IHS logo 
Communique Online
May 2, 2008
building 

Table of Contents:

Training Opportunities and Conferences
MS212: Care of Textiles
MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
MS109: Museum Management
MS302: Fundraising for Collections Care
AASLH Collections Management and Practices
NPower Indiana
Programs
How Steamboats Were Born in America–Fathered by John Fitch and Robert Fulton
Progressive Dinner Tour of Historic Northside Neighborhood Mansions in Indianapolis
Carriage House Antiques Show and Sale at A Victorian Chautauqua
Wolfe Grain Presentation
IHS News
The Meaning of the Word "Hoosier"
Traveling Exhibits
Auto Indiana: Celebrating the Automobile in Indiana at the Warrick County Museum in Boonville
Organizations in the News
New Harmony to be Film Site for Educational Movie
New Potawatomi Trail of Death Association Newsletter Published
Job Opportunities
Museum Educator at the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum
Administrative Assistant at the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum
On the Internet
WikiMarion Presents Information on the History of Marion, Ind.
Institute of Museum Ethics ListServ

Training Opportunities and Conferences

MS212: Care of Textiles
This is an online course offered at http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms212.html that will be instructed by Ann Coppinger from May 5-30.

The cost of the course is $425.

Caring for textiles demands an understanding of why they deteriorate. Care of Textiles teaches students to identify fibers and finishes, write condition reports and understand the agents of deterioration that cause the most harm to various fabrics, both in storage and on exhibit. Topics include preparing textiles for transport, mannequins, three-dimensional supports and framing as well.

Please sign up at http://www.museumclasses.org/ and pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. If you have trouble with either, please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org.


MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
This is an online course offered at http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms204.html that will be instructed by Helen Alten from May 5-30.

The cost of the course is $425.

Materials for Storage and Display offers a comprehensive review of materials used for storage and display of collections. Lectures and handouts separate materials by properties: rigid, padding, barrier and attachments. Slide shows illustrate the use of each. The course emphasizes acid-free materials and how to retrofit less appropriate materials. MS204 keeps current with the latest materials available for preservation, such as metal-impregnated plastics and barrier films. Using material testing as a decision making tool is covered. Participants receive notebooks with samples of all of the materials discussed.

Please sign up at http://www.museumclasses.org/ and pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. If you have trouble with either, please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org.


MS109: Museum Management
This is an online course offered at http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms109.html that will be instructed by Sue Near from May 5-30.

The cost of the course is $425.

Museum management is complex. A museum exists to preserve collections and educate, but it is also an institution that must employ sound business practices while being accountable to the public as a non-profit organization. Participants will gain an understanding of the requirements for museum administration and the processes used to run a successful museum. Elements required to efficiently and effectively run a museum will be covered, and we will engage in discussions about the changing cultural climate that may affect museum operations.

Please sign up at http://www.museumclasses.org/ and pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. If you have trouble with either, please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org.


MS302: Fundraising for Collections Care
This is an online course offered at http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms302.html that will be instructed by Helen Alten from May 5-30.

The cost of the course is $425.

The National Endowment for the Humanities annually gives approximately $10 million in federal challenge grants. And that's just one grant program run by one funding source. Learn how to get a piece of the millions of dollars in federal, state and private funding for your institution by taking Northern States Conservation Center's new online grant writing class. This course introduces students to options for funding a wide range of collection-care needs. Students learn about different forms of fund-raising, how to locate funding sources and how to write a successful grant proposal. Each student will complete a draft grant deadline.

Please sign up at http://www.museumclasses.org/ and pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. If you have trouble with either, please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org.


AASLH Collections Management and Practices
This workshop will be held on June 19-20 at the Johnson County Historical Society in Shawnee, Kan.

The cost is $250 for members and $300 for non-members. There is a $20 discount if the fee is received by May 19.

Participants will learn about their institution's responsibility toward its collection, the necessary policies and procedures and the best practices of collection management. During lively group discussions and hands-on activities, participants will become familiar with current issues and trends to better understand how collections fit within the context of history organizations.

Participants will explore other topics including the role of collections in exhibition and interpretation, the basic steps of collections management from acquisition to disposal, professional standards and ethics, conservation on a shoe-string budget, as well as learning about the multitude of resources available for collections preservation.

Register at www.aaslh.org/workshop.htm by May 19 to guarantee a seat and save on your registration fee.

