Ted-

Well, like others, our museum fell on hard times during the 80's, although the lightship did not officially become a part of our museum until 1989. It sat there between 1972 and 1989 with a LOT of damage. One of the only reasons she was totaled was a guy by the name of Ted Richardson, who put her under his wing. We lost a while back, but we have a new site manager there that gots her gleaming. If it was me, I would have never put her in land, but I wasn't even alive at that point! I'll try and get a postcard to you as soon as I can.

The D.B. Harrington is a 2-4-0 Porter built in 1878 for the Port Huron & Northwestern. Your correct: she was one if not the first steam engine retired to a park, at Traverse City in 1933 or so. She was removed in the 1960's and sold to Cedar Point & Lake Erie; she then went to Henry Ford Museum, which had her stored at their storage place in Navarre, Ohio until she was de-accessioned to us in the early 1990's. She is currently under cover, but we hope to have her available for display (and possible operation, however, I not sure if this is feasible) within the next couple of years.

Thanks for the
> T.J. This is from a professional Curator.
> Your museum interests me for two reasons.
> That logging loco of yours may be the first
> steam engine retired to a Park. Do you know
> what year that was?

> The first Thunder Bay Lumber engine went
> into the Park in Rhinelander, WI in 1934.
> Another early parj display.

> And the HURON Lightvessel is the only Great
> Lakes LV to be preserved. Have you done any
> recent post cards, now that the vessel is
> open again. Boy, those blanked off doors and
> ports looked awful!

> Ted Miles


Port Huron Museum

tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

Warning, the following post is primarily my opinion. It does describe a state of affairs that perhaps we in the rail preservation community can aspire to. But if we get there, most of us will be out of a job, and we'll have to go to the museum and enjoy it and support it like everyone else. We'll have to give it up for it to grow. (Though this is merely my opinnion.)

In the last bit of debate "Iron" Dave stated that as Museums evolve, their needs and structure usually changes. Kent Haag responded that most Rail museums don't really change much, and have imbeded Boards of Directors that refuse to accept new ideas. I think that Dave is on the right track here, and Ken is missing his point, becuse, like many people, he is focussing on a smaller picture.

Yes, many Rail museums have Borads composed primarily of middle aged mail rail enthusiasts uninterested in creating a mission or approach to opoen railroading to a broader audience, but this isn't becuse most rail museums never change, it's because rail musuems as a variety of museum are quite young.

I think that I would say that there are several "stages" that a museum will go through in its lifetime. (And in order to really see this, you need to look at a broader sample of museums with a bit more growth history. Say art and history museums for example.) I believe it is plausible to possit that most types of museums grow in similair ways, since my observations indicate that older more mature history, art and natural history museums seem to function quite similairly.

Take the Field museum in Chicago, the Stuttgart art museum, and the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis, several museums of comparable size and age, as examples. They are all primarily staffed by professionals. They have large, well catalouged interptreted and displayed collections. They have similairly clean and professional environments. Where appropriate, visitors are encouraged to interact with displays, but never at the risk of damaging artefacts. In these institutions, preservation is almost more important than education, as they view their collections as a trust for future generations that cannot be replaced.

Smaller younger museums generally allow more interaction between the visitor and the display, but they generally have less valuable, more replaceable, artefacts. Volunteers also typically make up a much higher percentage of their staffs.

I think that we can catagorize museums generally into at least four fairly distinct stages of growth. Nascent museums to me would be those that are brand new, and are composed of a small but dedicated group of volunteers that have a small but interesting group of artefacts that they want to learn about, or share with others. They probably don't have much formal staff structure. They probably don't have much space or a large collection, but instead have large dreams and hopes. Most of those that I've seen tend to be pretty specific. (Let's show people the art of our town!) (I would guess few musuems of this type have been around for more than 25 years.)

Growing museums, (the catagory that I believe most railroad museums would fall into,) would have a more developed collection. Possibly they've decided that they'll focus on one or several slightly broader ideas. (Let's show people the history of our city!) They might even have a professional staffer or two, or maybe they're thinking about hiring one, because keeping track of the collection is getting to be to hard to do on Weekends.

