Making the past a draw in the present: McHenry County history museum’s new leader plans new events

If Jolie Diepenhorst has a goal, it is to get people in to visit the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum.

That hasn’t always been an easy task, according to board President Bob Frenz.

“We think we have a very good small museum, but we are probably not located in the most populated areas of the county with the most foot traffic,” Frenz said.

Diepenhorst joined the historical society and museum in Union as its executive director in October. She has some ideas about increasing that foot traffic, including partnerships with other museums, a museum book club and offering more programming at the museum campus at 6422 Main Street in Union.

Diepenhorst is bringing ideas she cultivated as the community programs manager at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, and most recently as the senior manager for interpretation and programs at the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Edith Farnsworth House in Plano.

“I have been in archives. I have curated exhibits, and I have created programming. I can help the historical society move forward and engage, and bring people back” to the campus, she said.

Those ideas include a “Museum Week” in January to bring museums together “for the same goal of supporting each other ... to get people back, to go tour us” and other area museums, she said. “We are here to support one another.”

Diepenhorst is a newcomer to McHenry County. Originally from a small town in Texas, she and her family were living and working in the Denver suburbs when they decided it was time for a change and focused on the Chicago metro area for a job search.

“I can help the historical society move forward and engage, and bring people back.”

—  Jolie Diepenhorst, executive director at the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum

She has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in applied and architectural history, giving her a broad net to cast when looking for a job involving history.

“I couldn’t decide museum or preservationist, so I did both,” Diepenhorst said.

Preservation is the key, whether saving documents or saving buildings.

“What we are seeking to preserve is either 2D or 3D,” she said.

The 2D preservation is often words on paper – like a speech, a will or a diary. The 3D side of preservation involves “objects, like the milk truck we have. We want to preserve that and make sure it is conserved so we have it forever,” Diepenhorst said.

As a preservationist, what she cannot tell those who ask – like in an email she received recently – what they can and cannot do with their home with a historical plaque.

“I don’t know where their plaque is from” or what teeth that preservation ordinance may have in it, Diepenhorst said. What she can help with is talking about what preservation is and how it affects everyone. “I can tell people what is great about preservation.”

Telling people what is great about the museum and it buildings is also part of that, along with getting them into those buildings.

Right now, the museum is promoting a Christmas tree raffle and its Warm Up to History Christmas Cafe and Open House, set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 7. Part of the Marengo-Union House Walk, there will be carolers, hot chocolate and coffee. The Christmas Tree raffle is raffling off a 7-foot balsam fir. Tickets for the Christmas Tree raffle and information on the house walk are available at the museum website, McHenrycountyhistory.org.

The first McHistory Book Club event – one of Diepenhorst’s new programs – is set for 6-7 p.m. Jan. 13 at the museum. The book will be “Coming to America” by Roger Daniels. Other books she’s looked at doing include “The Radium Girls” by Kate Moore and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

“These are really great stories. We can talk about these things and how it affects us in McHenry, in Illinois and in our national as a whole,” Diepenhorst said.

The museum’s previous director, Wayne Duerkes, left the position after a few months and became managing director of the Canal Corridor Association, which coordinates the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Area based in La Salle.

Frenz and the McHenry County museum board are enthused about the excitement its new director brings to the role, he said.

Diepenhorst “has a lot of great ideas and enthusiasm that she brings to the position,” Frenz said, adding they’ve already seen that in her interaction with the board, the staff and the public.

“We look forward to working with her for a number of years,” Frenz said.