Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 11, 1995 TAG: 9507110014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
THE ROANOKE VALLEY History Museum is closed to the public this month. When it reopens on Aug. 1, both its executive director, Nancy Connelly, and "To The Rescue,'' its 4-year-old main exhibit, will be history.
Connelly, who took the job in 1990, has resigned to move to Connecticut with her husband in his new job.
"To the Rescue," an exhibit on the American rescue squad movement, which was begun in Roanoke, will move to a location that has not been announced.
Connelly's successor as executive director of the Roanoke Valley Historical Society and Roanoke Valley History Museum is Richard Loveland. He came on board May 1, bringing a diverse history of his own.
Loveland has been curator of the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, exhibits specialist at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, and a free-lance exhibit-museum consultant in Blacksburg.
"Any director of a small museum needs to be a generalist, multidisciplinary," he said. "You need to be able to change hats rapidly. I think that's a strength that I'm able to bring to this particular job, with an exhibits background, advertising-graphics background, educational programming, background as a curator.
"I have management skills and have worked with volunteers and staff members, different boards and federal and state agencies - being able to understand from the front lines basically each of those different tasks."
Loveland designed the Operation Desert Storm Memorial for the City of Norfolk, was schematic designer of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum's NAUTICUS project, and exhibit designer-project manager for areas of the Virginia Air and Space Center and the Hampton Roads History Center. He also has background in film and television production, is a graphic artist/silk-screen specialist and has taught silk-screen printmaking at Virginia Tech.
He grew up in New Jersey and entered Virginia Tech in 1969 to study architecture. He lives in Blacksburg with his wife and three children: Erin, 13, Ashleigh, 10, and Adam, 6.
Louise Loveland is a massage therapist whose maiden name is Divine.
The suited, bespectacled and articulate Loveland is the picture of propriety as he talks with a reporter in the museum's Clare White Research Library. But a dimple dents his cheek and low-key humor lights his grayish eyes as he contemplates the phone calls the couple might have received had they hyphenated their names when they wed.
Since joining the museum, Loveland has worked with a scale model to help him rethink the institution and reallocate its floor space. This month, his ideas become reality as construction begins, new exhibits are installed and certain permanent exhibit spaces are reworked. The spaces, including a new theater area, are expected to be completely redone by late August or early September.
"The new main exhibit is called ``'29 - Let's Go!' because that was sort of the battle cry of the 29th Division," Loveland said.
The exhibit will use photos, artifacts, models, dioramas and audio enhancement to follow the history of the U.S. Army's 29th Division, which grew out of the Stonewall Brigade led by Stonewall Jackson. It will cover the Colonial period, the Civil War, World War I, National Guard contributions during the 1920s and 1930s and World War II, with particular attention paid to the division's D-Day contributions. The 116th Regiment, which included soldiers from Roanoke and Bedford, experienced the heaviest casualties per capita during D-Day, Loveland noted.
A second part of the exhibit will look at the home front and life in Roanoke during the same period. The 29th Division's is a chronological story; the home front is more topical, Loveland said. One part will focus on the family and individuals, including music from the period, victory gardens, rationing cards and artifacts from typical homes. A section on groups and organizations will include civil defense and the Red Cross. Another section covering regional influences will examine the American Viscose Plant, Radford Army Ammunition Plant and larger-scale influences, Loveland explained.
A newsletter introducing Loveland to the Historical Society's members noted that he had "already come up with innovative and workable ideas for exhibits and projects."
One that he specifically noted is an increased emphasis on children's exhibits and activities. He said the museum intends to develop a small discovery space and special monthly Saturday programs for school-age children, who currently comprise only about 20 percent of the museum's visitors. Loveland said that tour groups, society members and older people make up the bulk of visitors.
"Something that I've stressed during my short time here is a cooperative spirit," Loveland said. "I've approached other individuals and museums looking for ways to build relationships between our organizations."
He said he'd like to work with other organizations to create new ventures and events, as well as to expand existing programs and ideas. For example, within Center in the Square, which the history museum shares with four other tenants, Loveland envisions coordination of exhibit schedules and cooperative efforts such as an exhibit of Roanoke architecture in the history museum to coincide with an exhibit of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's works in the Art Museum of Western Virginia in October.
"Think what that could mean for school groups," Loveland enthused. "They could get a more thorough understanding of a subject and it's more worthwhile for them."
Loveland said he also would like to develop walking tours of downtown Roanoke, perhaps in conjunction with the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hotel Roanoke and several other organizations; develop joint ticketing packages with other area attractions; and maybe do something fun, such as conduct tours of the area's haunted houses during the Halloween period. He also said he anticipates monthly special events, such as a USO-type dance, complete with a big-band, to kick off the ``29 - Let's Go!" exhibit.
"The museum's strongest assets are the community's strong support, its endless energy and ideas and its donations of incredible artifacts," Loveland said.
Its greatest challenge, as he sees it, will be to continue to offer a high level of exhibits and programs to the community in a cost-effective way that cuts across the different age segments and interests of its audience.
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB