(The following story by Tim Rohwer appeared on the Daily Nonpareil website on August 26.)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — There are a lot of people who make things move at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.
That certainly includes some 90 volunteers who donate much of their free time to help make the museum one of the area’s top tourist attractions.
“It’s a wonderfully professional group, and without them we couldn’t open our doors,” said Andi Hodge, the museum’s director of guest and member services. “It’s not like they’re just putting time in. They’re very dedicated and have a lot of pride in the museum.”
“They know the museum inside and out,” added Gail Hunter, board president of the Friends of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.
That’s certainly true for Richard Philpot, a volunteer even before the museum opened five years ago.
“I’m interested in history and museums in general,” he said.
According to Philpot, volunteer training includes studying a handout about the museum, but information is often available from other volunteers, many of whom worked for the railroad itself, he added. Information on particular exhibits and railroading books in general also provide knowledge for helping visitors learn more about the museum, Philpot said.
Not only that, but Philpot himself helps set up exhibits and guides tours.
“I work everywhere,” he said.
“He wears all the hats,” Hodge said.
Some volunteer quite regularly, while others are on-call when needed, according to Hodge.
“As far as recruiting, we advertise and we talk to civic groups,” she said. “Word of mouth, that works the best.”
The museum’s operation is overseen by the Board of Directors of Friends of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum that meets once a month to go over things. The August meeting is this evening at the museum.
The board reviews finances, seeks out any available grants and discusses new exhibits of possible interest, according to Hunter. It also oversaw the recent installation of a new museum Web site – www.uprrmuseum.org – that provides the latest information of what’s happening at the museum, he said.
“We felt it was one of the most effective marketing tools we could use,” Hunter said.
The board consists of 14 members, all of whom are active in the community in many ways, he said. Other board members are Tom Lynch, Jody Edwards, Mark Brandenburg, Cindy Carlin, Kate Cutler, Bonnie Green, Mary Ann Hanusa, Carl Heinrich, Larry Miller, Ben Post, Gloria Ruesch, Matt Ryan and Michael Shelton.
The museum also reaches out to the public, particularly school children, to help them learn about railroads and their history.
That’s one of the duties of Patricia LaBounty, outreach coordinator.
“I work to provide teachers with tools for the classroom or when they come here,” said LaBounty, who also helps create special events for the museum.
She’s does the same for the General Dodge House and the RailsWest Railroad Museum.