Visit http://www.aaslh.org/collwork.htm for a complete agenda.

Please contact Bethany Hawkins, Program Associate at hawkins@aaslh.org or (615) 320-3203 if you have any questions about these or other upcoming workshops.


NPower Indiana
NPower Indiana is a nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, low-cost technology solutions to other nonprofits in Marion and the surrounding central Indiana counties.

They work with your organization to understand its mission and goals, determine its technology needs, and implement the appropriate technology so that you can achieve your goals. From creating a Web site to building a wireless network, they find the best solution that will fit both your goals and your budget.

In addition to consultations and managed services, they offer training classes, educational events and online resources.

For more information visit http://www.npowerin.org/.

Return to Top

Programs

Please confim events specifics with sponsoring organization, especially if traveling any distance.

How Steamboats Were Born in America–Fathered by John Fitch and Robert Fulton
This presentation will take place on Mon., May 12, at 7 p.m. at the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville.

Harding Lindhult, vice-president of the newly developed John Fitch Museum in Warminster, Pa., will visit the Howard Steamboat Museum and give a video and PowerPoint presentation on the intriguing story of who invented the steamboat. The steamboat has been heralded as the first major American invention and there has always been controversy as to who should receive the credit. 

The presentation is free and open to the public.

The Howard Steamboat Museum is located at 1101 E. Market St., in Jeffersonville. For questions or more information contact Yvonne Knight at (812) 283-3728 or HSMSTEAM@aol.com.


Progressive Dinner Tour of Historic Northside Neighborhood Mansions in Indianapolis
The President Benjamin Harrison Home and Morris-Butler House supported by four other elegant, historic homes on the city’s Old Northside will celebrate spring by hosting Stroll into Spring, a 6-course progressive dinner and tours of the host sites, on Fri., May 16, from 5:30-9:30 p.m.

The progressive dinner tour will feature the Morris-Butler House, the DeWolf-Allerdice House, Mather House and Garden, the Harrison Home, The Propylaeum Club and the Thornton-O’Bannon-Atherton House and their individual architectural interest, art and music as well as memorable food.

The special evening will begin at the Morris-Butler House with hors d’oeuvres.  Soup will be served at the DeWolf-Allerdice House. The Mather House will serve the salad course. Palates will be cleared with sorbet at the Harrison Home. The entree will be served at The Propylaeum Club and the evening will close with dessert at the Thornton-O’Bannon-Atherton House.

Tickets are $70 per person. Proceeds from the evening support educational programming at both the Harrison Home and the Morris-Butler House. 

Reservations are required and can be made by contacting the Morris-Butler staff at (317) 636-5409. 

Parking will be provided at the Morris-Butler House at 1204 N. Park Ave.


Carriage House Antiques Show and Sale at A Victorian Chautauqua
Antique dealers will exhibit and sell antiques in the Historic Carriage House at the Howard Steamboat Museum's 16th annual A Victorian Chautauqua, a family-oriented arts, crafts, garden & antique festival that will be held on May 17 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and May 18 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Jeffersonville.

The featured antique dealers are Jan-tiques, Aunt Arties' Antique Mall, Dilly's Impressions, Marla's Vintage Treasures, Red Horse Antiques, Sugar Maples and Vault Antiques.

Admission is $3 for adults and free for children 12 and under that are accompanied by an adult. Parking is free. No pets please.

For more information or with questions contact Yvonne B. Knight at (812) 283-3728 or e-mail HSMSTEAM@aol.com.

The Museum is located at 1101 E. Market St. in Jeffersonville.


Wolfe Grain Presentation
This presentation will be held at the Wolfe Building in Shipshewana on May 19 at 7 p.m.

Frank Hooley, Julie Wolfe and Gaylord Miller will be a panel of people giving the history of Ed Wolfe and Wolfe Grain Co. in 1940s through the 1960s. Wolfe Grain Co. had as many as 5 different feed mills in Michiana area.

For more information call (260) 768-3030.

 Return to Top

IHS News

The Meaning of the Word "Hoosier"
This lecture will be held on Wed., May 7, from noon-1 p.m. at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in Indianapolis.

The lecture is free to the public.

From where does the word "Hoosier" come? Many possible answers exist to this deceptively simple question. Hanover professor Jonathan Clark Smith does not profess to know the origin of the word, but his research into when it became popular and its original use helps get us all a little closer to solving the most perplexing mystery in Indiana's history.

For more information visit http://www.indianahistory.org/.

 Return to Top

Traveling Exhibits

Auto Indiana: Celebrating the Automobile in Indiana at the Warrick County Museum in Boonville
From Elwood Haynes's early machine to today's numerous parts manufacturers, this exhibition examines the role of the automobile in the Hoosier state. Indiana was one of the leaders in automobile production until the 1930s when Detroit emerged as the nation's technological and industrial giant. Eighty-eight Indiana cities and towns have either had automobiles manufactured or assembled in their communities, and approximately 523 automobiles, trucks, motor-cycles, and cyclecars can claim Indiana production or assemblage. The exhibit focuses on such topics as Haynes's life and career as an inventor in Kokomo, an early assembly line at the Revere Motor Car Corporation plant in Logansport, samples of the Studebaker Corporation's advertising literature, and the automobile's effects–both positive and negative–on society.

This traveling exhibit is on loan from the Indiana Historical Society. For more information about the IHS traveling exhibit program, go to www.indianahistory.org/LHS and click on "Traveling Exhibition".

 Return to Top

Organizations in the News

New Harmony to be Film Site for Educational Movie
Ball State University (BSU) will be filming an educational movie about a 19th-century utopian community that was located in New Harmony on May 5-9 and May 12-16. The funding for this movie is through the Ohio River Teaching American History Project given by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will be administered by BSU.

The movie’s target audience is elementary students and the movie will be incorporated into their study of Indiana history, which is part of the 4th grade curriculum. One thousand copies will be distributed this fall to schools and libraries across Indiana.

The movie will be filmed in New Harmony and in other locations throughout the state. Exterior and interior shots of various historical buildings dating from the era will be filmed in New Harmony. In addition, BSU students and Posey County community members will be serving as re-enactors in both Harmonist and Owen scenes. Interviews will also be conducted with scholars and descendents of Owen community members.

Robert Owen, an industrialist and social reformer of Welsh descent, purchased New Harmony in 1825 to establish a model community where education and social equality would flourish. Although Owen’s experiment dissolved in 1827, his utopian dream brought significant contributions to American scientific and educational theory, study and practice.

For more information about the movie or to arrange an interview, please contact Dr. Ron Morris at RVMorris@BSU.edu or (765) 285-8720. Dr. Morris is a history professor at Ball State University and will oversee the filming of the movie.

For more information on Historic New Harmony, please visit http://www.newharmony.org/.


New Potawatomi Trail of Death Association Newsletter Published
A new issue of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association (PTDA) newsletter has been mailed to members and is available to the public at the Fulton County Museum. It is dated December 2007 but is up-to-date.

It contains:

  • Itinerary for Trail of Death caravan, Sept. 22-28
  • Speeches planned across Indiana
  • Marshall County erects Potawatomi Trail of Death historic highway signs
  • The Woods Cry by George Godfrey
  • Eagle feather presented to PTDA
  • Hugo Zeiter obituary
  • New book: Walking the Trail of Death
  • Smokey McKinney honored at Trail of Courage
  • Willards visit Gary Wiskigeamatyuk in California
  • Chief Logan Festival
  • Father Faherty writes new book about Irish–Potawatomi
  • Windmill restored at Willard farm
  • Plans to erect historic PTD highway signs
  • And more

The newsletter contains 30 pages and costs $5.

The newsletter can be purchased at the Fulton County Museum, which is open Mon.-Sat. from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The newsletter can also be ordered through the mail by sending a check for $6 to PTDA, Fulton County Historical Society, 37 E. 375 N., Rochester, IN 46975. Membership dues are $20 a year for individuals, $30 for groups or family. All are welcome to join.

 Return to Top

Job Opportunities

Museum Educator at the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum
This position coordinates and manages the Education Department, and is full-time, limited term, until Aug. 23, 2008, with the potential for full-time employment.

The Museum Educator reports to the Interim Executive Director and oversees the Education Department including volunteers.

Responsibilities:

  • Develop, implement, and manage education programs.
  • Maintain strong communication with school districts and other members of the Waukesha County community.
  • Schedule and supervise volunteers in the Education Department.
  • Provide monthly reports to the Board of Trustees.
  • Manage departmental budget.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education, knowledge, experience and abilities:

  • Degree in Education, Museum Studies or related field.
  • Two to three years of education experience, preferably in a museum setting.
  • Ability to deliver programs to a wide audience base.
  • Familiarity with state academic standards.
  • Strong organizational, problem solving and project management skills.
  • Ability to coordinate personnel, plan and administer programs for department.
  • Self-motivated. Works with minimal supervision.
  • Ability and willingness to work well with others in a team situation.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills required.

