Week 5 [6/21 - 6/27]

We're into the second half of the program and things are ramping up! The workload is steadily increasing as we head towards the end, but I'm making good progress. I spent a lot of time out in the community, too, which helped offset my tedious research work.

One of many green tree frog

Accomplishments

I mainly worked on going through my letters (130 to be exact!) and pulling out relief data. As you'll soon read, this wasn't as straightforward as I previously imagined, and I went down several rabbit holes looking for small pieces of missing info. Aside from that, I finished up the methodology section of my paper and reviewed some additional literature.

Barriers to my best work

You might guess that reading 130 letters and extracting data into a spreadsheet sounds fun. You'd be right! Even more fun are the various places mentioned that don't exist today, and the inconsistent manner of data entry. For instance, I need to standardize the amount of aid requested, which is either listed in terms of rations or individual items, like a barrel of meat. A conversion chart does exist, however, showing the weight and bulk of different foodstuff rations. I spent a lot of time approximating the location of former settlements, including 'Storm's Landing,' or 'Stormville,' which was near present-day Bolivar.

Things i learned

This week, I had a few workshops about creating effective presentations, both in terms of the speaking and visual aspects. We talked about designing good slides, pacing the presentation, and a good practice routine, among other things. I also had a CV and resume workshop which turned into a conversation about graduate studies, and I took away some good information. One thing that stuck with me was choosing a university based on the faculty, not the school itself. Finally, I had a fun lecture about photogrammetry, which included some hands-on AR and 3D printing activities!

Next Research steps

Once I have all my data extracted, I can begin mapping the data points in QGIS, and start drafting the results section of my paper. I will also start to consider the content and layout of my final presentation.

A snippet of the South

My favorite part of the week was the annual Herpetology Hike at Lake Thoreau Environmental Center! This event featured slow-cooked meatballs, an amphibian exhibition, and a night hike through the park looking for frogs, salamanders, and the like. A constant droning of frog mating calls filled the humid night sky. Lake Thoreau works to rehabilitate the Dusky Gopher frog, which, at one point, was only found at one pond in the entire state of Mississippi! The southeastern United States is also home to the Amphiuma genus of aquatic salamanders, with only three extant species in the entire genus! One such salamander was in a giant tub of water and marked the end of the hike.

Bird voiced tree frog calling

another snippet of the South

On Friday, we swapped lectures for a morning tour of the Hattiesburg Freedom Summer Trail! The trail follows sites on the 1964 Freedom Summer Movement in Hattiesburg and includes an audio tour with oral histories from the Movement's key activists. Stops included historic Mobile Street, home of current and former Black-owned businesses; the Vernon Dahmer Memorial in downtown Hattiesburg; and Mt. Zion Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke just two weeks before his assassination.

Bug of the week

Aside from the frogs, I also saw plenty of cool bugs at the hike, including this absolutely massive dark fishing spider! These spiders, including the one pictured, are tree-dwelling, and widespread across eastern North America. This one was about the size of my hand!

Dark fishing spider