County Museum gives quarterly report to Commissioners
The Marshall County Historical Society, Museum and Crossroads Center reopened on Tuesday, April 6. The day before, Executive Director Linda Rippy presented the museum’s quarterly report to the Marshall County Commissioners at Monday’s meeting.
Rippy informed the commissioners that they will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, the following safety protocols will
still be observed:
• Visitors will be temperature-scanned upon entry.
• Masks are still required to enter.
• Hand sanitizer will be available at the door and in other places around the buildings, and visitors will be expected to use it.
• Visitors must maintain an appropriate physical distance from staff members and other visitors.
• The exhibit areas will be strictly eyes only.
“We don’t know these visitors that will be coming in. Who they are, where they’re coming from. And granted, we’ve got a lot of our volunteers who are senior citizens and we’re trying to protect them too,” said Rippy.
When asked, Rippy stated that all of the museum’s staff have been vaccinated expect for one employee.
Some of the areas will be modified. For example, the children’s play areas will have a reduced number of toys to help the staff keep up with the task of sanitizing. The number of people in the Farmer’s Market and Train Room areas may have to be reduced as well.
“That place is just packed,” said Marshall County Historical Society Board Member Mike Miley. “We’re going to have to limit the number of people for the time they can be in there so it doesn’t get too crowded.”
“We’ll make it work. Anything to get them in there,” Rippy agreed.
Rippy announced that the Historical Society recently applied for and received a $4,775 Heritage Support Grant from the Indiana Historical Society made possible by the Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant was used to fund the cost of professionally cleaning, repairing, restoring, and in some cases rebinding 12 volumes of historical government books and ledgers. The restored books include G.A.R. and Civil War reunion minutes, justice and civil docket books, a cemetery ledger, a record of indentures, advisory board minutes, and two volumes of insanity records.
“We’re just excited to be opened up again. It’s good to have people back in and let the people of Marshall County, and really all around the region, know what an asset and gem our museum is. We’re very fortunate,” said Miley.
In the newsletter that Rippy handed out, it lists several events planned for the future.
Brown Bags
Presenters will explore topics including community, history, preservation, and diversity. Each Brown Bag is an hour long informative and engaging talk on the second Friday of the month starting at noon. The Brown Bag events this year will be held via Zoom.
• April 9 - “The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same” with Kurt Garner.
• May 14 - “Migrant Roots to Vibrant Community” with Ed and Norma Rodriguez.
• June 11 - “Where Have All the Pickles Gone?” With Jamie Erwin.
• July 9 - “The Impact of Eva Koa: Holocaust Survivor” with Jenny Harness.
• Aug. 13 - “Cartoons of Culver” with Jeff Kenney.
• Sept. 10 - “The Goldkette Family” with Josh Duffee.
• Oct. 8 - “The REAL Dirt on How to Move a Cemetery” with Ryan Peterson.
Downtown Walking Tours
Part of the Plymouth Public Library’s One Book, One City: This is Where You Belong program coming up later this spring, the museum will be offering two opportunities for walking tours of Plymouth’s four main downtown blocks. On Saturday, June 5, Assistant Director Sue Irwin will meet with people outside the museum for “Facts, Fables, and Facades” at 10 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. The tour is free and will take around one hour.
Other events planned for the One Book, One City program include:
• June 12 - City of Plymouth Nature Walk
• June 19 - Hidden Gems of Plymouth Walk
• June 29 - Downtown Merchants Walk, Shop, and Eat event.
For more information and news of other activities of the museum, visit their website at https://mchistoricalsociety.org or their Facebook Page by searching Marshall County Museum Historic Crossroads Center.