Kathy Hussey-Arntson is director of the Wilmette Historical Museum.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Evanston, so I’d say I know this area pretty well.
Q: How did you first become interested in history?
A: My background is in anthropology; I got my master’s degree at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. I worked in that field, and then I got a job working with the Chicago Public Library, working with their Civil War collection, and that got me interested in history.
Q: How long have you been with the Wilmette Historical Museum?
A: For 23 years. I started as the director when I first came here in 1993, but at first it was a part-time job. That’s definitely not the case now.
Q: What do you like most about the job?
A: My favorite part? I love working with the collections, taking care of them, cataloging them and putting them on display.
Q: What would you like people to know about the museum that you think they might not know?
A: One thing people might not know is that the museum has been in the village for more than 65 years; we’re in our 66th year. It opened in 1951, in the basement of what was then the village hall. The village actually help start the museum.
Q: What can people see if they visit the museum now?
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A: Our current exhibit, which runs all of this year, is “The Sixties.” It’s a fun exhibit with fashions and music, and some political background. We’ve tried to take the national trends of those times and find their local aspects, and there are some really interesting ones. We have other exhibits, too!
Q: One non-historical question. When you don’t want to cook dinner, what’s your favorite food?
A: I think it would be pizza, probably pizza with chicken and a bunch of vegetables.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut
–Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy