Franklin County Historical Society
Director’s Report
June 2011
Grant
Applications
in
Progress
 Pending Rolling Stock Project. TEA-21 transportation-connected grant, and KS
Tourism Attraction grants possible. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation
grant app in progress—HAVE SUBMITTED, June 15.
 Website/Digital Repository Grant. Asked Hewitt Trust for major donation to
2011 project--$5,000 (+usual $5000 for general fund.) Got $10,000
 Pending IMLS Museums for America grant application—this one on archival
assessment and cataloging. Was submitted August 23 2011; will hear late July.
 Pending NEH Conservation Help for the Small Museum, submitted
 Received Conservation Assistance Program grant, $7,190. Have consulted with
Michael Cornwell and have selected Barbara Anderson of Manhattan as the
architectural assessor and Julie Reilly of Omaha as the collections assessor. We were
the only Kansas museum that was awarded this grant this round. Have completed
extensive survey and contacted assessors in a timely fashion.
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buildings and Grounds
 Work day Saturday May 21. Geoff cleaned caulk off of northwest door (no longer
an exit) and he, Doug Loyd and Michael Cornwell took down the sorghum mill and
dinner bell from the west front, facilitating the placement of benches since the
installation of the Rail Trail pay station. They brought those items to the Records
Center. Bricking the area in front of the pay station was planned. The Swift
pediment was moved permanently to the Industry Room, hanging on the north wall.
This highlight the Ottawa Foundry that made these pieces of metal trim for
commercial buildings.
Exhibits
#1 “Signs of the Times—1961” Looks back on the Kansas
Centennial activities in Ottawa and around the county
#2 “Meet Me At The Fair” Looks at fairs in relation to museums. Local items at international fairs, Fr. Co. fairs, etc.
#3 “Images of the Sac and Fox” hopefully grant funded
look at several generations of photos of the tribe first in
Missouri’s Platte Purchase, then here, then in Oklahoma
Education
One room school: A very successful season! 9 groups came—Williamsburg, Lincoln,
homeschoolers, Eugene Field.
Sonia is preparing a campaign to advertise the one-room school to county AND
outside county 4th grades.
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Programming
Plans for 2011 quarterly meetings:
Annual Meeting/ Jan. 30th Trivia contest.
Spring/ May 1 Interactive program on old vocal music to be held at
Christian Science Church (very cool site) with Sacred Harp singers from
Lawrence
Summer/July 17 Interactive workshop on the Portal held at a computer
lab—either OU’s or NCCC’s.
Fall/
Policies
-- creation and updates
Policies calendared for revision in 2011:
Archival Collections Policies & Procedures (advise waiting for MFA
Personnel Policy
Programming Plan & Policy
Education Policy (needs to be written)
Finance
/Endowment / Fundraising
 Plans for fundraising from hospitality and fundraising committee:
Pie Eaters event—April 9—Civil War re-enactor
Bill Kurtis event with auction? – fall
Glorious Fourth event at cabin/depot—summer
Spirits in the Old Depot Museum Halloween event – fall
Kansas 150 Events/Civil War Sesquicentennial Events
 Kansas/Franklin Co. trivia contest Jan. 29 in partnership with OL
 Digital Portal
 Civil War Ball, Nov. 7 In conjunction with Veterans’ Day events
FCHS 75th anniversary –2012
 Native American event moved from this year to next
Marketing / museum store
 Online store will be part of new FCHS website in production.
Dietrich Cabin
 The cabin will open for regular hours on Sunday, June 5 and closed Aug. 28.
 Ottawa Library Story Time held there April 26
Administration
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 Staff meetings occur weekly.
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Have attended exhibits meeting, collections
meetings.
Personnel: We are currently using Emily Kotay and Sonia Smith to fill in while
Barbara and I work fulltime on the portal .
Membership
Annual
Giving 2011
Community Outreach Activities
 Deb did a John Brown tour for her daughter’s Unitarian church on April 16. Visited
ODM, Tauy Jones’ house, Brown’s Station, cabin museum in Osawatomie (with 1st
person portrayal of Samuel Adair, visit to Hanway house south of Lane, and trip to
BlackJack Battlefield with portrayal of JB by Kerry Altenbernd
Freedom’s frontier national
heritage
area
We received a Star Site designation for the depot, and a Recognized Site designation
for the cabin. Working on FFNHA focus area in depot, with logo.
Deb is helping to develop its grant program.
ResearcH
 Doing research on Perry Fuller, local white-collar criminal from Civil War time.
 Morgan Williams, here for the Wall of Honor, wants me to collaborate on two
books—one on J.B. Muecke and one on Dad Martin. I’ve agreed to have the
Muecke materials cataloged when he (Morgan) gives them to us. Otherwise, I’m
making no promises. He is willing to raise money for publication of both books.
Website/ digital
repository –In progress
 Partners’ Meeting, April 5 Attendees from Ottawa Library, Wellsville Library,
Williamsburg Library, Williamsburg Museum, Richmond Museum, Ottawa
University, Richmond Library, FC Genealogical Society (Missing only Pomona
Library and Wellsville Historical Society)
 Site went live on April 15
 Quarterly Meeting featuring it scheduled for Aug. 17
 Ottawa Library workshop featuring it planned for fall
Future
Projects
 For 2011: Finish the Historical Map of Franklin County (grant funded) and get it
printed. Learned about some interesting ways to make a clickable web map at the
same time.
 Get a memorial stone installed at Lawrence’s Pioneer Cemetery for Rufus Gilpatrick,
a doctor from Greeley who was buried there in 1863. Matt Matthews is working with
me on this. Have been working with Cleon Rickel on this project.
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