Grundy County Historical Society Museum has new displays, looks to expand

The Grundy County Historical Society and Museum keeps growing as more and more bits of the county’s history come in.

The volunteers are now looking to expand into recently purchased sections of the former Coleman Hardware building at 510 W. Illinois Ave.

Ken Willis, one of the newly elected directors, has already taken one of the first steps. He’s helped the museum obtain a recurring fundraising night at Wendy’s on the first Friday of every month. As long as customers mention the museum fundraiser by name, 30% of the 1926 N. Division St. Wendy’s sales will go to the museum.

The fundraiser is just one way Willis, the board of directors and Executive Director Mary Collins are trying to continue the museum’s growth. Another way comes through grant dollars, which means Collins spends a lot of time filling out applications. One of the questions on the grant applications is always about visitors, so it’s important for those visiting to sign in.

“It’s what we put on the application for the hotel-motel tax with the City of Morris,” Collins said. “that’s one of the things they ask for, and it’s usually asked for when we apply for grants. They want to know the community that we serve and who comes in to visit the museum.”

The museum doesn’t charge admission, and Collins said they want to keep the doors open, expand operating hours and keep it free so more people can enjoy it. It also has a gift shop selling rugs made by the Goose Lake Prairie Partners and watercolor paintings created by the Morris Watercolor Guild.

The new exhibits make the museum worth an additional visit for past patrons. One of the newest commemorates Dora Schoonmaker, a Morris-born Methodist minister and the first female Methodist minister in Japan.

Schoonmaker founded the Aoyama Gakuin School Corporation, an educational institute in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward. The school has since grown to include Aoyama Gakuin University. Its campus includes Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School, and Aoyama Gakuin Kindergarten.

“She took the train from Chicago to San Francisco, and then a boat from San Francisco to Yokohama,” Collins said. “That took 25 days, and she had to take five years of things with her. That means clothes, books, utensils, and more.”

Schoonmaker moved to Japan in her mid-20s, started the school, and then returned to the United States. From there, she found her way to Los Angeles, where she’s buried.

The Grundy County Historical Society and Museum is hosting an opening ceremony for the exhibit at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 29. Those interested in seeing it beforehand can visit the museum.

The museum is also debuting a new exhibit on the late Dr. Van Hicks. His wife, Susan, recently donated several items to the museum for display. Hicks worked at Morris Hospital for 49 years and was the FAA medical doctor for 55 years.

These exhibits aren’t the only thing new at the museum: It’s also expanding after purchasing the rest of the southern wing of the U-shape that makes up the former Coleman Hardware building. The new aquisition allows for more space for more exhibits while also creating room for an event space. The museum will use this space for its monthly meetings and presentations, the most recent of which was a presentation from Joshua Biggers on the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad.

Willis said those presentations are good for getting people into the building to see the displays, but the museum doesn’t yet have the right amount of space to host them.

Collins said with this new addition, the museum can get more eyes on it.

She said the museum also has advertising and will soon have the banner program, which runs through the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce. Liberty Street will have banners pointing people in the direction of the museum. It also has Marion Gore, who goes on WCSJ Radio to talk about happenings at the museum on the first Monday of every month.

“We also have scavenger hunts for kids,” Collins said. “When kids come in, we give them coloring books and we give them the information for a scavenger hunt. They get a prize if they find everything at the end.”

Collins said schools and 4-H Clubs are also welcome, and she’s willing to adjust the museum’s hours to accommodate them.

Currently, the Grundy County Historical Society and Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.