Jasper County Historical Museum executive director to retire

Over the past three years, the Jasper County Historical Museum has seen many positive changes while under the direction of Ken Barthelman. The executive director announced his retirement last month, citing health related reasons.

Even after his retirement, Barthelman plans to pick up where he left off by volunteering on the historical society committee.

Home to the Washing Machine Center of the World, the museum displays exhibits related to the industrial, agricultural, and commercial and societal efforts of those living in Newton and in the county in the 1900’s.

Barthelman, a 1967 Newton Senior High School graduate, moved back to the area when he accepted the position in 2014 at the museum. He said he was excited by all the possibilities that were in front of him with rearranging and creating exhibits.

“The first thing we did was rearrange the washing machines and that freed up some space,” Barthelman said. “Then we wanted to make an exhibit featuring the Korean and Vietnam wars and then what civilians did in World War II.”

Barthelman said those projects took several years to complete even with the collaboration of the committee and volunteers.

“We started from scratch, and we have an inter-generational feel with not only people who went to war but people who stayed behind and worked in the factories and on the farms,” Barthelman said.

Through exhibits and while learning about Newton’s history, Barthelman said you can really see the resiliency of Newton.

“Newton Manufacturing burned down and they stayed in business for quite some time, and there have been some others that have failed to bankruptcy and then come back,” Barthelman said. “That’s something to do with the people who have been in Newton over the years.”

Barthelman said the biggest difference since he has been at the museum was the launching of the self-guided tours last year, which allows people to now look at things on their own and at their own pace.

“In order to do that, we had to add some security cameras and that sort of thing,” Barthelman said.

The museum has seen a steady amount of out-of-town visitors over the last few years and has increased its number of local visitors.

“We get a lot of people who say, ‘I’ve lived here and I’ve never come out,’ and then I say that’s you and thousands of others who live here,” Barthelman said.

Barthelman said there are regulars who come in and who will attend various events, such as, the cemetery walk and the Christmas open house. Even with the annual events, Barthelman said they would like to increase traffic in the second building, which gets overlooked.

“I think we can always make improvements, we would like to update the other building with the horse drawn carriage and mid-century tractors and find some way for people to go over there,” Barthelman said.

Barthelman said he has several ideas he hopes he can share with the exhibit committee once he is a volunteer.

As a cancer survivor, Barthelman said his health and his wife’s health are something he doesn’t take for granted. Anyone who knows Barthelman would picture glasses and shoulder-length hair. Barthelman said there was a story behind the locks on his head.

“In 1979 I was diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer. I did the pre-surgery, radiation, chemo and the surgery to remove and the surgery to reconnect,” Barthelman said. “A few months later it was the nasty chemo where your hair starts to fall out... When I got out of surgery, my surgeon told me I had a 60/40 chance for five-year survival and that kind of brought it home — that I could I die.”

Barthelman said he made a deal with himself that if he still had hair after five years and had the opportunity, then he would quit cutting his hair.

“And that’s what I did,” Barthelman said.

Barthelman and his wife run a small Amazon business, which is very demanding with shipping. The business is something he hopes to devote his time to.

Even though he may not be at the museum on a regular basis, Barthelman hopes to see continued growth and involvement from the community.

The lunch and learns sessions will continue through October during the second Wednesday of every month.

“I think its important for you to have some idea of the history of where you live whether you’re a native or not,” Barthelman said. “You can learn a lot from the past.”