...................................................................................................................rebeccap@watkinsmuseum.org

Letter from the Director

This past June I had the wonderful opportunity of joining our sister city delegation on a trip to Eutin, Germany. Eutin is a beautiful 800-year-old town an hour and a half north of Hamburg not too far from the Baltic Sea. The delegation was treated to several days full of sight-seeing, official receptions, dinners, and entertainment. Being new to Lawrence I did not know any of the other delegates, so I had the additional enjoyment of meeting my neighbors and our sister city citizens.

My general role in the delegation was to make connections between DCHS/WCMH and the museums of Eutin. Eutin has two museums, one art and general history museum and the other an 800 year-old castle, Stiftung Schloss. Over the centuries the castle housed many notable nobles--it was the birth place of Catherine the Great! I was fortunate to meet Juliane Moser, the castle's director, and she gave me a personalized behind the scenes tour. She showed me several of the rooms that are still under renovation, including the Duchess's private kitchen and rooms and the ballroom. I also toured the servants' quarters which now house the museum's collections.

Museums the world over face the same challenges: constant shortage of funding, a changing field and science, collection backlogs and deterioration, few professional conservators available, and for those of us in older buildings: leaking roofs, inadequate environmental controls, expensive electrical and plumbing repairs, and the ghosts who like to hide the keys. In a way, it's comforting.

The museum is progressing well. The word is getting about regarding our public outreach programs and the attendance is is increasing. In June we had 1,352 visitors, a 35% increase over last year's attendance. We are all quite pleased with what we have accomplished thus far this year. The staff and I are already busy planning 2005. We will be hosting a Lewis and Clark lecture series sponsored by the NEH and the Kansas Humanities Council. Interesting characters from the past will visit. And we will offer new youth programs as well as workshops and walking tours for all ages. Please be sure to renew your membership so you don't miss out!