By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Annette Wells has a soft spot for sharing history – whether its Thomas Edison’s inventions, Lake Erie shipwrecks, or Wood County’s “poor farm.”
It started in high school when she worked as a tour guide at Edison’s birthplace in her hometown of Milan.
It continued into college, when Wells would return to work at the inventor’s museum during the summers.
It led to a switch in her major at Mercyhurst University, from archeology to public history and museum studies – which led her back to Edison’s birthplace where she became museum director.
From there, her love of history led her to the director’s position at the Sandusky Maritime Museum.
And now, that passion for the past has brought Wells to the Wood County Museum. She is the new director, taking over for Kelli Kling, who is moving back to her roots near Dayton.
“I have worked in museums since high school,” said Wells. “I decided to turn my summer job into a career.”
Wells, who moved to Bowling Green two years ago with husband Dominic and their two sons, said she is impressed with the county museum site and with its changing exhibits.
“One of the things I really like about this place is most of the buildings are still here,” she said, listing off the original corn barn, chicken coop and ice house, in addition to the main building that was used as a home for county residents who were indigent or ill.
“You don’t have to go very far in your mind to travel back in time and see what it was like,” Wells said.
While parts of the museum are maintained as a functioning “poor house” for county residents, much of the site changes with comprehensive exhibits such as the current exhibit on romance and marriage in Wood County, and the previous exhibit on World War I with a focus on the local impact of the war.
“I like how dynamic the exhibits are here,” Wells said. “This place has its own historic importance, but we also have to tell the story outside these walls.”
Wells also loves the partnerships that exist between the museum and other community groups – such as the Ag Venture tours with the Wood Soil and Water Conservation District, ongoing programs with the Wood County Park District, and visits to area schools to share stories about the Great Black Swamp and the people who settled here.
Wells brings to the job her experience in grant writing, fundraising and cultivating community partnerships. She is committed to continue efforts to appeal not only to local residents, but also those traveling through.
“We want to be a destination in people’s minds,” she said.
That means a focus on family-based events.
“It’s what I look for when I’m traveling” with two young children, she said.
Wells also supports efforts to bring more organization to the museum collections – which have been growing since the 1970s as local residents donate historic items to the site.
“We are the stewards of that,” she said.
A massive storage renovation is underway in the museum attic, so memorabilia can be safely stored and accessed for exhibits.
“We owe it to the community who has donated these things to preserve them,” Wells said. “We want to use the objects to tell people about the past.”
Wells acknowledged that not everyone is a history buff. “So we have to do it in a fun way,” she said.
Efforts are underway to grow hops on the museum site. “We eventually want to create a ‘County Home’ beer,” she said. And plans are in place to bring more music to the museum with more porch concerts.
“We want to offer more of those next summer,” she said.
The next big exhibit planned at the Wood County Museum will focus on World War II. “Of course it will have a hometown spin on it,” she said. That exhibit is tentatively planned to open in 2025.
