Favorite Things

Shiloh staffers linger over their choices

Shiloh Museum asked its employees and volunteers this question: “What is the one artifact in Shiloh’s permanent collection that causes you to linger each time you walk by? And why?” These are some of their answers.

Angie Albright Director

The Shiloh Meeting Hall is a very large artifact, if you will, but the beauty of that building, its superior 1871 construction, and its role in our local history just captivates me. I love standing on the second floor and taking in the whole region from that view. I’m excited for it to open to the public this year.

Judy Costello Education Manager

There is a “person” under a table in the basement. When it catches my eye, I linger to make sure it is not real because it is quite life-like lurking there.

Marty Powers Maintenance/ Grounds

In the barn is a piece of equipment that belonged to my greatgrandfather and was used extensively by him and my grandfather. It is a stump puller that was powered by mules or oxen to remove stumps. It’s the only one like it that I’ve ever seen, and I like to imagine all the work they got done with it.

Bo Williams Photographer/Digitization Manager

No surprise here, but there isn’t one single object. Rather the collection of vintage cameras and related equipment is what forces me to pause and admire every time I’m in their presence.

Michele Gibson Store Manager

I have always tended to linger over our grounds the most, the buildings, old trees and lilacs, butterfly gardens, old wood, stone steps and lilies.

Sandra Cox Birchfield Communications & Marketing Manager

In the museum’s collections is an Ampex AG-440C reel-to-reel tape recorder once owned by Ben Jack, a big name in music stores for decades in Northwest Arkansas. In addition to having his own stores and a record label, Ben Jack also had his own studio and recorded many local musicians. The backing track for Freddy Fender’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” was also cut at the studio. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart and No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1975.

Mr. T Ambassador

I have been informed that my food bowl isn’t an artifact. Oh well. I do love the barn on the museum’s grounds, however, and can be frequently found there.