Work Conditions:

  • Office, museum environment.
  • Work week is Tuesday through Saturday - Involves some evenings and weekend hours.
  • Public speaking and presentations.
  • Able to provide own transportation to perform principle duties.
  • Must have driver's license and safe driving record.
  • Must be able to pass criminal background check.

Please submit resume and cover letter of interest to:

Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum
101 W. Main St., Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: (262) 521-2859
Fax: (262) 521-2865

Or send materials to personnel@wchsm.org.


Administrative Assistant at the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum
This position assists the Executive Director and the Director of Development, and is hourly at 20 hours per week.

Responsibilities:

  • Answer phone calls for administration and greet visitors as needed.
  • Meet with visitors requesting unscheduled meetings; handle requests when possible.
  • Place routine follow-up phone calls, e.g. to contractors who have not completed work, building rentals.
  • Track and order office supplies; keep supply area organized.
  • Prepare weekly expense and deposit reports and prepare deposit report and expenses to be paid by treasurer.
  • Order office equipment as determined by Executive Director.
  • Prepare and follow-up on pricing requests for one of a kind projects, e.g. printing projects.
  • Purchase postage.
  • Check on building issues as they arise and notify maintenance regarding what needs to be done.
  • Sort and distribute mail; open mail for Executive Director and handle basic matters.
  • Provide monthly reports to Executive Director.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned by Executive Director.

Education, knowledge, experience and abilities:

  • Must be well-organized and a self-starter.
  • Positive attitude. Team player. Flexible. Detail-oriented.
  • Strong organizational, problem-solving and project management skills.
  • Works with minimal supervision.
  • Two or more years' experience in office setting.
  • Professional phone manner.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word; able to use or willing to learn to use Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Publisher. (Minimum of 40 words per minute)
  • Able to or learn to operate office equipment, such as: fax machine, photocopiers, and other office electronics.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills required.
  • Ability and willingness to work well with others in a team situation.

Work Conditions:

  • Museum office environment
  • Flexible, but regular hours Tuesday through Friday; some evenings and weekend hours.
  • Able to provide own transportation to perform duties. Must have driver's license and safe driving record.
  • Job requires ability to transport and set up promotional materials at outside locations.
  • Need to climb up and down stairs and ladders, bend, stoop, and lift to move and retrieve materials, pull, push, lift and carry up to 20 pounds, reach both above and below shoulder height.

Please submit resume and cover letter of interest to:

Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum
101 W. Main St., Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: (262) 521-2859
Fax: (262) 521-2865

Or send materials to personnel@wchsm.org.

  Return to Top

On the Internet

WikiMarion Presents Information on the History of Marion, Ind.
This site is devoted to the history of Marion, Ind. and surrounding areas, and is written by students at Marion High School for a Community History Project.

The site features a map of historic sites, articles, projects, video documentaries and much more.

To access the site, visit http://www.wikimarion.org/.


Institute of Museum Ethics ListServ
The Institute of Museum Ethics web portal now offers a listserv on issues regarding museum ethics.

The site also features news, opinion polls, questions and answers on museum ethics, reviews, conference information, links to codes of ethics and more.

For more information visit http://www.museumethics.org/.

 Return to Top

Note from the Editor:

Do you know someone who might want to receive Communique Online? Anyone may join the mailing list by e-mailing col@indianahistory.org.

If your historical organizations, genealogical society or museum has changed its address or phone number in the past six months, please send the updated information to Coordinator, Local History Services, at the above e-mail, or Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, IN 46202.

Communique Online is provided for the benefit of local historical societies and museums throughout Indiana. It is e-mailed to a subscriber list maintained by the Local History Services department of the Indiana Historical Society.

Anyone may subscribe. This is a free publication.

To be added or removed from the mailing list, simply e-mail col@indianahistory.org or call toll free (800) IHS-1830.

News releases from local societies are welcomed and may be faxed to (317) 234-0427, e-mailed to the above address or mailed to Local History Services, Indiana Historical Society, Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, IN 46202.

Please visit the IHS Local History Services Web site at www.indianahistory.org/LHS.