Et cetera : NCCC Oak 5 at the Delaware County Historical Society

Josie and Ashley work with Sponsor Randy on framing for storage in a chapel basement.

By: Ryan Herzog & Ashley Burgess

AmeriCorps NCCC team Oak 5 served with the Delaware County Historical Museum to clean and preserve historical artifacts in Hopkinton, Iowa since from May 8 through may 20

Oak 5 has contributed to the preservation of Delaware County's history by cleaning and improving exhibits. Oak 5 members have sorted a number of old books in the library and contributed to research on exhibit items. Some of the biggest projects Oak 5 assisted the museum with involved demolition and construction in two different rooms to make space for new exhibits. The newest exhibit is for old typewriters that date back to the 1800’s and the second exhibit will be for Civil War artifacts.

“This place is a prime spot for service learning,” said Oak 5 member Mitchel Duran. “I was able to learn about history while working with these artifacts. It makes me wonder what people used these objects for and how they used them.”

The Delaware County Historical Society, located on a plot of beautiful land is not their only asset. It is also home to the former Lenox College. They hold a multitude of exhibits containing antiquated artifacts such as an old general store that contains vintage pharmaceutical paraphernalia, an orthodontics room that contains vintage tools used to clean your fangs with way-back-when, and an amazing library that contains vintage books and documents; the list of exhibits continues. The Delaware County Historical Museum operates solely on the help of volunteers so it is such a great experience for Oak 5 members to have the opportunity to assist them.