Employee Newsletter April 2021

I N D I A N A S TAT E M U S E U M A N D H I S T O R I C S I T E S

CROSSROADS EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021

LIFE IS GOOD FOR LORI WILLIS-RIGGEN

By Marc Allan Lori Willis loved to garden when she was a girl and thought she might make it her profession. But her mother warned repeatedly, “You’re never going to make any money at this.”

So, Lori pursued an associate’s degree in early childhood development, worked office jobs and gardened for fun. Then, about 15 years ago, her older daughter, Kayleigh, took a summer job at Designscape Horticultural Services in Nashville, Indiana, just down the hill from the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Kayleigh came home one day and said, “Mom, you’d just love this.” She encouraged her to apply for a job.

Lori did. And she loved it.

“Once they had me, I thought they’d have me forever,” she says. “I never thought I would go anywhere else.”

But last December, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites came calling.

John Spicklemire, vice president of system facilities and restoration, offered her the opportunity to be master gardener at T.C. Steele and oversee or have a hand in the grounds at Lanier Mansion, Corydon Capitol, Culbertson Mansion and New Harmony.

“I don’t make a whole lot of money,” Willis says, “but I also don’t spend my money on antidepressants or alcohol or drugs. So, in turn, man, I am living a really good life. If you really are doing what you truly love to do, it somehow works out, I guess.”

On a mid-spring day at T.C. Steele State Historic Site, the purple redbuds are blooming, the red flowering quince has started to bear fruit, the daffodils and narcissus are in their glory and the peonies are showing signs of life. There’s continued on next page

also a poplar tree that uprooted and needs to be chopped down, honeysuckle moving in on the wisteria, a water pump that must be fixed and a storage barn to clean out.

And Laura Willis-Riggen – that’s her full name – is in her element.

“I love a challenge,” she says, the knees of her jeans covered in mud. “I love a beautiful mess. It’s about people enjoying it. I love when people come through here and they’re just so happy.”

At Designscape, she was a nursery and landscape account manager and didn’t work outside as much as she likes. And while that was fine, she prefers to be a gardener.

Gardeners, she says, allow nature to take its course, stepping in when they must. Landscapers remove a lot of organic material because everything must look perfect immediately.

Gardeners compost. Landscapers get rid of organic material and replace it with leaves and dirt that has already been composted.

Gardeners plant seeds. Landscapers plant plants.

“It’s a little more disposable as a landscaper,” Willis says. “Instead of figuring out why something is ailing a plant and giving it time and giving it nutrients, a

landscaper is like, ‘Get it out.’”

Now that she’s in charge, “We’re going to use what we have here and not add compost that has already decomposed.

We’re going to be creating that here.”

She will do her best, she says, to adhere to the plans that Selma Steele, T.C. Steele’s second wife, designed for the property while preparing the land for future generations.

She grew up one of seven children in Greenwood, with a mom who was an avid gardener and a great aunt named Dorothy who took an interest in her. “When you’re one of seven, to get anybody’s attention is really wonderful.”

Dorothy would let young Lori run through her peonies and discover and play in her yard and her garden. Dorothy never drove, so the garage served as her potting shed. At an early age, Lori was already pushing a wheelbarrow.

Years later, after her parents retired to Brown County, Lori moved south too. She lived in a beautiful woodland, chalet-style

home on Greasy Creek for 25 years while she raised Kayleigh, now 34; Jacob, 26; and Gracie, 17 (and still at home). She was a member of the Brown County Garden Club and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. She earned her Master Gardener degree from Purdue University in 2000.

Then came the Designscape job. Last year, when ISMHS hired Designscape to do some work at T.C. Steele, Willis’s boss asked her if she wanted to work at the site.

“I came out and right away loved it,” she says. “I felt close to the property right away.”

Asked why he hired Willis, Spicklemire said, “Over 30 years of gardening experience, third-generation Master Gardener, highly motivated and great communication skills.”

Willis and her husband, Joe, a carpenter for a homebuilder, live in Jackson County, about a 45-minute drive from most of the historic sites she covers.

When she’s not working, she likes to cook big meals – pork roast, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes is a favorite. She makes bread. Grows cabbage, kale, greens, asparagus, rhubarb. Cans food. Raises chickens.

They hunt and process the venison. On the day of this interview, she brought her lunch to work – deer tidbits: cubed deer meat wrapped in bacon and cooked in a crockpot with zesty Italian dressing, salt and pepper and beef broth.

She and Joe like to walk and talk and be outdoors. She likes spending time with the one grandchild she has now and looks forward to the two who are on the way.

These days, her mom lives in Florida.

Periodically, Lori sends her pictures of the flowers and plants from the historic sites. She doesn’t remind her mom about supposedly never making any money at it.

“There’s no reason to,” she says. “But every now and then, she does say, ‘I’m very proud of you.’ So clearly that’s her way of saying, ‘Life is good, Lori.’”

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: ADAM DEKEMPER Adam DeKemper is the vice president of experience at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. He began working for the museum system in July 2006.

Adam’s duties include overseeing the development, design and production of all the experiences within the museum system. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Joni, daughter Myka (age 3), and dog Zeek (age 16).

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO SPEND A DAY OFF? Usually my days off consist of a laundry list of projects to do around the house, but when I am not doing that, I really like hopping on my bike and enjoying a nice leisurely bike ride where I can stop for a beer (or two) and relax in the warm sun with some fresh air.