Young museums have become somewhat established. They're here to stay. They've got a sound collection, a guiding principle to shape their mission and collection. They've got at least a small paid staff to keep up with the day to day mechanics of museum opperatiohn and currate the collection. They've perhaps still got a volunteer board of directors, but they may not be the people that founded the museum anymore, or in nay case, they've stepped back from the day to day opperation of the museum. These seem generally to me to be more than 50 years old, so as to have given the founders time to step back and pass on the reins. VERY few railroad museums would meet these criteria. (Steamtown, The B&O Museum, The Museum of
Transport in St. Louis, IRM, perhaps a few others, but nationally, certainly less than a dozen.)

Mature muesums are almost a different animal. They'd rarely if ever have volunteers in any way currating displays or conserving artefacts, unless they were uniquely qualified. (I believe that the Metropolitain Museum of Art allowed a very well known fashion designer curate a display of French Enlightenment costume.) The majority of the staff would be paid. (From the docents to the guards to the concessionaires.) The borad of directors would generally be elected or appointed. In fact, most often institutions of this age and size will be administered by a local, or even the national government. These institutions will be an integral part of the fabric of the community in which they reside. And you'd be surprised at how large their collections will generally be. (I think in general less than 10 percent is on display at any given time.) No railroad mueum, not even Steamtown, has really yet reached this stage of devellopement. These guys have generally been around a century or more. But hey, fifty years in the future, perhaps that's a goal we can all aspire to.

History in the big picture moves rather more glacially than we mere mortals. The growth and evolution is definitely there, but rail museums are generally to young to show it. Perhaps in time the oldest and most significant rail museums can become the sort of national repositories that other museums have become, but in order to do so, they'll need a larger audience, better developed facilities, and a great deal more money. A good nationally recognized museum is a substantial asset to the community. (For instance, large museums have higher annual attendances than major league baseball teams. And the're less likely to move to another city if you don't fund a new gallery for them.) Let's hope that we can become that kind of an asset in our communities. Let's hope we can instill that kind of appreciation in those around us of the railroads that we love. Good luck all.


david_ackerman@yahoo.com

Speaking from 16 years of first hand knowledge, don't ever go out and bring in an outsider. It was the biggest mistake of my life to recommend that approach to my local railroad museum. DON'T DO IT - DON'T EVEN THINK OF DOING IT!!!!!!

> With respectful disagreement Jim, one of
> your own already is working in your interest
> and has accustomed himself to the status
> quo. Newcomers with professional
> qualifications bring new ideas and fewer
> preconceptions and should be hired to
> provide missing skills rather than
> perpetuate those already on hand. Having
> just been involved with more than one of
> these sort of searches, I can recommend
> careful consideration of what contributions
> you have already in hand and what is most
> lacking and try to find the missing pieces
> first.

> Dave

> Speaking from 16 years of first hand
> knowledge, don't ever go out and bring in an
> outsider. It was the biggest mistake of my
> life to recommend that approach to my local
> railroad museum. DON'T DO IT - DON'T EVEN
> THINK OF DOING IT!!!!!!

I am willing to be convinced Jim. Perhaps you just got the wrong outsider? In any case it seems you may have an interesting story to share, which may be of benefit to the rest of us.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

I echo your thoughts Jim. We brought in a curator to our museum (which is fairly well known in railway preservation but shall remain nameless)from the outside who became a civil servant and over the long haul was increasingly difficult to deal with. He stayed for many years and although he was a nice guy to everyone and was well-liked by volunteers, he lacked the skills to be a good curator. Although he had the required education and some experience, he had been fired from at least one job and no one bothered to check his work history before he was hired. He did not know railroads, lacked a sense of conisseurship, had vet's preference to his credit (which enabled him to get the job--I disagree with that sort of system), was good at "talking a good talk" with people and would say and do anything to close a deal, but the reality was that he needed to be supervised closely on task, and was not good at details. He stopped cataloguing the collection a year and a half before he left and created a tremendous backlog. And he never communicated with his boss, which caused many problems. Then when he could not perform up to par, he claimed victimization, when in fact he was the root cause of the problem. Recently this individual has since moved on to yet another railway museum where unfortunately they will be in for a big surprise:( So the moral of this story is to check references very carefully and make sure you ask the right questions during the interview. Just because the person may have previously railway museum experience doesn't mean they are suited. Otherwise you are in for a rude awakening.

