Various Background Work Related Skills of Theodore R. Hazen
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
While I was an employee with the National Park Service at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., I completed National Park Service training courses in park operations and interpretation. I have a background in milling operations, history, maintenance and construction. Please see my resume and internet web site for further details. I developed interpretive programs while working at Pierce Mill for various ages and interests for the broad spectrum of visitor. I had also developed a variety of related programs that would fit into the site theme. While at Pierce Mill I worked with the VIP coordinator recruiting, training and overseeing park volunteers performing a variety of interpretive, maintenance and operational functions for Pierce Mill and grounds. I had written the volunteer handbook for Pierce Mill. I ensured that safe milling practices were followed along with maintaining U.S. Government health standards for the production of a foodstuff. Then while I was a Blacksmith at Virginia's Explore Park I also performed the same function to train and ensure safe working practices of volunteers. The age group of volunteers at Virginia's Explore Park was generally much younger compared to Pierce Mill. While I was an employee of the National Park Service at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., I worked both indoors and outdoors and often in conditions of no heat during the winter months, and under adverse conditions of darkness, dampness, closed in spaces, slippery conditions, cold, heat, wet, snow and ice. I have worked for years doing physical work that requires lifting and moving heavy items such as 100 to 200 pound sacks of grain along with other heavy objects. I have worked safely and effectively moving large and heavy objects such as milling machinery and millstones. I have a valid state of Virginia's driver's License and have held a government driver's license. I have worn Class A (ranger) and Class B (maintenance), and worn and made period historical costumes. I have worked for years on weekends, holidays and spent long hours doing overtime. I have the ability to research, synthesize, develop background materials, and interpretive materials using historical documents, secondary sources, interviews and non-traditional sources. When I became employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., the mill had been broken down and closed for a number of years. I had to start over again from scratch with new research and gathering related historical materials. There was no educational or interpretive program in place. I spent much time trying to correct misconceptions, errors (even in spelling of Pierce), contradictions found in a variety of sources. I have long been an advocate of "show-me" where you found that bit of information in print before you present that material to the public. When I worked for Virginia's Explore Park, I wrote a history of Slone's Grist Mill which had been purchased, disassembled and moved to the park. I interviewed as many people and relatives that I could find that would have knowledge of the grist mill, from the people and families who owned and operated it, to whose lives were effected because of it, along with searching for any historical photographs. I wrote and assembled a number of documents where none existed before. Upon request I can furnish copies of various restoration reports, studies, appraisals and histories I have written. Some excerpts of these documents are today found in my web site on the internet.
I have the ability to prepare and present thematically based interpretive programs and curriculum-based education programs. During most of my college years I was an art education student. I successfully completed my high school student teaching of art education, along with taking education classes in college. At Pierce Mill I developed and presented curriculum based educational programs to all grades and general interpretive programs presented to the general public. I continuously developed new programs and reworked old ones. I developed interpretive programs for a variety of ages and special interest groups while being the mill operator at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C. I always kept in mind what was the main theme for the site. I had also developed a variety of related programs that would fit into the site's sub themes which was ultimately connected to the site's main theme. During the period that I filled in as a park ranger on the National Mall when they were short handed. I presented interpretive programs at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Monument, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Each site has its own very different physical space and theme impact upon the visitor. I would work during the day time at Pierce Mill and evenings on the National Mall. I would never know ahead of time which site I would be sent to and often I would be moved around during a shift as needed. At Virginia's Explore Park I prepared and presented interpretive programs and curriculum-based education programs in farming and blacksmithing to visitors and school groups. Because of my special knowledge I developed outlines and lesson plans for future use in their new grist mill. I have the ability to establish, manage, and maintain partnerships. When I became employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., I worked to establish partnerships within the staff of Rock Creek Park and other parks within the National Capital Region, regional county parks, academic institutions, the cooperating park association, suppliers, milling societies, and park neighbors. I always kept in mind the chain of command and kept my superiors informed of my actions. I performed this function while the park's position of VIP Coordinator was