The heart of Dubois County Museum: Its volunteers

This article was written in partnership with Visit Dubois County.

Dubois County’s museum is a love letter to the past, present and future generations of this county written through the hearts of its volunteers.

Volunteers like Sandy Miller, who loves the museum because, as she says, there is something there for everyone, “Infants to 99-year-olds.”

Sandy has documented the museum’s development since its earliest days. At special events, she brings a point-and-shoot camera to capture museum life as it unfolds. She has compiled dozens of four-inch binders, each containing two years of the museum’s history dating back to 1997. They are stored in a fireproof filing cabinet donated by Jasper Group.

The donation came after she rescued Mike Elliot, the former president and CEO of the company, and a friend when they briefly got lost in the exhibits. That can happen in a space that includes a replica of a late-1800s Main Street block among thousands of artifacts.

Sandy ran into them in one of the museum’s far-flung corners, and they asked for help making their way back to the entrance. On the walk out, they spoke about her collection of museum history, and a few days later, the cabinet was dropped off.

It sits in the room where volunteers Jeff Schmitt, W. Jean Hoffman, Elaine Hopf, Joe Shelton, Mary Ann Hayes and others work to identify, photograph and assign accession numbers to items awaiting addition to the collection.

Elaine loves her volunteer work at the museum.

“I used to do inventory, and I was a buyer for a tooling company,” Elaine said. “I loved doing inventory, and that’s basically what I am doing here.”

She sees cataloguing the artifacts as an important part of preserving Dubois County’s past.

“It makes me feel good that after I am gone, it’s still going to be here for generations,” Elaine said.

Joe is a transplant to the county who sought out ways to be more involved. Joining the Optimist Club led him to his work with the museum.

“The club took a tour, and I thought I’d like to work here sometime,” he explained of his introduction to the museum.

Although he was still working, he began scheduling his days off for Tuesdays, the day the collections committee meets to discuss and inventory the many uncatalogued items.

The work there appealed to him. As a U.S. Army veteran, he enjoys helping with the donated military items.

Mary Ann is a founding member of the museum who served as president for many years. She was part of the volunteer group that founded the museum in the Gutzweiler Building basement in 1999, with items collected by residents who were dedicated to preserving the area’s history. She now continues to help with collections.

“We have such a rich history,” Mary Ann explained.

She taught history in school and understands the importance of learning about local history and culture.

“I think it’s the local people’s responsibility to teach their own history to the community,” Mary Ann said.

It’s why she has remained involved all of these years.

Jeff is head of collections. 

He started volunteering at the museum after retiring. A friend at church invited him to check it out in 2001. He’s now the head of collections and was elected board president at January’s membership meeting. 

The IT professional loves working in the museum.

“I learn something new every day I am here,” he said.

The museum follows a careful process when deciding what to accept into the collection. Items must be in good condition, directly connected to Dubois County, and not duplicates of items already held by the museum.

The first item recorded in the collection was a framed certificate commemorating the “Adoption of the Village of St. Henry”; the second was a set of blueprints for the Huntingburg public schools, both items donated by Judge Hugo Songer.

The collection includes items that commemorate the county’s past or culture. Threshing machines, tractors, cars, parts of old jails, a dog-powered butter churner, a log cabin, arrowheads, fossils, a stuffed polar bear, sports memorabilia, a bison, military uniforms and awards from multiple military actions and wars, an artificial heart, and so much more are included among the displays connected to the county.

The group is currently cataloguing thousands of images from several local photography studios. There is a nearby shelf and table filled with items waiting to be examined and potentially added to the nearly 60,000 items catalogued in its inventory — each one photographed and numbered.

According to Mary Ann, if the museum didn’t accept a single new item, there was at least six months’ worth of donated items waiting to be catalogued.

The collections room is connected to a storage room filled with shelves of artifacts,, and above it, on the second floor, is another room filled with even more. With 150,000 square feet of space, the museum could likely add more displays for these items. They are only limited by how much time and effort the volunteers can commit.

For now, these stored items are rotated in and out of exhibits throughout the year, or held until they can be added to new exhibits.

Cheryl Sermersheim, the daughter of Tom and Esther Kellams, designs and creates many of the museum’s displays. Inspired by her parents’ involvement and interest in local history, she began volunteering regularly in 2008.

She sees her museum work as a way to revisit an early interest in design. She once wanted to become an interior designer.

“In school, the counselor kind of told me I couldn’t get a job around here doing that,” Cheryl said.

She studied business, worked with her father for several years, and later returned to school to become a teacher, her interest in teaching reignited by working with her own children and in church.

Now retired from teaching, she applies her passion for design to telling the stories of Dubois County through the museum’s exhibits.

She recently completed a display celebrating the history of local theatres and plans to expand the military exhibit this year. She also hopes to add a woodworking display featuring carved pieces from local collections in the near future.

Between larger projects, she creates seasonal displays, such as the Valentine’s Day display featuring old cards, photographs, and other items tied to the holiday.

She considers the impact and story behind each exhibit and can spend months designing displays while working with the collections team to locate the right items in storage. Rosie Stewart helps her assemble the displays, and Cheryl calls on construction volunteers to build backdrops and structural elements.

She volunteers about 20 hours a week, driven by a desire to serve the community.

“I just don’t think our community realizes what we have here and what we’re preserving,” Cheryl said.

She worries about how easily pieces of local history can be lost when families clean out homes after a loved one dies.

“History is important because we learn from history,” Cheryl said.

Her father was instrumental in building the Main Street display, and Cheryl designed the interiors of the 17 buildings. All filled with items you would likely find in a jail, barbershop, general store, post office, newspaper office, and more in the 1890s.

She values the donations of time, talent and materials that made the exhibit possible. When her father brought the idea to the Dubois County Builders Association, members donated construction supplies and labor. Another donor provided the bricks that form the walkway between the storefronts.

That community support remains central to the museum’s mission.

For Kathy Bachman, Director of Volunteers, Publicity, and Programs, the scope of the effort is striking, given that the largest county museum in Indiana is operated entirely by volunteers.

“So many people have been a part of it all,” she said. “A lot of people have worked a lot of hours to plan and put this together over the years.”

Like many volunteers, Kathy has a personal connection to the museum. Her mother’s childhood home is the full-size log cabin that serves as the centerpiece of the museum’s largest exhibit hall. Donated by Lowell Glendening, it was dismantled piece by piece, transported from Celestine, and reconstructed inside the museum.

Kathy maintains a list of 147 names she can call on to support museum operations. Many volunteer once a month as greeters or tour guides.

Then there are those like Connie Betz, who says she’s in her happy place cleaning the museum bathrooms and vacuuming floors. She just loves the museum.

“What we’re preserving just means so much,” she said. “Everything in the museum has so much meaning, because the people of the past had to work so hard for what they accomplished.”

Preserving and honoring the county’s history has given many volunteers a deep sense of purpose — one reflected in the care behind every exhibit and display.

“My goodness, they’ve got such a treasure there that I can be a part of,” Connie said. “That really makes me happy.”