> I am willing to be convinced Jim. Perhaps
> you just got the wrong outsider? In any case
> it seems you may have an interesting story
> to share, which may be of benefit to the
> rest of us.

> Dave

I agree that museums evolve and develop. And they all do it at different rates.

Years ago the IMS (Institute of Museum Services) went after information about rural, minority, and emerging museums. I commented to them that organizations can be emerging as a museum even though they have been around for years.

I believe that an organization can only truly become a museum when it enters into the mature world of education to the public and realization as to what its collecting should be about. To do this a railroad museum needs to move away from only being a club for people to play with large size trains. As a mature organization it needs to recognize the work and needs of the volunteers while serving as an institution worthy of being called a museum.

Required skills and knowledge change as the organization changes. I have had several museum directors (and these are of railroad museums) tell me that the skill set of the director needs to reflect the needs of the museum. One museum went from an initial fundraiser, to a display specialist, and then to a public outreach person. Another went from a collector to an administrator dedicated to improving the facilities of the museum.

I have also seen dedicated volunteers become some of the best curators, restoration specialists, fundraisers, educators, and public liaisons that any museum could have. These people see themselves as unpaid professionals equal to any paid museum professional.

There are several key events to developing the museum. One is the development of the mission statement. Another is developing the collection (collecting) policy of the museum. Another is developing a strategic plan to grow and become what is envisioned. And above all a principal key is the implementation of the statements, policies, and plans that grow the museum.

Brian Norden

bnorden49@earthlink.net

Yes, there certainly is a story to share. However, I am waiting for the final chapter to be written. When it closes out, I would like to post an article on what NOT to do with your local railroad museum. It's been an unbelievable NIGHTMARE here. Much, much more later. For now, I can't say anymore or even mention the museum, gag order exists.

Jim

> I am willing to be convinced Jim. Perhaps
> you just got the wrong outsider? In any case
> it seems you may have an interesting story
> to share, which may be of benefit to the
> rest of us.

> Dave

Will your story be as good as the RR museum director who had faked his own death and was committing S.S. and/or insurance fraud until caught? It's amazing what skullduggery goes on under the guise of rail preservation? More like job self-preservation in some cases.

> Yes, there certainly is a story to share.
> However, I am waiting for the final chapter
> to be written. When it closes out, I would
> like to post an article on what NOT to do
> with your local railroad museum. It's been
> an unbelievable NIGHTMARE here. Much, much
> more later. For now, I can't say anymore or
> even mention the museum, gag order exists.

> Jim


denmeg_hogan@msn.com

Dear Brian,

Perhaps I was a bit harsh. I don't think you took any offense, but if you did I appologize. I meant no offense to volunteers. One thing that I failed to say was that I believe that musems of all stages of growth are valuable. All have their particulair strong points and weeknesses. And of course everyhting I said is purely speculation, personal non-scientific observation, and amalgumated opinnion. (You'll rarley find a more enthusuastic or knowledgeable guide for instance than the volunteer at the small nascent museum.) In any case, whatever their size or function, the vast majority of the rail museums in this country seem to me to be healthy institutions with a valid offereing to their communities. I think they catch a lot of undue flack, simply because their all young. That was a point I meant to make and distracted myself from.

Sincerely,

David Ackerman


david_ackerman@yahoo.com

> Will your story be as good as the RR museum
> director who had faked his own death and was
> committing S.S. and/or insurance fraud until
> caught? It's amazing what skullduggery goes
> on under the guise of rail preservation?
> More like job self-preservation in some
> cases.

Hey, that guy served as a museum director in his "SECOND LIFE." Rather interestingly while he was a museum director he did acknowledge the State that he originated from (you can't easily hide your accent). It seems, to me, that he got the job at the railroad museum because of his contacts developed in Galveston with "old money" families.

