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By superadmin | April 29, 2025

“Anything worthwhile is worth doing well.”

Without a doubt, the Shelby County Historical Society and Museum is worthwhile and worth doing well. It was organized by Shelby Countians to collect, preserve and protect the history of Shelby County and to share it all with the community and anyone interested in the story that is Shelby County. The Museum is more than just a physical shelter and home for displays, artifacts and documents, it’s also the home of the shared wisdom and experience our ancestors have passed down to the newer generations; a time-honored tradition in families and communities for hundreds of years, especially in rural America. We believe it is possible to engage the community and the Museum into a collective project, united to work together to ensure the success of an important and vital organization.

Currently there are several earnestly dedicated and passionate members working hard to ensure the success of the Shelby County Historical Society (SCHS) today and for generations to come. Several steps have already happened and there are plenty more in the planning stages in a continuing effort to get the SCHS back on track to being a membership driven organization adhering to the Constitution and By-Laws, in which the latter was revised and approved on April 13, 1982, and return to the vision of our founding members who created the Shelby County Historical Society in 1963. One of our main goals is get the Museum open to the public.

Shelby County Historical Society Membership.

Please consider joining as a SCHS member and help us to rejuvenate and grow the Historical Society and Museum. As a member, exercise your equal right and privilege to vote on Board of Director officer positions at each election.

Become an active volunteer member during Museum open hours or serve on a member volunteer Committee such as the crucial Museum Committee and many more. As a member you can be a part of future SCHS sponsored events for members and for the Shelby County community.

Help the SCHS in its commitment to preserve and protect everything entrusted to the Museum artifact collection and continue to expand the collection and as a resource helping those who are seeking to learn more about their family heritage.

As a new member you can help fellow members and the Board of Directors work together as good stewards of the SCHS. Participate in succession planning and long-term health sustainability by engaging the younger generations in a manner that creates interest and stewardship to its care, who in turn can pass it on to future generations.

You can obtain an application to become a member by visiting this website, www.shelby.mogenweb.org and simply fill in your information and mail with your check to the included address. Come join us, become a member, be a volunteer, help us grow and flourish.

Did you know the Museum is for everybody and not just SCHS members?

We can all celebrate the new museum and enjoy the history of Shelby County through display exhibits, artifacts, various historical documents and records, family genealogy research, letters, diaries, newspaper archives, one room schoolhouses, cemeteries of the county, businesses and so much more. It’s a gathering place to discover amazing history and have fun doing it.

As one SCHS member recently said so well, “We all want the Museum to succeed, a place where people can come and have fun, enjoy our precious history and heritage, and maybe even shed a tear of joy.”

The Shelby County Historical Society and Museum is aptly described in the following quote:

“Historic preservation is not about freezing our history in time, but about breathing new life into our past.”

Thank you,

The Shelby County Historical Society Members for Change: A Renewal and Preservation Group

Group representatives for this Letter- Okey Stoneburner, Connie Schwada, Michelle Allensworth Pendleton, Amanda Friesz, Ron Reynolds, Gary Wear and Marianne Schwada.

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