The San Benito County Historical Society Museum in Hollister is now open to the public on Saturdays thanks to the staffing of a new docent.
Jacob Giretti McDonald, a Historical Society board member and recent Monterey Peninsula College graduate, will be on site at the museum on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to welcome guests, provide tours through the house, and help with local history questions.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to stop by and learn a little bit about their home,” said McDonald. “If I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to get it to them as soon as I can.”
In the past, the museum was open by appointment, and the research room was open every second Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “We went from no hours, to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” he said. “Now people can come by and check it out on the weekend.”
Six visitors stopped by during the first week. “It’s mostly people seeing the museum who’ve never seen it open and now we have an open sign out there,” McDonald said. For people who haven’t grown up locally, he noted, “It was interesting for them to see the town the way it was and how it is now. We haven’t had any younger people in. I’m hoping to get high school students or people my age, in their twenties, to come in and check out the museum.”
MUSEUM FEATURES
The museum has displays and exhibits of: The Steinbeck family house and dairy, sheriffs of San Benito County, biker history, Black History Month, local businesses with historical buildings, Tiffany Ford, New Idria mine,old children’s toys, Native Americans, Pinnacles National Park, old pharmacy items, Churches in San Benito County, guns, numerous historical books, and a nook with pre-TV media such as record players.
Additionally, there is a research room with newspaper archives that go back to the 1920s, and newspapers on microfilm that predate those issues. For those researching genealogy, the museum has county marriage records, death certificates, historical street maps, old photo collections, and cemetery lists.
There is an open display case in the event locals would like to see a new exhibit. McDonald said, “If people say they’d like to see a display on something, I’d love to hear some opinions.”
The museum itself is a house built in 1910, occupied by the family of George Wapple, a local pharmacist. The first floor is open to the public.
The museum recently hosted an event for the re-release of the 1913 T.S. Hawkins memoir, Some Recollections of a Busy Life. Hawkins’ descendant, Dave Eggers, who had written an introduction in the reprint, was present to meet with a packed building of readers and guests.
Regarding the museum in general, McDonald said, “I think it’s a great place to come. Take a couple of hours, come down here and learn about your home and the places around you. It can really be eye-opening.”
LEARNING HISTORY
When asked why history is important, McDonald, noted the value of people knowing where they’ve come from. “It’s important to know how events or movements started, to understand what’s going on today,” he said.
In a museum dedicated to learning about history, McDonald noted he was available to help answer questions. He said, “I’m always available when I’m here if people have questions. I don’t mind helping people out finding something.”
As an example, he described a recent inquiry: “Someone was curious about a building over by Sacred Heart School,” said McDonald. “A two-story building originally built as a convent for nuns and also a grammar school.” He said newspaper research led to the discovery the building’s approval process began in 1927. “It turned out to be a Wolfe building, a prominent architect around here.” He went on to describe the process, saying, “It’s interesting to turn the pages and every couple of weeks find an update. You get a fast-forward through history of the process of the building.”
Looking at the historical maps from 1910 and 1924, Hollister’s old boundaries of North Street and South Street made for a much more compact, and rectangle-shaped, town. “It’s interesting knowing how the town developed and who lived there,” McDonald said.
On a person-to-person basis, McDonald explained how one can learn what life was like in the past. He said, “If you come and read a newspaper and see the day-to-day happenings of what’s going on in a tiny town like this, it’s really interesting. I hope that would draw younger people to be into history.” He went on to say, “These people lived in the same area I did. They knew the same streets I knew. This is what their life was like. I think that’s really important to know how people have progressed through the ages.”
McDonald gave one example of looking at older sports reports, saying, “I love playing baseball. People were playing baseball here in the 1880s. If I was in a time machine and went back, I’d be able to play a game with these people. I find that connection interesting.”
AIMING FOR EDUCATION
A lifelong Hollister resident born in Gilroy. McDonald went to Sacred Heart School, San Benito School, and Gavilan College before attending MPC as a history major. “I’m in the process of transferring. I haven’t decided on a school yet,” he said.
When asked about his potential choices, McDonald mentioned northern schools like Humboldt, Chico, San Jose, and Sonoma. He said, “I’m not much of a southern California kind of guy. I’m really outdoorsy and like to hike.”
Regarding career plans, McDonald said, “I would really love to teach. Originally, I thought I’d teach high school, but now I’ve gotten into maybe teaching at a junior college. I really had a great time at Monterey and a lot of my instructors were great.” For the time being, he said he’s looking into different areas, such as museum work and archiving.
While discussing his enjoyment of history, McDonald said, “I really enjoy the research aspect of history and have come to love writing papers about it. It’s really interesting how you can find stuff out of the little details.” He mentioned a research project on budget menus that led to looking up California’s evolution from grain-based crops to more specialty crops. “I dove into agricultural history and thought it was wonderful. That’s what I really enjoy is little things like that.”
McDonald’s semester-long break from school allows him to work as a docent, but he plans to return to school in the fall.
BECOMING A DOCENT
New docents are being sought by the Historical Society, both to open the museum on weekdays and to maintain the Saturday openings after McDonald returns to school.
“We do need volunteers to help keep the museum open,” said McDonald.
McDonald noted the museum itself as the best way of getting future docents interested. “Hopefully someone will come in, see it, and fall in love with it, and say ‘I want to do this,'” he said.
“I would definitely love to keep doing it, if I wasn’t going away to school,” McDonald explained. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s also not a huge burden. I get to do some research and talk to some folks.”
In regard to qualifications, McDonald said, “You don’t need to be in the Historical Society. We have a sheet at the front, and people can contact me if they’re interested in it.” He added, “They can email me, or come in here and talk it over.”
To become a docent, Sharlene Van Rooy can be contacted at 831-635-0335 or via email at docent@sbchistoricalsociety.org .
The San Benito County Historical Society Museum is located at 498 Fifth St.
You must be logged in to post a comment.