By Carol Weir
Special to The Island News
Petticoats from the 1800s, musical instruments from the turn of the 20th century, and other family heirlooms are dusty raw materials for USC Beaufort History majors Karina Iaffaldano and Madeline Jones during their internship at the Beaufort History Museum.
Iaffaldano and Madeline Jones are getting hands-on experience in two key areas of museum work: catalog management and interpretation. For the cataloging work, they’re sorting through museum artifacts that are stored in the City of Beaufort’s basement. These donated pieces tell stories of life in the Lowcountry long ago, but those stories can be lost if the objects aren’t properly catalogued.
Cataloguing involves documenting each item’s description, condition, provenance and donor information. The process creates a permanent record that helps museum staff understand what they have, care for donated items appropriately and make them available for research, exhibitions and educational programs.
An old photograph or a handwritten document from a Beaufort family can offer insights into the Lowcountry’s history and the lives of the people who shaped it. Without proper documentation, these connections can be difficult to recover, and objects may become effectively inaccessible — even when they are safely stored in a museum’s collection.
Working in the dim light of the basement at Beaufort City Hall, Jones and Iaffaldano open hat boxes, decipher spidery cursive, photograph each piece and enter information about each artifact into cataloguing software on a laptop. A month into their internship, Jones said they had catalogued “about 150 pieces.”
James Shinn, USCB Assistant Professor of History, is supervising Iaffaldano and Jones in their internship and is excited about their work.
“For decades, the Beaufort History Museum has been operating without a single, comprehensive, easily searchable catalog of its holdings,” he said. “In the museum world, that’s flying blind.”
Amelie Sams Aimar Cromer, president of the Beaufort History Museum, said the students’ work will help the museum — which is run entirely by volunteers — plan new rotating exhibits. The partnership between the museum and USCB benefits both institutions, she said.
“It’s a win-win,” Cromer said. “Providing real-world experience for history majors will hopefully attract students to USCB’s History program. The interns also bring new talents and ideas to the museum.”
The students’ work builds on efforts by USCB alumnus Aidan de la Torre, who graduated in 2025 and interned with the museum. Iaffaldano and Jones are both recipients of stipends from the new Jim and Kathleen Jordan Experiential Learning Scholarship Fund.
Iaffaldano and Jones will graduate from USCB knowing their efforts helped the Beaufort History Museum — and the Lowcountry community — preserve stories, memories and knowledge for future generations.