Wendel’s Visit Key Step In Brochure, Website Development

Roberta Wendel’s visit to Ste. Genevieve in May of this year marked a major step in the process of developing the National Park Service’s literature and website for the Sainte Genevieve National Historical Park.

Wendel, interpretive media program manager for the National Park Service (NPS) in Omaha, Nebraska, spent three days in Ste. Genevieve as part of the process for developing the brochure and map that visitors will receive for orientation and as a souvenir of their park visit.

“The process involves gathering information from local experts, reviewing the documents the National Park Service already has or any other historic documents, finding photographs or taking our own, seeking illustrations and maps,” Wendel said during her visit to Ste. Genevieve. “I’m now kind of looking for some quotations from past residents of the homes.

“Then I’ll be putting all those things together in a design, gathering text in a draft form and then submitting it to various stakeholders to review.

“I ground-truthed the draft map that I brought with me and then I’ll be taking it back and giving direction to one of the two cartographers that I have arranged to work with us.”

Wendel said her visit to Ste. Genevieve also allowed her to see where visitors to the park will start their journeys, what will capture their imaginations and how the stories will be told.

“We need to be more direct and direct-label things, and tell people which place they should go to first and give them some idea about the story so they can find their way around,” Wendel said.

See complete story in the August 7 edition of the Herald.