What museums reveal about places (and what they have to offer travelers)

“We do not just keep and collect things. We trouble ourselves to repurpose, create, and invent things just to carry, a little easier, those stories we cannot live without.”
—Kendra Greene

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf speaks to the directors of two very different museums — Dawn Hammat of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, and Greg Long of Long’s Collectible Showplace & Gift Shop in Salina, Kansas (0:00); what people are drawn to in a given museum, and how a kind of nostalgia drives what people look for there (5:30); the ways all museums change and adapt over time, and how museums can surprise their visitors (12:00).

Notable Links:

• Dwight Eisenhower (34th president of the United States)
• Mamie Eisenhower (first lady of the US from 1953-61)
• Barbie (fashion doll)
• Hot Wheels (brand of toy car)
• The Vagabond’s Way, by Rolf Potts (book)
• Ozzy Osbourne (rock singer)
• Wonder cabinets (early versions of museums)
• British Museum (national museum in London)
• Beanie babies (line of stuffed toys)
• Pez (brand of candy dispenser)
• Paint by numbers (popular painting kits)
• Nelson Rockefeller (businessman and politician)
• Ethel Merman (20th century actress and singer)
• World’s Largest Belt Buckle (attraction in Kansas)
• Greyhound Hall of Fame (museum in Kansas)
• Chisholm trail (19th century cattle-driving trail)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.