Official Sees Historic Farm As A Destination

DON FABER

FABER'S WORLD

Official sees historic farm as a destination

■ Cobblestone emphasizes accuracy in presentation.

By DON FABER

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Curator in everything but name, Elizabeth (Betsy) Calhoun keeps a close eye on things at the Cobblestone Farm Museum.

From her office in the Ticknor-Campbell House at 2781 Packard in Ann Arbor, Calhoun articulates her vision for this area attraction.

“We don’t have to be Greenfield Village,” she says, “but we still have a lot to offer, including insight into mid-19th century farm and domestic life. Also, we emphasize historical accuracy, so we can’t be too pretty.”

Calhoun is president of the Cobblestone Farm Association, an office to which she’s already been re-elected twice, despite only arriving here in 1994 from New York.

There, she got training and experience in museum operations by working in documentation and as a registrar at the FDR National Historic Site in Hyde Park in the employ of the National Park Service.

Born in Grand Rapids and raised in Grand Haven, Calhoun received her education at the University of Michigan and the State University of New York. Her graduate degree is in public history from SUNY-Albany.

So Ann Arbor is a homecoming of sorts for this Michiganian who would like the Packard Road site to be a 'true destination point, such as the U-M and the Art Fairs.

Her vision includes an expanded living history program, a bigger garden and “more animals than just clucks and ducks.” And her best case scenario is a living history encampment, with period costumes and all.

During her brief tenure, Calhoun already has introduced some changes. “We’ve tried to put a greater emphasis on people and how they lived. We’ve tried to show some activity - inject some personality into the house - instead of just portraying a static life."

In that regard, the next opportunities to see the farm come alive with activity are July 6 and Aug. 3, when living history events include a celebration of Independence Day in 1851 and a day in the kitchen garden.

Other changes Calhoun has instituted include the rearrangement of furnishings to represent antebellum (pre-Civil War) life before window screens and electricity.

And drivers cruising by on Packard will want to take notice of the bright green exterior shutters, also historically accurate, which will soon be in place. The shutter restoration typifies the ongoing visible improvements being made at the site.

Unfortunately, replicating the shutter hardware “put us over budget,” says Calhoun. The budget, at $17,000 a year, "is barely enough to do projects, do some minor conservation and replenish the coffers” of the Cobblestone Farm Association.

Updating professional standards, documenting artifacts and “being more careful of what we accept” with an eye toward storage and conservation take up the rest of Calhoun’s volunteer time.

Longtime CFA member Marguerite Harms says this of Calhoun: “I am pleased to observe what ‘new blood’ can do. This young, enthusiastic and articulate woman ... has made the Cobblestone Farm Museum a labor of love.”

Even so, she can’t do without help. A corps of about 30 volunteers, mostly elderly, devoted more than 600 hours last year. But people with a variety of talents are still needed.

They’ll find that the mid-1850s is the time period of main focus. Life was rural then, with Packard a dirt road and no plank sidewalks as there were in town.

The Ticknor family, when members weren’t dying young of tuberculosis, grew crops typical to Washtenaw County at that time.

Married with no children, Calhoun praises the working relationship she has with the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department. The City owns the house and takes care of day-to-day maintenance.

“We enjoy the minutiae of things here,” says Calhoun, “but we have to appeal to people in other ways.

How does what they see here connect with experiences in their own lives? What do we have that’s of interest to folks?”

Her top satisfaction comes from “bringing artifacts to life for people to reflect on mid-19th century activity and get interested in history.”

If you would like to work with programs, do research and develop new projects, the number to call is 994-2928. The “curator” thanks you in advance.

If you would like to recommend someone for a Faber's World column, send your suggestion to Don Faber at The Ann Arbor News, 340 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106-1147. He can be reached by calling 994-6858.

ELIZABETH (BETSEY) CALHOUN

■ Age: 33

■ Residence: Livonia

■ Occupation: Museum professional

■ Community involvement: President, Cobblestone Farm Association; Washtenaw County Historical Society