The Oberlin Heritage Center currently is closed to the public for its winter shutdown that lasts through Jan. 15.
However, the organization has a lot to look back to in 2023, and much to look forward to in 2024.
One of the highlights of the year for Oberlin Heritage Center executive director Liz Schultz was the April premier of the documentary “A Higher Law: The Oberlin Wellington Rescue of 1858,” which Oberlin Heritage Center was a partner.
The film, which was produced by Scott Spears and Christina Paolucci, premiered April 23 at the Apollo Theatre in Oberlin, and was free to the public.
“I think it was a great new way to tell the story of this momentous historic event in Oberlin’s history,” Schultz said.
The documentary had several showings in other locations throughout the year, she said.
Another part of the year that stood out to Schultz was the progression of the Heritage Center’s strategic planning process.
“It was great to be able to have three public forums and send out a survey and really get a sense about how people feel about the Heritage Center and what they hope we can do in the future,” she said.
There also was some changes with the Heritage Center’s museum education and tour coordinator position in 2023.
Stephanie Bohnak held the role from August 2022 until August 2023 before leaving to become the director of education and outreach at the National First Ladies Library in Canton.
Schultz credited Bohnak for the work she did at the Oberlin Heritage Center, like the creation of in-museum games like the “Foiled Again!: The Aluminum Mystery Experience” activity that took place multiple times at the Jewett House, 73 S. Professor St., which is a brick Victorian house built in 1884 and was the home of Oberlin College chemistry professor Frank Fanning Jewett and his wife, Sarah Frances Gulick Jewett.
Amanda Manahan, who was museum education and tour coordinator at the Oberlin Heritage Center from 2015-2022, returned to that role in August.
“We were lucky to have Stephanie, and she’s still working in Ohio, so it’s great to have her as a colleague now,” Schultz said. “It’s also great to have Amanda back and she’s so familiar with our programs and never lost touch with community organizations.
“So, we were able to hit the ground running having her back.”
Schultz said 2023 was a big year for education-related programs put on by the Heritage Center.
The organization saw the return of classrooms visiting the Heritage Center for field trips, outreach programs and adult groups that were halted during the coronavirus pandemic, she said.
“Museums around the country are still seeing lower visitation than pre-COVID years, but there’s definitely an upward trend,” Schultz said.
Community events have been big for the Heritage Center’s outreach, she said.
Root Beer and Yesteryear and Trivia Nights are some of the events the Heritage Center has hosted, but it also has been involved in community-wide events like Chalk Walk and Juneteenth.
Tours have been a mainstay throughout the history of the Heritage Center, and that continued in 2023.
Schultz said history walks during the summer have been successful with topics ranging from abolition to architecture to the history of Oberlin’s downtown.
Going into the new year, the Heritage Center has events planned to continue to spread its name.
Schultz said the Heritage Center will continue to plan how it can have a presence on Oberlin’s Main Street.
“We’re a little bit landlocked in the middle of a block, and it makes it hard for visitors and Oberlin residents to find us and drop in,” she said. “We’re looking at options for what that might look like, but we think that would be a really great change for the organization.”
Schultz said nothing physical will happen in 2024, but the planning stages will continue.
The Heritage Center also is hoping for a grant to be able to put its collections online for the first time, she said.
“We think that will really change with how people interact with the Heritage Center being able to look up history on their own,” Schultz said.
