SPRINGDALE : Shiloh Museum preserving history, itself
Posted on Monday, July 21, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Since 1965, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History has preserved the region’s heritage.
Now it’s time for the museum to preserve itself.
Starting July 28, the museum will close for 10 weeks while contractors replace a roof that has leaked each winter for the past 16 years. Museum Director Allyn Lord will move temporarily to a duplex behind the museum on Main Street, while her photo and archive staff will descend to the museum’s basement.
Though the building will be closed to the public, museum staff will still be busy documenting photographs, writing a grant application for collections management, and plotting the museum’s future.
Contractor Kim Hoadley of Fayetteville has been instructed to keep the roof closed at night to ensure the integrity of museum holdings. That means each panel that is removed must be replaced before the day is over.
“You have to maintain air control as a preservation aid,” collections manager Carolyn Reno said. “The important part is to maintain consistency. If you left a panel off the roof, it’s a hole in the environment you’re trying to maintain.” Ideally, the temperature at the museum stays at 70 degrees, and the humidity level is kept between 45 percent and 55 percent. Low lighting is also an important protective element. PRESERVATION PRIORITIES Shiloh Museum, located on the site of the old town square west of Spring Creek, houses American Indian artifacts as well as 19 th century and 20 th century treasures such as newspapers, letters, tools and art that tell the story of Northwest Arkansas.
Perhaps the most important collection at the museum is the photo archive, which contains more than 500, 000 images. The collection, housed in wood cabinets, will be moved to the basement for preservation purposes.
“The photos are our top priority as far as security is involved,” said Marie Demeroukas, the museum’s photo archivist and research librarian. Researchers still will be able to call and schedule an appointment to see a photograph, but the library’s research and reference library will be closed.
Since the archives are staying upstairs, they won’t be accessible to the public.
Demeroukas expects quite a few calls during the closure, since the museum typically fields as many as 40 research requests a month from songwriters, local historians, reporters, students, documentary makers and others.
Demeroukas and her staff expect a research backlog once the museum reopens.
During the closure, she and her staff will document and catalog photographs that have yet to be entered into the database. Staff also will prepare a grant application for funds to digitize a portion of the museum’s photo collection. Staff also will be busy entering photo data into the computer database. “Not dealing with the researchers will give us the time to deal with things — collections — management-wise,” Demeroukas said. “We’re never sitting around twiddling our thumbs at the museum.” SEVEN-WEEK JOB All three of the building’s hip roofs, which cover the gallery, offices and a conference room, are being replaced.
Once the new metal panels have been installed, Hoadley will apply foam insulation between the ceiling and the roof, and also will install two pairs of commercial-grade fans to create circulation in the attic.
“The trick is to keep a barrier between the cold and warm air,” Hoadley said.
He thinks the job, which begins Aug. 4, can be finished in seven weeks. Lord and her staff will then be clear to return to the museum.
The roof has leaked condensation during the winter months since the current building opened 16 years ago. Museum staff have had to place containers in the attic to catch dripping water. Ceiling tiles are stained with brown rings. Leading up to final approval of the contract, Lord was told on at least two occasions to find a more affordable quote than the original, which was more than $ 500, 000. At least once, notice for bids had to be re-advertised because the contract specifications weren’t listed properly. The City Council agreed to pay for the repair using funds from the Capital Improvement Program.
THIRST FOR RESEARCH Over the past few months, June Painter has been researching the history of Springdale mayors.
An employee at the Springdale Senior Center, Painter typically heads to the museum at least once a week after work to study the museum’s collection of newspaper articles and local history.
At 74, Painter is embarking on a new phase of her life. Her longtime husband, Leon, died in September after a long illness. Painter decided to enhance her life with work and research.
“I had a choice of either letting grief take over, or fill in the spots,” Painter said. “I chose to fill in the spots. I feel young. I’m finally doing what I want to do.” Painter said she enjoys seeing the old photographs of Springdale before it grew into the state’s fourth-largest city. She also spends time on events she stumbled upon unrelated to her research on the mayors.
For example, Spring Creek, which flows through town, frequently flooded before the channel was controlled with a cement culvert. Another one: A tiff in the 1960 s resulted in bags being placed over the parking meters that formerly lined Emma Avenue.
“You find all that in the papers,” she said.
But soon Painter will have to suspend her taste for local history.
“I’m going to have to put it on hold, but I’m not going to complain about it,” she said.
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