WHAT'S THE CAREER HIGHLIGHT YOU'RE MOST PROUD OF? I would have to say the Footprints exhibit I designed in 2008. Not because it is the best or most engaging exhibit that I have done, but it was really my first South Gallery exhibit I designed from start to finish. There were a ton of taxidermy specimens that created some challenges for design and layout, so it really was a baptism by fire to make it all fit within a 7,000-square-foot

gallery. Footprints was also the first time I worked with Ron Richards and Damon Lowe on a project, so between all the hard work and jokes, it will always be one that I remember and cherish.

WHERE IS THE MOST INTERESTING PLACE YOU'VE BEEN? Two years ago, we flew out to Seattle, rented an RV and drove around Olympic National Park for about a week.

It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The park has three distinct ecosystems. We spent one day on a beach, the next day in a rainforest and the following day at a wildflower meadow. The change in environment and vegetation was truly amazing in such a small area.

Honorable mention: the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

IF YOU COULD SUDDENLY BECOME A MASTER AT A SKILL, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT IT TO BE? Hmmm, that is a tough one. I have been slowly remodeling our house, so I have been picking up various skills in connection with electrical, plumbing, carpentry, tile work, etc., but one thing I wish I could be better at is gardening/ landscaping. We have a lot of plants around the house and manage to kill something about every year. An instant green thumb would be nice.

WHAT'S THE MOST DARING THING YOU'VE EVER DONE? Having a child/becoming a parent – does that count?

You really don’t know what you are getting into until it happens, and it is 100% on you to take care of another human for at least the next 18 years.

MAY ANNIVERSARIES MARK RUSCHMAN Collections TYRIEE LOVE Security GREG BRYSON

Information Technology

9 years 9 years 8 years

TONY PERKINS New Harmony

7 years

RENEE BRUCK Marketing

3 years

JOHN SPICKLEMIRE Facilities Maintenance

2 years

SECURITY UPDATE CPR/AED AND FIRST AID TRAINING CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator) and first-aid certification training is back, but it will be different this year.

We will be offering blended learning, which consists of taking a three-hour course through Success Factors within two days and in-person testing with an ISMHS security representative days later. The in-person testing is required to complete the process and receive certification.

All courses are limited to 10 students per class, and final tests will be conducted in singular waves. Testing will consist of proper CPR procedures, use of an AED (adult/child/infant) and use of first-aid equipment. The test will take up to an hour.

This will help with keeping contact at a minimum and allows for proper cleaning of class equipment.

To register for a class, please email your date of choice to dchavez@ indianamuseum.org. You’ll receive confirmation once the class is posted. The following dates are tentative and subject to change:

SAFETY WALK-THROUGHS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES AND REFRESHERS AT THE INDIANA STATE MUSEUM Beginning May 3, we will be offering emergency safety walk-throughs throughout the museum every first Monday and Friday of each month.

During the walk-through you will learn the proper emergency egress, tour every emergency exit and learn proper emergency protocol.

This will be offered to all staff and other organizations within our building, and it is highly recommended to attend this at least once a year to keep familiar with areas throughout the facility. All safety walk-throughs will be limited to groups of six people.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

ISMHS CLASSES

Not able to make a safety walkthrough?

MAY 17 & 18

AUG. 16 & 17

3-hour course; test day on May 20

3-hour course; test day on Aug. 19

JUNE 14 & 15

SEPT. 13 & 14

3-hour course; test day on June 17

3-hour course; test day on Sept. 16

JULY 19 & 20

OCT. 18 & 19

3-hour course; test day on July 22

3-hour course; test day on Oct. 21

REGISTER

You can visit the S: Drive and view our ISMHS Emergency Safety Preparedness 2021 PowerPoint.

This covers what to do in fire, tornado, active shooter and building lockdown emergencies, as well as other emergency situations.

It also breaks down where all AEDs and first-aid supplies are located throughout the buildings. You can access this here: S:\ISMHS Safety & Security\ISMHS Safety Preparedness Info

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dustin or Tyriee.

DUSTIN CHAVEZ Security Coordinator dchavez@indianamuseum.org 317.234.2454

TYRIEE LOVE Director of Security tlove@indianamuseum.org 317.509.8543

A new pop of color has been added near the Watanabe Gardens at the Indiana State Museum.

Titled “Rhino Arch,” the yellow sculpture was installed on April 12, but the piece was created by Jerald Jacquard from corten steel and concrete in 1975.

Jacquard taught sculpture for more than 30 years at the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University in Bloomington. He also worked as a studio artist and won several prestigious awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship in 1962, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1972 and a Lilly Research Fellowship in 1981.

Jacquard’s work was rooted in the early 20th-century constructivist style. He used industrial materials in a three-dimensional format to showcase the dynamics of positive and negative space. The sculpture is elevated and balanced on three touch points, allowing the artist to visually deconstruct the mass and weight of the piece and suggest movement by leading the viewer’s eye through and around the piece.

“Rhino Arch” is installed in the temporary exhibition space dedicated to Colleen Smyth, a colleague who worked in museum’s education department and passed away unexpectedly in 2015. The sculpture will remain on display at the Indiana State Museum for about 18 months.

SHARE YOUR STORY IDEAS! Renee Bruck, manager of communication | 317.260.3506 | rbruck@indianamuseum.org