Elgin Public Museum

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Frese -- "Mr. Canoe." There's a small panel dedicated to his impact and legacy in our new La Salle exhibit, and a Frese-designed canoe in our Encounter exhibit. Come visit! We're open Saturday-Sunday 12-4. And meanwhile, here's a story about Ralph that aired on WTTW - Chicago PBS Channel 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QuPc0pU8ZnE&fbclid=IwY2xjawUkcElleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5z7u4CIMp4VYWvJylSL29paMRduGa9rHmNHvQPHskmCBV-QZRUSTInVUuVZQ_aem_S6yjPEjAmiMGQm01-mDUvQ

Chicago's Canoe Guru Legendary Chicago paddler, naturalist, maritime historian and black...

Don't forget, this evening we have a very cool program with Dr. Catalina Maria Johnson at EPM! Join us for this Illinois Humanities program, please, it promises to be quite interesting. It's free admission and we'll have light refreshments.

Are you an educator? Email: [email protected] and we'll send you our new education programs guide, with special info on free U-46 field trips for our Indigenous Tech/Encounter program, thanks to a generous grant from Seigle Foundation!

Goodbyes are tough. Even if you're really happy for the next chapter an EPM-er is heading into, which we certainly are for Preston Killough! Preston started volunteering with us in January and has been there in some very clutch moments to save the day, most recently getting all our La Salle signage and flip book railings installed with just a few days to go to exhibit opening. Thus narrowly averting the Director having a stroke.

Before leaving us today, we did some photo ops, gathering him with Adam and Shaine upstairs, then down in the Collection Room with "one of the best bosses I've ever had" ("ONE of?!" -- but the other was an uncle, so it's okay) ... and finally, as one does, a traditional (as of today) office hatchet- and star-throwing session. Another thing Preston does extremely well!

So what could possibly lure Preston away from EPM? Well, finishing a Master's in Museum Studies at Leicester University in England is pretty good excuse, we guess.

Preston says he is a bit nervous, but looking forward to, "being in a historical area with never-ending museums to visit, and meeting more people in the industry." Within the scope of Museum Studies, he finds himself most drawn to archiving and exhibit design.

He certainly got some experience in both here! He assembled new exhibit cases in addition to the La Salle exhibit work. While also archiving at the Church of the Brethren offices over the past eight months, Preston did long-neglected Collection room cataloging and data entry into our Past Perfect program.

He enjoyed our focus on natural history and anthropology because, "The stuff in here is timeless!" A great way to put it.

Sooooooo, with teary eyes and sniffles, we wish Preston the very best!