Mike Schiltz of North Aurora is a self-professed history buff who found himself in a good place recently at the Depot Museum in Batavia.
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“Actually, I love history … I consider myself a history geek,” he said while looking at a lot of World War I artifacts on display in the new spring exhibit at the museum celebrating our country’s 250th anniversary.
The exhibit, called “To Secure These Rights,” opened in early March and runs through Aug. 9 at the museum at 155 Houston St.
“We wanted to make sure that we did something new and different to celebrate the 250th anniversary, that was the one driving force to put this particular exhibit together,” Depot Museum Director Kate Garrett said. “We spent a lot of time thinking about what it was going to look like, and decided to go with something that would celebrate people who have helped to make the ideals of the Declaration of Independence be true for Americans – the folks who have fought for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“For us in Batavia, that looks like stories of military service, civil rights work including suffrage work, and lots of folks who have put their own livelihood or comfort on the line in service of those ideals,” she said.
Work on the exhibit actually began three years ago as museum officials knew the 250th anniversary of the United States was coming up.
“We’ve been working on it really hard – researching, putting together artifacts that tell a whole story,” she said. “We’ve got lots of photographs, lots of artifacts including five different service uniforms that are on display.”
Other items include letters and diaries written by soldiers and nurses while they were in the service as well as a business card “from the first woman who ever ran for office in Batavia.”
“As far as the collection goes, most of the items have been donated to the museum by Batavians over the years – children of soldiers and service members,” she said.
Jessica Meis, curator for the museum, said she has been working now for almost three years at the site and that the new exhibit “has a really great national story.”
“All across the U.S., everyone is celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence so for us to be able to pinpoint the way Batavians have fought for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – it’s really great to be a part of that national story,” she said.
Meis said she was particularly struck by “Miss Feldach,” the first woman who ran for City Council, and predicted that a diary recently donated from the family of World War II vet Charles Chemes would likewise be a big attraction.
Jeff Ruhl of Batavia stopped by the museum recently and said he “liked the way the museum had put things together.”
“I’m into history, especially World War I and II. Seeing these artifacts – people risked their lives for what we have today,” he said.
Elisha Sharp of Lisle said she was struck “with all of the exhibit because I don’t know anything about the history of Batavia.”
“I’m impressed with the nurse uniform they have here and the fact it’s survived all this time,” she said. “Walking back in time, it’s great.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.