Category: Q&A

New state archivist wants to make the past accessible

Meet Ashley Miller, who was recently appointed as New Hampshire’s new state archivist.

How did you become the state archivist?

I did my undergrad at Penn State, where I got my degree in history. After graduating, I knew I wanted to continue [in history], but not be a history teacher. I had worked in the preservation, conservation and digitization department at Penn State in their archives, and I absolutely loved it. I moved to New Hampshire and started working at Concord Public Library as an archivist, reference and outreach coordinator and commuting down to Boston for grad school, where I pursued a master’s in archival management and a master’s in history at Simmons University. Then, this past October, I learned that the state archivist — my predecessor — was retiring. That day, I sent a very bold email to the Secretary of State, David Scanlan, saying, ‘Hey, here’s my resume, and here’s why I think I would be a good fit.’ Two months later I had an interview, and the rest is history.

What does it entail?

Right now I’m doing a lot of planning for what I want to do over the next 18 months, but once I’m into the grind of the job, the essential functions are handling research requests, managing records for state agencies, providing transportation and storage for records, [conducting] polls and refiles for agencies and the general public and preserving the documentation of New Hampshire history. I’m also responsible for the management of the building we’re in.

What kinds of materials do you work with?

We have so much. We have records of state agencies, like the Department of Health and Human Services, which aren’t accessible to the public, but when [a department] needs their records, we’re the ones who pull them and transfer and store them. We also have original town charters, probate records, legislative histories, original bills, records of governor.

Where do they come from?

State agencies, past legislators and sometimes just donors — people who discover things in their attics or they have things that were passed down to them.

What is the oldest item in our state archives?

The oldest record we have is the original New Hampshire charter from 1631.

Any other interesting or surprising finds?

We have a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the ratification documents that were rediscovered here in the Statehouse in 1978. They’re displayed in our front lobby. How cool is it that we have those? As for other surprising finds, I can’t say I’ve come across anything too out of the ordinary. But I’ve only been on the job for about a month and a half, and we have 98,000 boxes in our archives, so there could very well be something shocking that I haven’t discovered yet.

What would you like to accomplish as state archivist?

One of my big goals is to make our records more accessible to the public, which is going to be a matter of scanning — we will really have to double down on our scanning efforts — and getting the software to be able to host browsable [archival materials] on our website, as well as [writing] descriptions and all that. I also want to do more outreach, whether that’s visiting local schools and their history departments or even just posting on social media. I want people to know that we’re here and that we have these resources available. We are the custodians and the caretakers of these records, but they belong to the people. They are meant to be seen and used by the people. … The accessibility of these records will make things much easier for genealogists, school groups, history departments, historians, researchers and students, and hopefully get more people interested in our history.

What do you enjoy about working in archives?

I’ve always loved history, since I was a little girl. It’s part of the reason I wanted to move to New England. Getting to work with primary source records and literally hold history in my hands is a fascinating experience for me. How can you not get excited about history when it’s right in front of your face?

What significance do archives have for the people of today?

There’s a great quote I learned in library school: ‘Archives are arsenals of accountability.’ They’re a record of who we are, what we’ve done and where we’ve been, and that is hugely important.

Featured photo: Ashley Miller. Courtesy photo.

Policing and building community with horses and a pony

Officer Kelly McKenney of the Manchester Police Mounted Patrol, honored last month as the 2023 New Hampshire Horseperson of the Year by the New Hampshire Horse Council, shared her thoughts and experiences on serving as a mounted police officer.

How did you become a mounted patrol officer?

I’ve been riding since I was 6 years old. … I was on the UNH equestrian team and lived at the UNH horse barns for my last two years there. After college … I became a police officer in Manchester, knowing that Manchester had a mounted patrol, with the intention and the hope of being put on that division. It took 13 years; I did my time, then finally got put on.

Tell us about the horses.

We have two big horses named General Stark and Bruno. General Stark is a Clydesdale cross and has been with the patrol for a while, while Bruno is a Percheron cross and relatively new. Right now we keep them at the Youth Detention Center in Manchester, because that used to be a county farm. … For almost two years I was alone — there are usually two riders, but we didn’t have the manpower to spare — but I finally got a partner this past summer. That helps a lot, so we can ride together and share the chores, and horses are herd animals, so they prefer to have a partner. … I’ve ridden General Stark for a long time, and we have a great partnership, but I’ve been letting my new partner ride him because he’s such a steady horse; he’s been doing [patrol riding] for a long time and has been exposed to everything. Bruno, however, is still new and can be a bit anxious about things. … Then, there’s Eddy, the pony …

OK, so what’s the story with the pony?

Our horses are huge. Kids go to pet them and it’s like, ‘OK, well, that’s a leg.’ So, I had this idea. … I asked the chief, ‘Can we get a pony? I want to bring a pony to the schools,’ and he was like, ‘… a pony? Uh, alright,’ so I found this little pony, and it just exploded. I did over 120 events with the pony just last year. We brought him to schools, day cares, senior centers, nursing homes, mental health facilities — who doesn’t love a pony, right? … And the comfort dogs are great, too, but every kid on the planet has seen a dog; it’s not every day you get to see a pony in Manchester.

What kind of police work do you do on mounted patrol?

Mostly we ride downtown, on Elm Street or throughout the parks. When we were having homelessness issues, I would monitor the parks and make sure people were behaving. I actually formed quite a few bonds with the homeless [individuals] out there. A lot of them would talk to me when they wouldn’t talk to [other officers], because they see that I’m a human, too. The horse kind of brings that out. I’ve also stopped cars and made arrests from horseback.

Do tell how you pull someone over while on horseback.

I use the traffic lights to my advantage. I stand at the corner, and when the cars are stopped at the light, if I see [a driver] on their phone or an expired inspection sticker or registration, I ride up to the car while they’re waiting for the light, and I say, ‘Hey, when the light turns green, I want you to pull over up there.’

Who picks up the horse poop?

I do! It’s so funny —I bring trash bags, and it’s basically like, the biggest dog-doo pickup in the world. … And Eddie, when we bring him places, wears a little diaper that catches his poo. Seriously. There are pictures on our Facebook page.

Why is the Mounted Patrol an important part of the police department?

At the end of the day I’m still a police officer doing police work, but working with horses is so much more community-oriented than just being in a cruiser … and allows for a better face-to-face interaction with the public. When I’m riding, people walk up to me and flag me down to talk, which opens up a dialogue, and that is just awesome. Nobody ever flagged me down to talk about my cruiser or bicycle when I rode them; most people tried to go the other way. But having the horses, it’s so nice to be able to actually talk with people instead of being something that people want to avoid. … It helps to show people that police officers are human beings and give people a positive experience with law enforcement.

Featured photo: Officer Kelly McKenney of the Manchester Police Mounted Patrol and Eddy the comfort pony visit Manchester Head Start. Courtesy photo.