Revisiting the place where I discovered a passion for cultural heritage, public history and museums
For nearly a decade, first as a consultant, and later as the executive director, I was at the helm of the Bolduc House Museum in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. It has recently been renamed New France - the OTHER Colonial America (click here to go to its website) . About 18 months ago I resigned my post to concentrate on the research and writing of a PhD dissertation in museum studies at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Next month I will defend that work and, hopefully, acquit myself well. It is odd, though, to return to the museum I successfully transitioned from a sixty-year-old hobby to a growing historical site with departments, an interpretive philosophy, events, programs and policies and procedures intact. Today I went to Ste. Genevieve to hear the report of the third archaeological dig on that museum's campus. I arranged funding for the first two digs which have resulted in amazing finds to shift what we know and can begin to investigate about the layered histo...