By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
BATH — While many of her peers are working this summer at fast-food restaurants or mowing lawns, rising Northside High School senior Callie Wahab is enjoying the opportunity to pursue her interest in history.
Wahab began her first part-time job this summer with Historic Bath State Historic Site. Her duties include manning the information/gift-shop desk in the visitors center and conducting tours of the historic Palmer-Marsh House. She’s also studying up on local history to add tours of the Bonner House to her job description.
“During the tours, we tell about the history of each house and the artifacts,” said Wahab, a 17-year-old Bath native. “I know more about the history of the town now and more details about each house.”
Wahab, classified as a temporary employee, will work part-time hours throughout the upcoming school year, said Bea Latham, historic interpreter and assistant site manager.
“It’s always nice when we can hire teenagers for our temporary position and open their eyes to not only the history of Bath, but to the different parts in North Carolina history,” Latham said. “We certainly have been fortunate to have Callie here with us because she already knows a lot of history, which made it easier for her to just ease right into this job.”
Wahab is certainly no stranger to local history. As a child, she volunteered in costume for different programs hosted by Historic Bath. And along with her parents, Ron and Phoebe Wahab, she has participated in period reenactments at the USS North Carolina battleship in Wilmington and with Revolutionary War-related events.
History is her favorite subject at Northside. After high-school graduation, Wahab hopes to attend East Carolina University.
“It has a really good archaeology program, and that’s what I want to do,” she said. “ECU just seems to fit with what I want to do.”
For information about tours and special events at Historic Bath State Historic Site, call the visitors center at 252-923-3971.