Dubois County Museum opens wild new display

The Dubois County Museum’s newest display is an exploration in the diverse animals of the world as seen through the eyes of Jasper businessman and explorer Frank Fromme.

Seeded through Fromme’s travels and adventures as a big game hunter in Africa, India and the western United States, the Wildlife Adventure Room displays the treasures he brought back home as well as trophies from many other local hunters.

The new feature adds another story about the people of Dubois County and their varied interests.

“Our mission is to collect, preserve and interpret the history and experiences of the people of Dubois County,” Dubois County Museum volunteer and board president Jim Hagedorn said. “We have received outstanding support in that mission. Everything here has been donated. I don’t think there is a thing here that has been bought. It’s all been donated by people that have these interesting collections or artifacts, and they want to share them with the public.”

When the Wildlife Adventure Room opens to the public this Sunday at 1 p.m., visitors will be able to see animals from Alaska, Idaho, Tennessee, Wisconson, Montana and of course, Indiana that include several bears — a 10-foot polar bear flanked by a brown bear and a grizzly bear greets each visitor to the room — moose, cougars, bobcats, foxes, a mountain lion and many more North American specimens.

They will also be able to see the many animals Fromme hunted and then brought back to the United States from Africa and India. Additionally, there are several displays featuring finely carved ivory, traditional African masks, clothing and many other pieces that Fromme traded for while on his trips.

“It has a lot of value as far as an attraction, especially for young kids,” Hagedorn said. “That is what excites me. Kids will be able to see some animals up close and personal. More so than they will at a zoo.”

Frank Fromme owned and operated a successful construction business through which he was able to live his dreams of becoming a big game hunter. In the 1960s, he began to take trips to Africa to hunt. He would visit tribes and trade with the people he met to bring back souvenirs as well as his hunting trophies.

Animals like the eland, greater kudu, wildebeest, cape buffalo, warthog, ibex and even a baboon made their way to an addition Fromme built onto his 36th Street home. The animals and treasures became a display that he would open up to tours for children, clubs and people from throughout the area.

When he passed away, the display closed and the animals went into storage until they were donated to the museum. (This reporter saw many of Fromme’s pieces stored in the former Rural Electric Cooperative building on Third Avenue in Jasper while there on a tour with the Dubois County Council.)

After receiving the pieces, longtime friend of the museum and former museum board member Tom Kellams began to plan out a display. When he eventually garnered enough interest, the board of directors gave him the go-ahead to create the new display.

According to Kellams, once word got out about what the museum was creating, the donations for the display as well as support for the creation of the room started coming in.

In addition to Fromme’s collection, the room includes many animals and fish that are present today in the Patoka River and Lake Regions, as well as, a collection of birds from around the world that were used in a biology classroom at the St. Meinrad Archabbey High School and College. A bald eagle formerly housed at the Jasper College and Jasper High School is also on display.

“This fits the museum’s mission very well,” Kellams said. “Someone made a comment to me that we don’t have polar bears in Dubois County, but the museum has a lot of items that are about the individual, about the people. These items represent Frank Fromme and the other sportsmen in our county.”

A mural created by Tom Schum is the backdrop to a scene sliced from the local topography. To create it, Schum stitched together several photos of Patoka Lake and then projected them onto the wall.

The display accented by the mural features many familiar Hoosier creatures like coyotes, foxes, deer, possums and an albino raccoon. There is even a pair of chipmunks hiding with a mouse — good luck finding them.

Mike Elliott, president of Jasper Group, came forward to assist in renovating the new room. Elliott felt a special connection to the project through his father’s friendship with Fromme. According to Elliott, he would accompany his father, Caps Elliott, up to the Portersville Country Club near the White River in Portersville. “Frank Fromme was a good friend of my dad’s,” Elliott said. “He, my dad and Chick Alles, Drew Huffman and all of them would fish there a lot.”

Elliott’s job while there was to carry things and dive into the river to retrieve snagged trotlines. “I didn’t like that very much,” Elliot added.

“We (Jasper Group) have been involved in the museum in past,” he said while pointing out that he wants the community to know how great an asset it is. “It’s such a great place.”

The walls are covered with solid hackberry supplied through Jasper Group, and the trim is accented with rosettes engraved with various animals by students at Jasper High School.

Other local companies that assisted in creating the display include Superior Insulation, Jasper Lumber and Krempp Lumber.

The grand opening ceremony on Sunday will begin at 1:30 p.m. in front of the log house at the museum. Kellams will be joined by family, friends, and local sportsmen in sharing some memories of Fromme’s hunts through the Americas and into Africa, as well as, hunts of their own.

Visitors should expect to spend some time perusing the collection in the 2,000 square foot room.

“Tom already said he’s out of room,” Hagedorn laughed. “Maybe there will be an expansion.”