Elenore Leonard, 2017

Curator of Collections, Andrew County (Missouri) Museum

I have been the curator of collections at the Andrew County Museum since June 2017. The museum is located in Savannah, Missouri, a small town with a great heart. The museum’s focus is the Rural Way of Life: the agricultural, social, religious, and political history of the area. It’s been a real and exciting challenge. Every day I find new objects and archival artifacts that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

As curator of collections, I maintain our main collection of artifacts, our photographic and archival collections, and oversee the genealogy department. Since we are a small museum, every day is a new adventure in collections management, museum administration, education, and programming challenges. I love every second of it, and wouldn’t trade it for a bigger museum. In my first six months with the museum, we had three temporary exhibits go up. I have a massive volunteer base – a great group of folks – who help with every aspect of my work, but especially exhibit install days. We have a great time telling and displaying the stories of Andrew County.