Regarding Dave Lunquist's story -- it may will prove to be interesting. I know what museum he has been involved with; but I'll keep my mouth shut. But, I will say that undoubtedly part of his story is an attempt to emulate some major urban museums' organizational structure.

BN


bnorden49@earthlink.net

> Dear Brian,

> Perhaps I was a bit harsh. I don't think you
> took any offense, but if you did I
> appologize. I meant no offense to
> volunteers. One thing that I failed to say
> was that I believe that musems of all stages
> of growth are valuable. All have their
> particulair strong points and weeknesses.
> And of course everyhting I said is purely
> speculation, personal non-scientific
> observation, and amalgumated opinnion.
> (You'll rarley find a more enthusuastic or
> knowledgeable guide for instance than the
> volunteer at the small nascent museum.) In
> any case, whatever their size or function,
> the vast majority of the rail museums in
> this country seem to me to be healthy
> institutions with a valid offereing to their
> communities. I think they catch a lot of
> undue flack, simply because their all young.
> That was a point I meant to make and
> distracted myself from.

Dave:

I mentioned volunteers that have served their organizations well not in any rebuttal to your comments. My point was that museums sometimes don't have to out and pay good money when they may have the resources in house.

My main point was to agree that museums are different and that they mature at different rates. I have seen groups that are decades old and not figuring out what it means and takes to be a museum.

And to state that museums (or any organization) need to realize what they need before they go out and hire any staffer or executive. At different times in any organization's life different requirements (and expertise) are needed to move the organization ahead.

At times the skills may come from inside the organization or they may come from outside. I take exception to the people who say you can only improve by bringing in hired guns or to those who say hire only from the inside. Identify the skills needed and seek them out.

Brian

bnorden49@earthlink.net

Brian,

You're absolutely right about finding the skills needed and obtaining, by whatever means most reasonable, the people that can do that. And museums are a complicated breed. (Particulairly museums of any size.)

I think as I sit and think about it more I realize that museums must cater to several diverse audiences. They need to demonstrate to the community where they are located that they fullfill some need or provide some valuable service. (And this is sticky as different peoples subjective values will always come into play.) They need to seek out donors and volunteers to support the museum, providing the funding and or skills necessary to the museums continued functioning. And they need to reach out and educate those children who will benefit from the museums, and hopefully sustain them into the future.

And that's not even adressing the particular collection/preservation/display issues that a particulair museum will be faced with. Tough job to say the least. I think I find the greates of these challenges personally, (and the most rewarding,) to be showing others what it is that I see in railroading, (or music for that matter, but that's a different issue,) that is so beautifull. I can usually demonstrate to someone why railroading is vital to our society, but to show them what it really is that makes this so meaningfull and present to me is a real challenge.

Hmm. Food for thought in any case, if not really a good answer to any question.

Sincerely,

David Ackerman

> I think as I sit and think about it more I
> realize that museums must cater to several
> diverse audiences. They need to demonstrate
> to the community where they are located that
> they fullfill some need or provide some
> valuable service. (And this is sticky as
> different peoples subjective values will
> always come into play.) They need to seek
> out donors and volunteers to support the
> museum, providing the funding and or skills
> necessary to the museums continued
> functioning. And they need to reach out and
> educate those children who will benefit from
> the museums, and hopefully sustain them into
> the future.

David,

Very good points. I hope that they are read.

I have said that railway museums serve several different audiances or populations. I think that I wrote this several times while I was Secretary of the Association of Railway Museums and preparing its newsletter.

These groups are (in no particular order):

1) the visiting public that finds entertainment and a good time at the museum and hopefully goes away knowing something more about railroads than when they arrived.

2) the railfans that enjoy coming by and seeing the interesting old and older rail equipment and watching the steam engine (or diesel or streetcar) go by.

3) the rail historian looking for specific information either from a vehicle in the collection or from the documents and records accumulated by the museum. This may be a history researcher or a dedicated modeler, etc.

4) the volunteers who staff the museum. The loyal people who build, restore, and continue to operate the museum.

These groups all have different needs and desires. The museum, its officers, its board, and its staff (paid or volunteer) need to do their best to find the best mix of services to fill these needs.

Brian Norden


bnorden49@earthlink.net