Museums: A Lesson in Gratitude
Becoming a national holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving has become a time for Americans to reflect on the things that we are grateful for. And as someone who has spent the greater part of a decade studying history, researching the past, and working for historic institutions, I am drawn to reflect on my feelings of gratitude for museums. I have had the opportunity to work with, visit, and enjoy so many different museums that it is exciting to take a moment to look back on all the incredible stories I have seen.
Across the country and around the world, there is a lot of invisible, behind-the-scenes labor that goes on in order to make museum experiences possible. Just from my own involvement with museum work, I know that it takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication to make exhibits, programs, and welcoming atmospheres happen. Working with the Education Department at the Virginia War Memorial meant that I spent a lot of time coming up with ideas, drafting programs, and researching and writing content that most people never saw. Watching those ideas become reality, when a student could connect with a story or a veteran could feel seen, was what brought purpose and meaning to those hours spent studying and tweaking presentations and displays.
However, my thankfulness for museums extends far beyond the places that I have had the pleasure of working. The opportunity to visit places that make history tangible is just incredible. Spaces that have allowed me to step into the past and really immerse myself in the stories around me hold an incredibly special place in my heart. Sites like Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park in Parkersburg, West Virginia, or the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia, provide living history in the third person interpretation. This means that they have people on site, in period accurate attire, who provide information to visitors, but they do not pretend to be living in that time period. This is my favorite type of interpretation, as it allows visitors to ask questions and chat with the experts without feeling like they are losing the context of a modern world. These two sites do an incredible job of providing information in an immersive and interesting way that has allowed me to connect to the broader stories being told.
As someone who particularly enjoys working with community and local histories, I truly do enjoy visiting sites that focus on preserving the stories of specific places, cultures, or neighborhoods. The Ohio History Connection in Columbus, Ohio, does a wonderful job of highlighting the unique history that Ohio has to offer. Visiting their museum was truly incredible, and I can’t wait to go back. Going beyond the state level, I have visited many places that focus even more specifically. The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, highlights that incredible story of Pittsburgh and the importance of that city in a broader context. The Venango Museum of Art, Science, and Industry in Oil City, Pennsylvania showcases the history of Venango County and the Oil Region, an even smaller slice of Pennsylvania history. At the smallest level, the Williamsburg District Historical Foundation in Williamsburg, West Virginia, focuses on the history of a single, small unincorporated community in the southern part of the state.
The stories that every museum preserves and shares are as unique as the places themselves. From nationally recognized names, like the Woodrow Wilson Museum in Staunton, Virginia, to the places that I have visited almost by accident like the Alpine Hills Historical Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio, these places still manage to have some very important features in common. Every place that preserves and shares the story of a community, culture, person, or nation is built on and supported by the people who care enough to dedicate themselves to that mission. Without the curators, trustees, directors, archivists, docents, program coordinators, event planners, and volunteers, these places would not be able to continue to share the incredible artifacts, research, photos, and stories that add meaning to the world around them. And for that, I am beyond grateful. But that meaning would also be lost without the visitors. Each person who visits these museums is a valuable part of the story and the work.
As a member of the museum world and a visitor to the museums as well, I am so incredibly grateful for the places that do the work to preserve and share the unique histories that exist all around us. Each example of a museum or historic site in this post is one that I have visited, explored, and enjoyed, while not even touching on the dozens of other museums, archives, historic sites, parks, memorials, and libraries that I have visited and loved. It is an honor to be able to visit these places and enjoy all the hard work that has gone into making them accessible and splendid.
Throughout the rest of this year and into the next, I would love to encourage you to visit, support, and just appreciate your own local museums and historic organizations. I just know that you will leave with a new story to share. I have been surrounded by the incredible work of museums more than the average person; they have helped to shape my understanding of humanity, and they have helped me to feel more at home in the world around me. These places matter deeply to me, and I hope that you can find a story that speaks to you by looking in some of these same places.
Happy Thanksgiving!