Student preserves canal history

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Orland Park resident Julia Evashenk recently preserved local history as an intern for the Lewis University History Center. | Supplied photo

Updated: March 1, 2012 8:05AM

Lewis University student Julia Evashenk, of Orland Park, spent the fall 2011 semester preserving local history as an intern for the Lewis University History Center.

She scanned, preserved and worked with historical artifacts.

Evashenk learned about digitizing projects from the planning stages, through scanning and entering data into the collection management system while working in the Howard and Lois Adelmann Regional History Collection, one of the largest canal collections in America.

The collection consists of a variety of materials relating to 19th-century American canals, with a concentration on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and the history of northeastern Illinois where the canal is located.

It also has materials on most of the pre-Civil War canals of America.

The material consists of bound volumes, pamphlets, annual canal reports and 19th century maps, both manuscript and printed. In addition, it has photographs, prints, manuscript letters and memoirs relating to the construction and operation of canals, and those industries associated with canals. It also houses some canal artifacts. It has a total of more than 10,000 items.

“Julia’s work was immensely helpful in preserving the local history of the I&M Canal,” said librarian Mary Ann Atkins. “Future generations for many years will learn from the materials she helped to preserve.”

Evashenk is a sociology major with a minor in social work.