filled and at times vacant. I also developed relationships with neighboring embassies in the area. I worked closely with the cooperating association operating their bookstore outlet, managing their employee who was stationed at the site, and assisting their staff members in writing and drawing site folders from donated funds accounts. I also worked with Harpers Ferry assisting writing and drawing site folders, and with the Historical American Building Survey when they drew Pierce Mill. I worked with the park's maintenance staff, the historical preservation unit out of Williamsport, and with other historical mills in the Washington, D.C. area. I maintained a working relationship with media and publicity offices within the park, region, cooperating association and with local news media. I also worked closely with local colleges to integrate our program into their areas of academic studies. An example of this was working with a geologist of Washington, D.C., in conjunction with his college classes that dealt with the effects of the stream upon the valley of Rock Creek. Both within the National Park Service and Virginia's Explore Park, I presented programs to VIP's, and provided media information to television, film and print productions. I have the ability to function as a work leader, i.e., recruit, train, and coach volunteers and co-workers who present interpretive programs and operate equipment. I was a Shipping and Receiving Manager at Glenn Electric Heater in Erie, Pennsylvania. I supervised several employees and worked closely with the production manager to meet daily shipping quotas. At times I would assist in the manufacturing shop to complete items for shipment the same day. When I became employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., I recruited, trained and coached volunteers and co-workers in the presentation of interpretive programs and the safe operation of equipment. One of the important concerns was to function alone, with a building full of visitors, school groups, special events and while machinery was operating on various floor of the mill. Then at times the main important concerns were to work together as a team and to always remember visitor and staff safety. When I was a blacksmith at Virginia's Explore Park I worked with co-workers in my particular historical area (working together as a team with other teams in other areas) and with volunteers (children) training them to function as blacksmith apprentices in a blacksmith shop. I products items to be sold in the Park Souvenir Gift Shops. I have the ability to develop and write manuals, guidelines, and standard operating procedures. When I became employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., I wrote a volunteer handbook, established health guidelines for operating the grist mill to produce a foodstuff, and set the standard operating procedures. I wrote goals and objectives for the site. I developed an operation and maintenance manual for Pierce Mill. I established the day to day operating standards of the mill for visitors and school groups. This had to take into consideration the wear and tear on the milling machinery; the amount of time it took to prepare and repair the equipment each day to operate; the amount of time it took each day to clean the mill to maintain the health standards; the sales and amounts of ground flour and meal needed to maintain the cooperating associations inventory. I developed and implemented flood evacuation procedures for Pierce Mill for times when Rock Creek flooded the tail race, water wheel, wheel and gear pit and basement of the structure. They incorporated U.S. Public Health Service health standards for the production of flour and meal products in the aftermath clean up and visitor safety considerations. When I was employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., for the 11 years I was in charge of the National Park Service Bookstore outlet of Parks & History Association. I was responsible for monthly inventories and daily-regular inventories of flour and meal products to insure their safe sale to the public. The different types of products varied with grain availability but at times it ranged from a dozen products to 45 products. We also sold other interpretive and souvenir items such as books for various levels of interest in milling and rural crafts, children's books, toys, cookbooks, cast iron cookware, post cards and empty flour sacks. I was also responsible for part-time student employees and their training, record keeping, interactions with the public and visitor safety. I ordered books and searched out new items, and took care of daily, monthly accounting of sales and money. I attended all of the available cooperating associations classes in bookstore outlet operations for employees and managers. While I was employed with the National Park Service, I took classes in NPS operations, Interpretation classes, local and colonial history, fire fighting and sign language. I also attended all available classes, conferences and seminars in historical and mill restoration and operations. I also designed folders, brochures and wayside exhibits. I have the ability to work effectively with basic mechanical equipment, to operate simple machines, and to troubleshoot problems. I have worked in a number of positions where we used mechanical equipment beginning with shop classes in junior high and high school. In college as an art educational student . I produced items in a woodworking shop, jewelry and metallurgy shop, sculpture shop, printmaking, photography, and ceramics shop. I have worked with machine shop machinery in factories and with highway construction and maintenance. I have worked in both commercial and historical mills both in private operation and open to the public. Both in mills and factories, I worked with out of date archaic machinery. When it would break down, you had to made your own replacement parts.
