Historical society director plans retirement
After a decade of collecting and preserving Butler County's past, Pat Collins has decided to try something new.
The executive director of the Butler County Historical Society has announced she is leaving the position at the end of the month.
“I am retiring. Technically, my last day will be Sept. 27,” Collins said.
Collins has headed the historical society for 10 years she said, ever since she retired from the United Parcel Service.
She felt it was time to make the change.
Collins said, “ I have always had the attitude that after 8 to 10 years in a position like this it is time to move on, get in some fresh ideas and new blood.”
Some of that new blood is Sara Donaldson, 24, who was hired Sept. 5 to be the society's new education and outreach coordinator.
Donaldson, originally from DuBois who graduated from Clarion University with a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in library and information science with a specialization in local and archival studies, said, “I've always had an interest in history. I had a grant as an undergrad to do archival research at Mount Holyoke in South Hadley, Mass. This is where I was meant to be.”
She replaces the departed Steve Collins who was Collins' assistant for seven years.
Where Pat Collins means to be in the near future is in Maryland to be close to her daughters and her grandchildren. “I plan on spending time with the children and grandchildren,” she said, with an eye toward making the move permanent.
“I have two daughters down in Maryland. I'm going to stay with one of them and be a grandmother to two grandchildren (ages 2 and 3). If I can keep up with them I might decide to stay there and be a grandma,” said Collins.
Collins, a Butler native and graduate of Butler High School, leaves behind some accomplishments she takes pride in orchestrating, such as the society's move into the Senator Lowrie House, at 123 W. Diamond St., in 2006
Built by the only United States senator to come from Butler, Walter Lowrie, in 1828, the senator sold the house in 1836 to local attorney, George Washington Smith, who sold the house and grounds to Charles Craven Sullivan in 1839.
The house and its furnishings were bequeathed to the society in 1986, by Isabelle Shaw, a descendant of Sullivan.“Her mother was the last occupant of the house,” Collins said. “She lived here from 1959 to 1986.”Major restoration projects have been completed, both structural and decorative. Furnishings have been returned to their appropriate rooms, the original Wilton wall-to-wall carpet has been recreated, and the house has been returned to its splendor of the late 19th century.“Our mission is to collect, preserve and educate,” she said. “It's important to preserve it. Collect this stuff and preserve it.”She noted that the historical society also has 35,000 to 40,000 old pictures in its collection.The effort to digitize all its collections continues she said. “I would say there is a lot more needs to be done. It's a work in progress.”And she's had a lot of help, she noted.“I'm always amazed at the amount of young volunteers that come from the schools and the universities,” said Collins. “Your volunteers, they are your strength. The historical society is only as strong as its volunteers.”But the Butler County Historical Society doesn't just preserve history in its digitized archives and printed books and pamphlets.“We've always kept things busy through the years and tried new things, always,” said Collins.She said she's also proud of her part in the society's “Echoes from Our Past — Historic Cemetery Walk,” an annual event in Butler's North Side Cemetery.The walk doesn't feature ghost or fictional stories.“Echoes from Our Past” brings history to life through costumed actors portraying the characters and events of Butler County's ancestors.The endeavor is a collaboration between the historical society, the Butler Little Theatre, and the North Side Cemetery Association.And it's one that Donaldson is making a top priority to keep running.Donaldson said the cemetery walk began in 2013, took a hiatus in 2016 and 2018 and moved from September to May this year.
Donaldson said, “My first priority is to learn as much as I can about local connections and start planning the first event, a cemetery walk in May 2020.”“I need to maintain and preserve the integrity of the cemetery walk,” Donaldson said. “But it's definitely not gong to be this fall. I need to get my feet on the ground.”“I think I see a lot of interest in Butler County history,” said Donaldson. “As much as anything, people in this area love books and love to see books of local history.”And after the Walldogs' project, county residents could see county history writ large on the sides of buildings in downtown butler.Collins was responsible for bringing the Walldogs, a group of muralists from around the world, to Butler in July 2015 to paint 10 murals on downtown buildings.Then-Butler mayor Mayor Tom Donaldson thanked the painters for making the city better, and also honored Collins, with a key to the city.“I never expected that,” Collins said at the time of the honor. “From the time I first saw a city that had been transformed by a Walldog meet, this was something I wanted to see brought to Butler. It's the culmination of my hopes and dreams to bring this to the city and watch these murals come to life.”Speaking of life, Collins said this week, “I'm going live a little bit and enjoy my family.”The board of the historical society will pick Collins' successor, but Donaldson said, “I'm looking forward to keeping up Pat's legacy.”
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