The AAM-accredited McFaddin-Ward House is pleased to host "Who Else Lived Here? The Historic House Museum Conference," first introduced by the museum in 1987. Museum professionals from all over the country will come to Beaumont to discuss "Who Else Lived Here?" on November 1-3, 2007. Please see below for brief descriptions of the program, the presenters and registration information. Many historic house museums are devoted to a particular person, family or way of life, but they do not exist in a vacuum. The McFaddin-Ward House has invited top scholars in the field to speak about how are other figures addressed. How are stories told? Do spouses, children and siblings, domestic employees, neighbors and friends, pets and pests, patrons and vendors, odors and sounds. or ghosts play a part in museum interpretation? As museum professionals strive to engage the public and embrace "community," the McFaddin-Ward House's conference will prepare historic house museums to consider and potentially implement alternative narratives. Dr. James Vaughan, Vice President of Stewardship of Historic Sites for the National Trust for Historic Preservation brings a wealth of experience to deliver the keynote address on Thursday, November 1st. Vaughan's program "Rethinking the Historic House Museum for the 21st Century" will discuss the role of historic house museums currently. Since April 2000, he has managed the Trust's 28 historic museums located throughout the United States. Prior to joining the National Trust, Vaughan was the Executive Director of Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage, in Nashville, Tennessee from 1994-2000. He previously had served as Executive Director of several other prominent museums across the country, including the San Diego Historical Society in California, the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware and Strawbery Banke, Inc. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Vaughan received his bachelors and masters degrees from The Ohio State University and completed his doctoral exams in American History at the University of New Hampshire. The first session on Friday focuses on gender. Dr. Page Talbott of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary will begin by providing a more accurate description of the bespectacled founding father by discussing "Benjamin Franklin at home (and away from) home." While he was in Paris, France, how did his wife and children maintain his printing business and home? Talbott is Chief Curator of the major traveling exhibit on Franklin. Dr. Ware Petznick, Curator of the McFaddin-Ward House, will follow with an analysis of "The Boy Zone: How Gender drove the Third Floor Restoration." While the first two floors of the McFaddin-Ward House were restored for the museum's opening in March 1986 and have a noted feminine character, the third floor remained untouched. Several factors were involved in the furnishing and restoration plans for that space, but gender was a major factor. While McFaddin men were discussed on tour prior to the third floor restoration, the third floor affords a greater opportunity for visitors to see their role in the life of the historic house. Both papers in this session will illustrate how including spouses, children and siblings can enrich history. The second session of the day relates to domestic employees and how including them in museum interpretation can embrace a broader community. Dr. Elizabeth O'Leary, Associate Curator of American Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia opens the session with her experiences in creating "In Service and Beyond: Interpreting Southern Domestic Service at Maymont House, Richmond, Va." O'Leary worked with Dale Wheary, Curator of Maymont, to secure a National Endowment for the Arts grant to research and to install a permanent exhibit in the home dedicated to Maymont's domestic employees. The result has greatly increased visitation at the Virginia historic house museum and has brought significant attention to the vital role staff had in the operation of households. After lunch, this theme will continue with Judith W. Linsley, Education Coordinator at the McFaddin-Ward House, who will expand upon her influential article "Main House, Carriage House: African-American Domestic Employees at the McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont, Texas, 1900--1950" (1999). Linsley will discuss "You Didn't Go There to Sit Down: Domestic Employees at the McFaddin-Ward House." Domestic employees have been a part of the McFaddin-Ward House tour for many years, and Linsley will relate how and why the museum added their story. Christine Baron, Principal of Baron Consulting, will add to the domestic employee theme in terms of race and will address obstacles that may arise when trying to implement changes to tours. Do museums unintentionally hide the truth from their visitors, and what benefit can there be in seeking to tell difficult stories? Baron will relate some of the intricacies of introducing "uncomfortable