NHBM Executive Director Devon Kurtz

The New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail recently welcomed Devon Kurtz as the new Executive Director of the New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM). Kurtz joins NHBM at a key time for the organization, which is opening for its first full season at its 24,000 square-foot Moultonborough facility on Saturday, May 24.

“We are thrilled to have Devon on board,” said Trail President Jeff Barraclough. “He has a wide breadth of museum experience and a unique perspective and passion for history that will resonate down the entire Trail.”

Kurtz has decades of experience working with museum exhibits, educational programming, and history. Most recently, he worked in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, where he collaborated with the National Park Service to explore the regional impacts of the American Industrial Revolution. He has also worked at the Higgins Armory Museum, the Concord Museum, and Old Sturbridge Village living history museum.

“I’m really excited to return to a formal museum that also has boat building, lake rides, restoration, model building, and more,” said Kurtz. “NHBM is passionate about engaging visitors, and there’s potential to do even more of that.”

According to Kurtz, NHBM is uniquely positioned because they are “still building the museum.” “Over the next couple of years, we’ll be developing and experimenting with different types of interpretation – whether museum panels or use of technology – to engage visitors with our story,” he added.

He also highlighted NHBM’s strong team of volunteers working on exhibit designs all winter. On his second day in the office, he described helping volunteers carry in and paint “a huge stack” of wood to build the docks for NHBM’s Marina Exhibit, “Mahogany Marvels.” “Our volunteers have transformed this pile of lumber into extraordinary exhibits for our visitors,” he noted.

As NHBM prepares to open for the season, Kurtz said there’s “a buzzing excitement” around opening day. At the end of April, NHBM hung a sign with their logo outside their entrance. “To quote one volunteer,” he said, “‘We have arrived.’”

In addition to the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Moultonborough, member institutions on the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail are located in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, Merrimack Valley, and Seacoast.

Tomatoes harvested at Remick Farm. Photo Credit – Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash

On Saturday, May 10, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm will host Soil Enhancements and Composting for Your Garden, the second in a seven session gardening series.

Designed for participants age 16 and older, the series is geared towards beginner gardeners, but Remick Museum Executive Director Cara Sutherland said more experienced gardeners “may learn a few new techniques along the way.” “The goal of this series is prompted by a growing awareness of how we can create food resiliency in these challenging times,” she said.

Citing that the series is inspired by the Victory gardens of World War I and World War II, Sutherland said a small garden allows people to be “a little bit less dependent” on today’s grocery stores. “You avoid uncertain pricing, and you can also experience a level of satisfaction that comes with growing your own food,” she added.

The series, which began in April, takes place one Saturday each month through October. Although the series follows the growing season and builds upon knowledge from the prior month, participants can choose to attend individual sessions. “The first three classes, as well as the September and October programs, are a combination of lecture and demonstration,” Sutherland explained. “The July and August classes will be hands-on workshops in the commercial kitchen where we will be making canned products to take home.”

According to Jeff Barraclough, president of the NH Heritage Museum Trail of which Remick Museum is a member, referred to the gardening series as “incredibly innovative.” “This is an exciting opportunity to get hands-on practical experience you can bring to your own home,” he said. “It’s also particularly special to honor the legacy of six generations of the Remick family who started growing food on this land over 200 years ago.”

Click here to learn more about the Remick Museum’s gardening series or pre-register.

Member institutions on the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail are located in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, Merrimack Valley, and Seacoast.

Students in the Field

“We are delighted to partner with ARCH for this program,” said Strawbery Banke Museum Archaeologist Dr. Alexandra Martin, who will run the Field School with Dr. Tad Baker, Historical Archaeologist and Professor at Salem State University. “This is a unique opportunity to combine our resources and offer students hands-on training in archaeological methods.”

Designed for anyone 18 and up interested in archaeology, historic preservation, and local history, these sessions will “offer students hands-on training in archaeological methods,” said Martin. In the field session, students will lay out excavation units, dig, locate artifacts, and map and document cultural resources. In the lab session, students will clean and preserve artifacts collected in the field while learning about the role archaeological research plays in designing museum exhibits.

“Unlike historic documents, which tend to exclude women, children, and people of color, everyone is represented in the trash left behind,” explained Martin.“Archaeology helps to show us that everyone is a part of history and that even the details of our own everyday lives are contributing to the historic record for future generations to learn from.”

ARCH Board Vice President Lucy Putnam emphasized that the organization is “ thrilled to be partnering with Strawbery Banke Museum on the Field School this summer.” She added, “We are particularly interested in learning more about the lives of the enslaved inhabitants of the house. As little is known about their daily lives, we hope the project will bring additional information to light.”

Visitors are welcome to visit the site during the Archaeology Field School. Both sessions occur from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The field session starts on Tuesday, June 3, and runs until Saturday, June 14, at the Colonel Paul Wentworth House in Rollinsford, while the lab session takes place from Monday, June 16, through Friday, June 27, at the Carter Collections Center at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth. Click here to learn more.

In addition to Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, member institutions on the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail are located in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, Merrimack Valley, and Seacoast.