The Reeder Endowment is proud to fund a paid Student Research Assistant position for senior History/English major India Gatts at the Trumbull County Historical Society. Through her work, India is playing a vital role in preserving the history of Warren’s Pioneer Cemetery. She has cataloged hundreds of cemetery records and approximately 400 photographs. She is also working to digitize the cemetery index so that it is searchable and available to the public. Even more exciting, she is developing an interactive digital map of the cemetery. Beyond her archival work, India is conducting extensive historical research on Pioneer Cemetery, utilizing newspaper articlesand land deeds. TCHS utilized her research to develop a Halloween cemetery tour, engaging the community and raising awareness of the cemetery’s historical significance. She also wrote a short history of the cemetery for the Tribune.
India says: “Working with TCHS has provided me with an experience that I cannot find in the classroom. It has introduced me to the field of applied history and allowed me to take a forgotten piece of the community and revitalize the public’s interest in it. By the end of my project, hundreds of people that were left behind over time will once again be a part of the community.”