New director looks forward to making history come alive here

Historical Society moving forward with City Hall museum; opening set for 2008

By Kate Bassett
HARBOR LIGHT NEWSPAPER

When the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society’s new executive director, Dave Harrell, stepped inside the chilly shell of the former City Hall building on Main Street, he said he could already see the vibrant museum set to open there in 2008.

“I want this museum to be the number one local history museum, not only in northern Michigan, but as something that sets the bar throughout the state,” Harrell said as he walked through empty rooms that have already seen more than a century of Harbor Springs history.

Built in 1886, the building originally housed the circuit court offices of Emmet County, and served as the town’s city hall for nearly 100 years. As the community watches the building transform back to closely resemble its original state— the stucco that was put on in the 1930s has already given way to a wood exterior — Harrell said he hopes the feeling of this place rich with stories continues to grow.

“What I love about history here is that everything important in our state’s past also happened in this little area of northern Michigan. Harbor Springs is truly brimming over with history; the Native Americans, the settlers, the logging, locomotives, waterways, agriculture. So much about those eras much have been preserved. This place is a historian’s dream come true.”

Quite literally in Harrell’s case, considering the fact that he and his wife were bemusing just this summer about a five-year plan that could enable them to move north.

“My wife and I came up this way in August, and we started talking about how we were sick of the traffic and congestion (in Rochester Hills). We were dreaming up ways to move and raise our two children somewhere like this. Not even two days after we got home, I saw that the executive director position was posted for the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.”

Prior to moving to Harbor Springs, Harrell worked for the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoozen Farm, one of the most highly regarded local history museums in Michigan.

“When I started there, the museum only consisted of the farmhouse, with dairy barn renovations just starting to get underway,” Harrell said of the 16- acre museum campus, which now boasts year-round exhibits and programs in everything from recreating a one-room schoolhouse experience to vintage baseball and lectures putting historical perspectives on current events.

“It was my job to design the exhibits and create programming for the schools. Within five years, we became one of the top local history museums in the state. My previous experience really set me up to come into a project like this one,” he said.

Harrell said his goals for the museum include top notch exhibits and programs that are “always spoton.”

“We pay attention to the details, and it will be reflected in every aspect of this museum and in all of the activities that we host in this community,” Harrell said.

As a historian and a father of two young children, Harrell said he understands the importance of passing on his new community’s past to the next generation. He said he also knows that the museum is a gateway of opportunity to do just that.

“We plan to create programs for each age group that will meet the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) Objectives. Eventually, it is my hope to actually become part of the Harbor Springs school curriculum, so that we are constantly partnering with classes to further their historical understanding of not only this area, but how that history is tied to the world at-large.”

While the museum’s planned opening is still a year away, Harrell said final designs— including exhibit mock-ups— are already complete.

“I have to say that I was really lucky to come in the middle of a project that has been so well guided with so many people dedicated to its success,” he said. “The Historical Society was incredibly thorough when deciding what it was this museum’s goals and themes would be and how its exhibits would convey those ideas.”

With the help of designers from Midland, Michigan, the museum’s permanent exhibits will be second-to-none, Harrell said. As he walked through each room in old City Hall, it was obvious he was already picturing artifacts adorning all the right spaces.

“Our permanent exhibits will really be about giving people a sense of the history of this community, from the Native Americans right on through the 1970s,” he said.

In the history gallery, museum- goers will be able to learn about everything from fur traders to resorters, and the growth of downtown.

“We will also have a discovery gallery, which will be very hands-on and will have everything from a Shay locomotive running along the ceiling to an ice shanty and postmaster station,” Harrell said.

The second floor of the museum will be a space for meetings, genealogy research, special events, and archives. For Harrell, it is that last word that draws out the most excitement.

“We want to create a photography archive that documents as much of this area’s history as possible and what is amazing is that there are so many photos still around and still being passed down through peoples’ families,” he said. “We are asking anyone with photos of this community’s past—and I’m talking from the 1800s to the 1980s—to please bring them in to us. Even if you aren’t willing to part with your photos, we’d like to scan them in and create a digital database.”

The Historical Society has raised $1.6 million—already almost reaching its $1.9 million goal— for the museum’s renovations and endowment fund. Harrell said they hope to have all fundraising complete by this summer.

“I am still overwhelmed by how much support this project has had, and continues to have,” Harrell said. “We are still working on programs and special events like hard hat tours that we will continue to host until we open with a bang in May 2008.”

Once those doors are open, Harrell added, the greater Harbor Springs area will begin to truly see the benefits of having its history on display.

“When a local history museum comes to town, and it has great exhibits and makes an effort to be part of the important traditions of that area, it seems to increase the culture of that community,” he said.

Given the fact that this is “still a place that puts its Christmas tree front and center downtown,” Harrell said that the celebration of small town roots will only be strengthened by the museum’s presence.

“Where I came from, there was a cleansing of history from communities happening everyday. It’s so great to come into a community that is doing just the opposite; preserving their past, the downtown, the sense of place. From a historian’s standpoint, that makes this town a perfect snapshot. In order to want to keep this area and its character as beautiful as it is today, future generations need to know their roots and know their history. They need to feel tied to this town and the land, and that is one of the biggest goals of our museum. We are conserving the past to protect the future. It’s a big job, and its one that is going to be so rewarding for everyone who walks through our doors.”

“In order to want to keep this area and its character as beautiful as it is today, future generations need to know their roots and know their history. They need to feel tied to this town and the land, and that is one of the biggest goals of our museum.”

-David Harrell, Executive Director
Harbor Springs Area Historical Society

This is part of the February 14, 2007 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.

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