Heritage Hall Museum

Freeman Academy's Board of Directors recently asked me (and four other people) to be on the Board of Trustees for Heritage Hall Museum and Archives. It sounds like quite an honor for someone who is only 24 - and it is - but I think it could also be a lot of work.

This history museum has an extenisve collection and is more like a storage shed ... no, two storage sheds and four historic buildings (two churches, a farmhouse and a school). There are no real exhibits. Pretty much everything that the museum owns is displayed in a semi-ordered, semi-random state. Justin Brewer, Sarah Shorthill's high school acquaintance, would say "your shit's in disarray." A few items have partial descriptions, but most of the collection is just there for periodic visitors to interpret for themselves.

At our second meeting last Thursday, the board members were encouraged to dream big and think of how they would like to see the museum improve. Three things came to my mind. 1) I would like the collection, the artifacts, to be better documented and better preserved. 2) There should be themed exhibits that interpret the collection for visitors. 3) If the museum had occasional events, maybe they could draw more people in.

Others in the group shared these same visions with me, but I could tell there would be dissent from some down the road. Some of the board members feel almost everything we own should be exhibited. They think if items are not exhibited and just "stored" then the people who donated the items will get their feelings hurt and it would result in bad PR for the museum within the community. I think if it is explained to the donators that when their items are exhibited it actually causes the item(s) to deteriorate at a more rapid pace (light, handling, temperature and humidity changes, etc.). If donators want their items properly preserved they should accept that they will not be exhibited all the time.

A second problem I foresee is some of the board members of the museum forcing history down people's throats. An example: a few members have a passion for old farm equipment. One member complained that "kids these days" don't know anything about old tractors and obsolete machinery like threshing machines. He thinks it is important to make sure "kids" get educated about this stuff. I guess I do too, but we need to figure out a way to make it appealing to most people or offer alternatives. We need to have other exhibits for people who have absolutley no interest in that old tractors. Ultimately, it is the public who should decide what we exhibit.

I have run into these issues at the museum where I work now. My boss loves Civil War reenacting and early Sioux Falls history. He does not understand why other people do not share his passion. Seriously, not everyone wants to pertend they lived in 1860, we all have different interests.

As I mentioned above, our second meeting was only this past Thursday so we are just getting started. The possibilities for this museum are endless. The obstacles are vast. It will be a unique learning experience and I am excited about getting involved at this level. Unfortunately, I will probably be moving to Kansas in January. (I am waiting to see if I get accepted to graduate school before officially committing to the move.) This means I might have to cut my board term short. If this happens, I sincerely hope I can maintain my involvement to some extent from a distance.