Talkeetna Historical Society looks to the future

On Thursday, about twenty Talkeetnans gathered to share ideas about what they want to see in the future for the Talkeetna Historical Society’s museum. Two representatives of Juneau-based Exhibit AK were also in the former schoolhouse building to collect those ideas.

Talkeetna Historical Society Executive Director Sue Deyoe says the organization is using grant funds to look ahead at how best to manage its collection, exhibits, and properties.

“We need to look at our future, [the] future of exhibits and what we want to do with not just the museum itself, but all of our six buildings and properties.”

Sarah Asper-Smith, owner of Exhibit AK, explains what kind of information her company is looking for in order to help the historical society come up with a plan for the future.

“Basically, we’re getting to know the museum, historical society, and the people here, and talking to them about what stories you want to see in your museum, what’s missing, how the historical society can serve the community.”

At Thursday’s gathering, Sarah Asper-Smith and Christine Carpenter asked those questions and others to attendees. Carpenter says the people in attendance “brightened up” when the discussion of some of Talkeetna’s famous (or infamous) characters came up.

“We got a huge list last night. Of course, Sarah and I don’t know who these people are, so we asked them to tell us a little bit about them, and we got these great stories from people about the people who made this place what it is. That was really exciting for us.”

Other suggestions from the meeting include additional focus Alaska Native history in the area, and a more complete history of local aviation and the Alaska Railroad.

Christine Carpenter says the plan that comes from Exhibit AK will be focused on what the community wants to see from the museum and other properties owned by the Talkeetna Historical Society.

“Sarah and I…don’t want to come in anywhere, to any museum we work with, and tell them what to do…Based off of our listening and our questions we’ve asked, it’s really clear that people want to maintain the historic integrity of all of the buildings that the museum owns, but also the historic district.”

The initial plan is expected to be ready for the historical society to review next month. After additional refining, the final version will be ready later this winter. Sue Deyoe says even that plan could be subject to change down the road.

“It’s not like this is something that this is going to be set in stone. It’s very fluid, and will change over time, I’m sure.”

For now, the Talkeetna Historical Society plans on soliciting additional suggestions from those who were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting.

Depending on availability of funding, the steps ultimately outlined could take a number of years to complete.