truths" to a museum that has been accustomed to telling the same tale for generations. Her work for the Old North Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts will provide practical advice for museum's trying to expand or alter their interpretation with "One if by Land! Two if by River?: or What to do when everything you know is wrong." Next, Anthony Bellov will share the advantages of embracing a controversial subject. Bellov has served the Merchant's House in New York, New York for many years and has long been intrigued by its reputation as the most haunted house in Manhattan. Bellov's program "Some Say They Never Left: How the Merchant's House Utilizes its Ghostly Reputation to Help Visitors Better Understand What Life was Really Like in Mid-19th Century New York City" will give conference attendees much to consider and will likely bring much debate. Saturday morning begins with "Scents and Music: Sensory Story-Telling." Steve Long, Vice President of Collections and Education at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York, New York. Sensory story-telling is increasingly entering museums to help visitors remember history. Adults and children learn differently by utilizing multiple senses, which seems to be one of the universal tools for memory development and retention. The Tenement Museum has successfully integrated both scent and sound in their exhibit spaces. Long will relate the museum's practical experiences installing and using these features in the urban home. Conservation concerns about introducing scent will be addressed in Long's program. Saturday morning will continue with the truth about cats and dogs. In terms of museum branding, should museums shift their focus from their central theme to include Fido or Sister? Many a house is not a home without some sort of animal as a pet, either indoor or outdoor. This has not always been the case, as animals used to be viewed more as workers than as companions. Nathan Stalvey, Curator of Temporary and Traveling Exhibits at the McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina, will discuss "Pets in America." Stalvey worked closely with Dr. Katherine Grier on researching and developing the traveling exhibit and book, which is undoubtedly the most comprehensive study to date on the history of pets in America. How museums introduce a pet to the exhibit will be discussed. Finally, should a museum put out Fido's bowl with some faux-kibble or embrace a ghost? The final presenter of the conference will help museum professionals answer such questions. Margot Wallace, faculty member in the Department of Marketing and Communication at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, is an authority on museum branding. She will present "Beyond the brass plaque: a brand with many rooms," which is based on her acclaimed book Museum Branding: how to create and maintain mage, loyalty, and support (AltaMira Press, Sept. 2006). Wallace can offer museum professionals the very latest thoughts on museum branding and marketing. Ultimately, each museum must know its strengths and build on them. Wallace will propose areas in which historic house museums should develop their brand, which is certain to be an eye-opener to many museum professionals. Whether a museum answers the question "Who Else Lived Here?" for every visitor or uses lessons learned at the conference to answer specific questions from the public for docent training is only something each museum can decide for itself. Know thyself becomes even more important for museums as competition for visitors' time continues to grow. The conference will bring new insight, technology and perspectives on historic house museums and will conclude with a tour of the McFaddin-Ward House. Ample time is built into the schedule so that attendees may discuss sessions, socialize and enjoy Beaumont. The McFaddin-Ward House looks forward to welcoming colleagues and friends back to Beaumont for this exciting and important conference. Registration $125 and special room rates are available at the Hotel Elegante for conference attendees. $89. Registration materials will be mailed soon, but if you did not receive a "Save the Date" postcard and would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact me at [log in to unmask] . L.W.S. Petznick, Ph.D. McFaddin-Ward House Curator of Collections 725 N. Third St. Beaumont, TX 77701 [log in to unmask] 409.832.1906 p 409.832.3483 f SAVE THE DATE for Who Else Lived Here? The Historic House Museum Conference Nov 1-3, 2007 in Beaumont, Texas at the Hotel Elegante. $125 Registration, $89 special room rate for conference. <http://www.mcmelegantebeaumont.com> www.mcmelegantebeaumont.com The McFaddin-Ward House features three floors of original furnishings, including a newly restored third floor. Explore the McFaddins' world in the years surrounding the First World War for "Foxtrots and Foxholes" throughout 2007. Call 409-832-2134 for tour information. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).