Sometimes You Get Your White Gloves Dirty

Taking care of Pennsylvania’s historic artifacts and buildings can be an extremely rewarding job. The curators, site administrators, and maintenance staff who work at sites on the Trails of History bring a wealth of expertise, experience, and dedication to the task of managing and protecting the material heritage that ties us to past and future generations. They are frequently assisted by other staff, such as museum educators, and volunteers who are knowledgeable about the care of museum collections.

PHMC/Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum

Last month, providing a peek at winter activities on the Trails, I mentioned a collections cleaning blitz at Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, planned for the last week in January. The Bitzer building, which was the focus of the effort, provides storage for some of Landis Valley’s extensive collection of farming equipment and exhibits many of these items for visitors.

PHMC/Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum

This tremendously successful effort pulled together staff and volunteers from all over the site, under the direction of the museum’s curatorial staff, to accomplish a wagon load of cleaning chores. Some of the Bitzer building exhibits were refreshed and reorganized in the bargain. And a wonderful lunch was served each day to the hungry workers (thank you, Cindy).

PHMC/Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum

Planned collections cleaning is definitely a curator’s preference and our sites frequently use winter downtime for that reason. Staff are generally not as busy with visitors, so an all-out effort can be easier to pull together.

PHMC/Ephrata Cloister

But sometimes, you don’t get to plan for it. A week before the Landis Valley blitz, an unplanned collections care effort swung into action at a moment’s notice. A sprinkler malfunction in the kitchen of the Saal (meetinghouse) at Ephrata Cloister brought down a mess of plaster, mud, and water.

PHMC/Ephrata Cloister

Ephrata Cloister staff, supported by a contingent from Landis Valley (which is nearby), moved quickly and decisively to assess and deal with the problem. The first order of business was triage for the objects—identifying damage (and potential damage) and moving artifacts out of harm’s way. Documenting the event was also extremely important (the photos included here are just a few of many that were taken to make a record of what happened).

Once the initial condition assessments were made, the grunge work began. The kitchen’s brick floor had to be washed, and then it had to be dried to avoid the possibility of mold growth.

PHMC/Ephrata Cloister

PHMC/Ephrata Cloister

Objects were carefully cleaned to remove mud and debris that, if left to dry and harden, could do irreparable damage. Ephrata staff are monitoring the objects for signs of water damage and/or rust. In the long term, some objects will require further care and treatment by conservation professionals, but the quick actions of PHMC staff and volunteers ensured that these items will continue to help us tell the important story of religious freedom that is embodied at Ephrata. We prefer our lives not to be so dramatic. But preserving our shared heritage is what the people who work on the Trails of History do every day.