Wild is new curator at McGregor Historical Museum
Brandon Wild is the new McGregor Historical Museum curator. He encourages others to check out the unique collection. “If you haven’t been in here, you’ll be surprised at the scope and interesting variety that’s brought together in this one little place,” he said. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Brandon Wild is the new curator at the McGregor Historical Museum. He fills a post long held by Diane Malcom, who has transitioned to the historical society board.
Wild is a native of nearby Wauzeka, Wis., and moved to McGregor from California a year ago. He’s not a stranger to the community, though. His parents, Mel and Maureen Wild, are current residents, and he visited his grandmother regularly growing up.
“My dad’s family has lived here since the 1950s, and he grew up here,” Wild added.
According to Wild, his background as a bookstore manager and experience in research—he was recently pursuing a PhD in English—have helped prepare him for work at the museum. He’s also had a long-time interest in history.
“Especially in recent years, I’ve come to appreciate its value and being able to have reliable knowledge about the past and how that can inform our understanding of the present. It takes a lot of work to make all that possible,” he said. “As I’ve been doing the PhD, I’ve come to appreciate a lot more the behind the scenes work it takes to make history available to anybody, in a way that would be useful. Before, I took that for granted.”
Wild has been working at the McGregor Historical Museum since it opened Memorial Day weekend.
“Mostly, I’ve just been taking things in and trying to learn as much as I can,” he said.
The Andrew Clemens sand art bottles have been popular among visitors, as has the museum’s Ringling Brothers display, military exhibits and Emma Big Bear information.
They are all part of what Wild believes gives McGregor a unique, and maybe under-appreciated, relevance in history.
“There are many dimensions to it, and through the work of people who’ve been involved in the historical society and museum and other groups, some of those dimensions have been well maintained—and we’ve been given access. The Ringling Brothers is one, and Andrew Clemens. But there’s so much more,” he shared. “In the little time I’ve been in the museum, I’m seeing all kinds of things that are potential pathways that could be opened up to the public.”
As the museum begins planning for an expansion into the neighboring opera house/hardware store building and has more resources to work with, Wild is hopeful additional pathways can be explored.
“The immediately recognizable point of interest I was surprised wasn’t a bigger deal was Marquette and Joliet arriving here. That’s something worldwide that people know, but it’s a question of what kind of artifact you have to exhibit that,” Wild said. “Lately, I’ve been exploring the history of the buildings downtown, the businesses that have been here, and looking at the newspapers and the way advertisements evolved in the city. I also think there’s a lot that could be done with the history of the theater that was here because it goes back to the silent era. It’s an interesting part of the culture in the city, and I’m really interested in movies and the history of film. So I might turn that into some kind of project.”
“Another thing I think would be cool is a tavern history project, and work with bars in town to spin out more of the history of the places,” he continued.
Wild has found the digitized editions of the North Iowa Times and McGregor News to be valuable resources as he learns more about the museum and McGregor’s history.
“Just being able to look at the old issues connects this place to whatever else I know was going on in the same time period,” he said.
In addition to his role as curator, Wild is also preparing the museum for the expansion. That includes transferring records into electronic form so they are in a computer program that can more efficiently sort, organize and search the information. He’ll perform a physical inventory of the museum collection as well. That will collect details on where items in the records are located, what condition they are in and what type of attention they may need in regard to restoration and storage, for example.
Wild said the lengthy process will give him valuable knowledge and hands-on experience with the museum collection.
“I like starting from the details and then going big picture. Down the road, I’ll be better able to imagine different possibilities with the new space and resources that will be available,” he noted.
Wild credits previous museum staff and board members for helping document and organize records. He’s also learned a lot from Cynthia Sweet, executive director of the Iowa Museum Association, who’s been consulting on the expansion project.
“There’s a lot to it, and it’s kind of intimidating, but being able to build on what all those other people have already been doing makes it manageable. It’s something to be appreciated,” he said. “That’s one reason this collection has so much potential, because we have people who have done all that work for so many years.”
Wild encourages people to check out the museum for themselves. There’s a topic of interest for everyone.
“If you haven’t been in here, you’ll be surprised at the scope and interesting variety that’s brought together in this one little place,” he said. “If you’re from the area, it can give a new appreciation for where you live, I think. If you’re not from the area, it can really make your visit even more interesting.”
The McGregor Historical Museum is located at 256 Main St., with hours Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. It will also be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, as volunteers are available.
