ST. JOHN — Changes are coming to the long-standing museum in St. John — a little at a time.
Last September, the museum underwent a name change, from the Lucille M. Hall Museum for Education and History, as it has been known since 2006, to the St. John Homecoming Hall and Museum. Hall was a longtime teacher and benefactor in the St. John area. The name change, according to the museum board, was an effort to reach more members of the community.
In October, the museum hosted its first Homecoming Festival, which celebrated the several cultures that contributed to the history of Stafford County. This not only includes the Native Americans and Hispanic explorers, but also the Exodusters who traveled west to Kansas following the Civil War, as well as the other settlers in the area.
Beginning this weekend, the museum has extended its open hours to Saturday afternoons, while the board continues to add display items and exhibits to the interior of the two-story building located at 304 N. Main St. in St. John. The board members are also currently inviting volunteers to help staff the museum during the extended time.
Museum mission expansion
The museum’s mission has been expanded to include a more comprehensive preservation of the various cultures that have made contributions to St. John and Stafford County, noted board member Becky Tanner. “Right now, we’re kind of dipping our toes, but when we generate interest, we will hopefully get more volunteers that are enthusiastic about what we are doing and move forward,” Tanner said.
While notable personages such as W. R. Gray established his photo studio in St. John at the turn of the previous century, there are other stories that can be told, she said.
“In our museum, we want to enhance that story, because we feel that all three of our cultural entities were important to the county,” Tanner said. “We want to do what we can to make ourselves visible.”
Tanner noted that a recent donation of four smart TVs, along with a radio segment with KNEW in Wichita and the creation of video segments on a regular basis will help introduce the museum to a wider audience.
Michael Hathaway joined the board as a volunteer last April. “What’s unique about us is that we are saving the history of St. John and the area,” Hathaway said. “We’ve collected historic artifacts and printed history.”
“We are making a conscientious effort to get a more complete story,” Tanner said. “In the past, the story has been told through the predominant white families. We still will tell those stories, but the idea is that we can showcase more families this way and their connections with Stafford County.”
A recently-acquired display of wet-plate photography features descendants of the Exoduster families who homesteaded in the St. John area.
The museum is also working on a grant from Humanities Kansas to illuminate Native Americans of the area. If that grant is successful, Hispanic families would then become another featured project.
The goal, Tanner said, would be to feature portrait photography in the museum’s main hall, with the title “Hall of Portraits.”
“Then you can see the similarities between the ancestors and the people living now,” she said. “That would make the history current.”
