Remaking OSV
Beverly Sheppard admits "there are a lot of odds against" Old Sturbridge Village and other living-history museums in today’s time-strapped, technology driven society. But that’s not why the former OSV president and CEO resigned suddenly last month.
Sheppard says she’s confident the village, transporting visitors to19th century New England since 1946, is on track to reposition itself as a vital tourist attraction despite declining visitorship. It is the Board of Trustees’ call to slow the pace of that revitalization that prompted Sheppard to take her leave on March 17 after four years at the helm. "I wanted to keep everything intact and roll forward with these new ideas," she says. "I just hated to see all the energy slow down."Board Chair Bruce Moir praises Sheppard as the creative force behind a strategic plan to transform OSV from a living-history museum into a "multi-faceted history learning center," offering more hands-on and high-tech learning. "She provided us with the road map – the vision, but then the operational issue of how you get there kicks in," he says. The board doesn’t feel it can meet the level of expenditures Sheppard wants.
So Moir and the board will begin searching for a new OSV president. The 64-year-old Sheppard will stay on as consultant for some key OSV projects, before spending more time with her grandchildren. And the village will begin its 60th spring season in transition, moving — cautiously — toward becoming a more relevant and financially stable attraction in today’s world.
Spring changes
The partial metamorphosis was evident on a recent Friday morning. Key long-time OSV staffers, admittedly sad about Sheppard’s departure, pointed out changes and plans they are working on to carry out her vision. The Wright Tavern, which OSV built in 2002 and which closed under financial duress last Thanksgiving season, is now a crafts center bustling with school kids on this day. One group gets a lesson in fireplace cooking. A second mixes herbs to make 19th century toothpaste. Eric White, director of education and public programs, notes the expansion of hands-on learning opportunities beyond the traditional school group programs.
The general public can now participate in 19th century crafts in an array of options, from a one-hour pottery or iron-forging session ($5-$7), or a one-day village tinsmith or blacksmith apprenticeship ($300), to a class on weaving or cooking independent of a village tour. These options, to be unveiled in June, add a new revenue stream, an alternative for guests in inclement weather and, hopefully, a way to increase repeat visitorships, says White.
Sheppard’s signature project for her new OSV vision, a "history gateway" at the entrance to the grounds, is partially complete. Village history orientation exhibits have not yet been assembled in the area that once held ticket counters, now relocated to the gift shop. A gallery with computerized research stations where visitors can probe village information in depth is still a year or so away, says White. A second gallery where the village will more extensively display its star antiques from a now tucked-away collection of some 60,000 is also down the road.
The gateway does have a new village model and touch screen to let guests home in on subjects of interest as they plan their visit. A New England Icons section offers "then and now" descriptions of everything from stone walls to seafood. An expanded area where kids can explore 19th century play is a clear hit.
On the village grounds, visitors will find fewer costumed interpreters, down from 70 per day during its peak summer visitor season a few years ago to 25. Volunteers and docents are filling in somewhat. They will also find more glass-encased exhibits of tools, artifacts and antiques explained by signs and videos, alongside interactive, non-staffed settings where they are invited to try out replica furnishings and tools first hand.
Edward Hood, director of research and collections, says it’s all part of broadening OSV’s history presentation and allowing visitors access to more village assets. Previously, he says, the assumption was that visitors "came to see the costumed people in the houses." While interpreters will remain at the village’s core, Hood and Sheppard say it’s now striving to deepen its relationship with visitors on more levels.
Just what strategies will resonate with visitors is hard to predict, say Sheppard and experts at other museums who admit they are watching OSV’s efforts. Some changes put in place at OSV since 2003 have already brought positive results, Sheppard says, though the fiscal 2005 visitor figures didn’t show an uptick (see chart) because school-sponsored visits were down due to municipal budget constraints. She expects an increase in fiscal 2006, which began on Feb. 1.
But Sheppard says it may no longer be about increasing visitor numbers. In the face of a changed society with less leisure and more competition to fill it, OSV may need a business model for a smaller piece of the visitors’ pie but with more ways to engage its members and guests.
The general direction has been to appeal more to families, says Sheppard, who points the successful transformation of the Fitch House to being a totally hands-on exploration of the lives of 19th century children. OSV found visitors spent more time there than in any other house in the museum. The village is also exploring high-tech interactive options, like linking programs to visitors’ cell phones or hand-held computers.
