tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post4964980488907763495..comments2023-08-01T01:15:40.086-07:00Comments on Northwest History: Open Letter to the Curators of the Baron Von Munchausen Historic HomeLarry Cebulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16798046652983001155noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post-77438872443136468972011-03-30T07:54:00.086-07:002011-03-30T07:54:00.086-07:00This is a great letter and I personally feel was t...This is a great letter and I personally feel was the best way to handle this. As someone who has been in this situation WAY too many times I can attest that "correcting" the docent while on the tour rarely ends well. With that said, many docents do it because they love history. If, after the tour, you have an opportunity to chat with them, on their own, you can sometimes correct them in a polite way. I've had many great "discussions" with volunteer docents and shared with them some of the "recent scholarship" that contradicts much of what they had just said on the tour... if it is done respectfully in a "you couldn't have know this but now we do" kind of way it can be well received.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07905785138123766995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post-8385488476544876442010-07-18T12:52:01.372-07:002010-07-18T12:52:01.372-07:00I have not been to this historic home, but it soun...I have not been to this historic home, but it sounds like they need to hire an educator to get these docents on the right path. Led by the education Curator, the Wisconsin State Historical Society began three years ago to update what the museum was telling their patrons about Wisconsin Native Americans. The exhibit was built in about 1960 and the content and text labels were never updated to reflect more current scholarship. There is a lot of public history out there that needs correction, for sure.Christopher Troy Hendeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941827296283789728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post-58764542289035736532010-06-30T22:52:06.520-07:002010-06-30T22:52:06.520-07:00I know the guides at these houses are often volunt...I know the guides at these houses are often volunteers - and some are wonderfully knowledgeable about the properties. If my comment was unclear, I simply meant that for some members of the public, museums are their main interaction with history, so it is unfortunate if misleading information is put out there. <br />It would be great if the directors of these properties all had the money to hire historians, but of course they don't. Even big organisations that run many properties, like the National Trust - while of course they employ historians, the docents at the various houses are still volunteers. But it might be possible for them to do occasional workshops with a public historian (such as your good self?) discussing interpretations of the property with those that guide the tours.Katrinahttp://www.katrinagulliver.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post-88330340276248992982010-06-30T13:47:54.249-07:002010-06-30T13:47:54.249-07:00I do hope I took the right tone. The docents who l...I do hope I took the right tone. The docents who led our tour were volunteers who were there out of the goodness of their hearts and a passion for history. In fact the house in question was saved from destruction by the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America. Generations of volunteers saved, preserved, and keep the home open. They are to be thanked, and it is not realistic to think that the volunteers will be academically trained historians.Larry Cebulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16798046652983001155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533010775907799154.post-65923955639365683222010-06-30T13:10:42.008-07:002010-06-30T13:10:42.008-07:00This is great Larry! I once sent a letter of corre...This is great Larry! I once sent a letter of correction to a museum, who thanked me profusely... but when I went to the museum again 2 years later, the glaring error was still on the wall. <br />It's a shame that docents at these types of venues often perpetuate myths in their tours: I think it contributes to turning people off history (both public and academic), when they either believe the falsehoods, or realise what they were told was wrong, and conclude "it's all nonsense anyway, what those history teachers tell you"... <br />And at so many historic houses, the truth is far more interesting than any folk myth!<br />I'd be interested to know if you get a reply from them.Katrinahttp://www.katrinagulliver.comnoreply@blogger.com