
Thompson and Johannsen told the Forum at some point, they want to have events, group readings of the old newspapers, where folks come in and listen to someone read old editions from a specific time period. The news of the old days is quite interesting, they agree.
The ladies at the Rimrocker Historical Society are volunteering their time, for all of it. The ladies don’t draw a salary at the museum. Masters is also donating his time as their tech expert.
“I respect those two and the people that came before them,” he said. “I’ve always been a history nut. I’ve always enjoyed it.”
He has other ideas for the Rimrockers too. He told the Forum he’d like to look at their other processes and develop ways for more efficient accounting and reservations at the Uravan Ball Park. He said he wants the ladies to be able to focus more on their curator work at the museum, not staying overly busy with the clerical and administrative work.
The Rimrockers started the archiving work with Masters in April. He thought it would take a full year to complete. Now, with the ladies working nonstop, and the technology advancing, he said it looks like they’ll be complete in December.
“And by the end of the year, there will be something pretty powerful to show,” Masters said. “What we are doing is going to be the cutting edge of technology.”