A new kind of village green
One of the biggest spring milestones for the village will rest with the modern-day Sturbridge townspeople. They will be asked at an April 24 town meeting to fund a $1.9 million portion of the $3.8-million purchase of some 826 acres from OSV for a conservation area to be overseen by the state and the town. While the sale would bring needed capital to the village to offset its $3.5-million debt, largely from the tavern construction, the deal represents more than that. Sheppard and staffers say it is part of OSV’s efforts to reach a new audience of visitors through ecotourism.
The idea is to add a dimension for naturalists, something OSV has already started. Previously, visitors weren’t invited to hike the fields and woodlands of the 200-acre village grounds. But last year, it opened a woodland trail hikers could explore using brochures and signs. On June 2, the village will unveil two more linking trails through its fields and along the Quinebaug River.
Trails planned in the adjoining 826-acre preserve would amplify the greener focus that could be combined with OSV’s historic thrust. It would also serve those visitors that studies show come to the village for the spiritual ambiance and the pastoral setting.
As OSV revamps itself, business and community leaders have reaffirmed its local economic importance. State Senator Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) has earmarked $1 million in a legislative economic stimulus package now in conference committee to fund high-tech changes at OSV.
Sturbridge Town Administrator James Malloy says the village is core to the town’s economy and its loss —which he doesn’t expect – would be "devastating." At the same time, he admits, Sturbridge has a diverse economy with a healthy residential and industrial base. And, he says, its restaurant and hotels have been doing well despite the OSV downturn. Potentially adding to the mix, local businessman Gary Galonek is proposing an entertainment park –- featuring mini golf and retail — on 75 acres near OSV.
Tourism officials indicate that OSV and Sturbridge are lagging the rest of the state in tourism, up regionwide last year.
Still, OSV officals are greeting spring lamb season, always a visitor attraction, with optimism. "This is a new world and we are working on a new model," says Moir.
Micky Baca can be reached at mbaca@wbjournal.com
SIDEBAR: Living history museums: create the tourist trap
Across the nation, living history museums strive to balance their purpose of remaining a destination for history buffs while installing high-tech devices to attract younger visitors, and keep them coming back.
Podcasts, headphone tours and touch-screen monitors are a few of the latest advancements planned for villages throughout the country, as are marketing strategies to bridge resources.
At Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, a redesigned website and self-guided tours reflect suggestions from extensive surveying of visitors to see what they expect in a living history village. Reservations for the village’s popular Shaker suppers can be made through the website, and headphones will be provided for self-guided tours in the near future.
"Living history museums have to go high-tech.," says Maggie Sanderson, director of visitor services. "For a younger generation that responds to iPods, having a recorded tour is going to be preferable."
Sanderson also points to a technology show that’s slated to debut in a few years, where Shaker inventions will be paired with modern day devices to "bring Shaker history into the present." While the village has not seen a significant change in its attendance, Sanderson notes that a lack of growth registers as a decline.
Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth cites new partnerships as significant contributors to their success, as well as a move to immerse visitors in the culture of the village before and after they visit.
"We made a number of strategic alliances," says Jennifer Monac, public relations manager at Plimoth. "We became a Smithsonian affiliate museum, and we’ve worked with the History Channel on a short featurette film."
Visitors can view the film before they enter the village to understand what they are about to view. Monac also points to the Plymouth Ancestors Kiosks, which allows guests to do genealogy research on-site and online for when they return home.
In the Pioneer Valley, Historic Deerfield takes a different approach. High-tech gadgetry won’t make an appearance any time soon, but a marketing blitz to draw more visitors to the western part of the state is part of collaboration known as Museums10. The group includes seven college museums and three neighboring museums, all marketing themselves together.
"By marketing the other museums as assets, we give visitors more reasons to come back," says Marc Belanger, associate director of marketing. Belanger notes Historic Deerfield reflects national trends of living history villages with a decrease in attendance, but has seen a trend towards more visitors from Massachusetts.
The granddaddy of all living history villages, Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, has also laid plans to attract more visitors. In mid-April, three audio tours will be downloadable into iPods, and a gift from a donor allowed for the purchase of 150 iPods that can be rented out for a modest fee.
New programs have worked well for the village, with a jump in admissions to 733,463 in 2005 versus 728,812 in 2004. The challenge, however, lies in the implementation of those high-tech devices.
"Computer screens on every street corner would be totally out of place," says Jim Bradley, public affairs manager. "Much of the things we do, and other living history villages, is to preserve that ambience of the past because that makes it more real."
– By Jeffrey T. Lavery
WBJ Web Partners
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