When I became employed at Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, D.C., I spent 8 months reconditioning the old equipment to get the mill to operate once again. The mill had been broken down for a number of years. Some of the machinery had not operated in 5 years, some of it had not operated in 30 years and other parts of it had never operated. Over the years I was employed there I built new equipment, operated simple and complex machinery, some of which was hand operated and also powered by water. I repaired machinery for immediate problems and made management aware of long range problems. I made as many repairs that I could myself and wrote reports to advise management of solutions needed to complete larger repairs, and to make necessary drawings and reports. I prepared work orders, requisitions and provides technical advice. I have experience and expertise in flour milling. I have ground hard and soft wheats, blended and tempered and conditioned wheat, and have produced whole wheat flour, graham flour, all purpose flour, unbleached white flour, cake and pastry flour, bread flours, wheat cereals and bran. I have ground rye and produced whole rye flour, rye meal, light and medium rye flours, bohemian rye flour, rye cereal and bran. I have ground oats and produced oat flour, oat meal and bran. I have ground corn and produced corn meal, corn flour, corn grits, and corn bran. I have ground barley and produced barley meal and cereal. I have ground buckwheat and produced buckwheat flour, buckwheat cereal, buckwheat grits and buckwheat hulls. I have ground rice and produced rice flour and rice grits. I have produced various pancake mixes and bread mixes, etc. I have also ground soy beans, green peas and millet. I know it takes much more knowledge and experience to grind wheat than corn. Where I grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania, a staple of milling was to grind buckwheat flours. I also know that you first learn the ins and outs of milling something easy like corn then move into other grains.
I have experience and expertise in millwrighting and millstone dressing. I first learned millstone dressing from the late Harry N. Moffatt of Drakes Mills, and the late Paul W. Roth of Roth Milling Company. I have dressed millstones at Pierce Mill, and with the late Charles Howell in a number of mills and have done millstone demonstrations. I have dressed millstones on my own in Meadows Mills, various other types of mills with natural and made made millstones and in conventional mills using various types of millstones. I have worked in several mills doing the millwright work and in a number of other mill restorations and new construction. I have built and have rebuilt milling machinery from the ground up, everything from bins, chutes, elevators, conveyors, bolters, rebuilt millstones, pulleys, wooden gears, water wheels, and other types of machinery and equipment. I have drawn plans for others to build various parts and worked with other people rebuilding mills. I have done site inspection reports to complete restoration, museum and exhibit planning, and interpretive programing including drawings, photos, and models. I have an art education background. In college and working in parks I planned and implemented exhibits, graphics, folders, wayside exhibits, displays and museum model construction. I went to college to become an art education teacher, and I have completed my high school portion of my student teaching. I have worked in 5 historical theme parks and National Parks. I have taken the National Park Service classes in interpretation, interpretation of historic sites, and park operation. I was responsible for maintaining Peirce Mills historical collections artifacts, tools, records, site planning, goals and objectives. I also created and planned folders, wayside exhibits, and public programing and events. I have interpretation as a park ranger, miller, blacksmith, farmer, living history, walks, talks, crafts demonstrations and have used things like puppets. I have supervised and trained employees and volunteers. I have experience in historical preservation and restoration while working for the National Park Service, Virginia's Explore Park and by self-employment under the name of Pond Lily Mill Restorations. I have detailed knowledge of historical structures, environmental materials interactions, conservation materials and methodologies. I have done building renovation, dismantling, storage, and reconstruction. I have done inspection of structures and machinery with the knowledge of necessary to write restoration, preservation, museum, exhibit and interpretive planning. I have strong organizational skills and experience in preparing project completion reports, documenting preservation and restoration projects along with the experience, knowledge of early building technology and craft trades. Please look through my web site: Pond Lily Mill Restorations Home Page https://www.angelfire.com/journal/pondlilymill/index.html There is much of what I have written found listed on my resume along with much of my art work and drawings. The purpose of the web site is to provide information that "mills and water power are still a practical and environmentally friendly alternative technology." This I hope will generate 99% good will and information for those looking for research material. Its purpose is not to sell products or necessarily a service but to provide information and assistance for individuals interested in mills. Theodore R. Hazen
Return to Home Page mailto:trhazen@hotmail.com
Copyright 2001 by T. R. Hazen http://home.earthlink.net/~alstallsmith/index.html
