A historical double act

Apr. 1—OTTUMWA — For about an hour at one site, half an hour at the other, Erin Naylor was only too proud to talk about her passion in life.

And it's quite ironic for someone who didn't take kindly to history class in school.

Yet, the Kansas-born Naylor, transplanted to Ottumwa via Ontario, Canada, and Missouri, has found the balance on the subject to suit herself. While some history may be seen as mundane, Naylor's melding of it is not.

On one hand, Naylor is an exhibitor of history. She's thrilled to display various exhibits as the director of the Iowa Heartland History Connection, yearning to pass along her love of artifacts to students on school tours.

On the other, she is a conservator of history at her Heron Kross business, where clients bring in brittle pieces of their past for Naylor to delicately preserve.

"I get to do everything and it's awesome," she said with a chuckle inside her office at the museum. "It just makes it all the more special."

The 'object' of history

Naylor made no bones when discussing what history meant to her when she was young.

"It's funny, because when I was in grade school and middle school, history had to be my least favorite subject," she said. "It's how it's presented in school. But when I discovered you could look at history through the lens of art, that's when I really started to take more an interest in it."

When her family loaded up for family vacations, it wasn't the activities involved that piqued Naylor's interest, it was something much more mundane.

"You know, we'd go to national parks, and you know, the visitor centers and the museums kind of sparked that interest in seeing the artifacts in the display cases, and the special lighting," she said. "I think that's kind of where it really started. But of course, I didn't really recognize that until I was an adult."

So in Naylor's telling, history is always about who the 13th president of the United States was, though it was Millard Fillmore.

"I really do think history has always been about objects for me," she said. "I understand that memorizing facts is important, but (for me) it's easier when you're talking about those facts within the context of the relationship with these objects. Whether it's a painting or some Native American pottery, those are the kinds of things that really fascinated me."

Finding a calling

With a fresh perspective on history, Naylor earned a bachelor's degree in art history from Kansas State University. Her passion for history continued to evolve during and after she completed her degree, and took her north of the border.

"I was about halfway through my bachelor's when I discovered that art conservation was even a thing, that it was an actual career path that I could follow," she said. "I was already doing what I needed for my art history degree, but for graduate school (at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario), I also had to take four chemistry classes, four semesters of a foreign language and additional studio art classes.

"There was a lot over and above what I needed for my bachelor's, and that was in addition to practical experience within conservation. They wanted an internship with a conservator, so I did that was well."

Naylor returned to the U.S. with a graduate degree, taking a conservation lab position at the state archives in Jefferson City, Missouri.

"So you can imagine archives being full of paper documents and maps and blueprints and books," she said. "That was right up my alley with paper conservation."

The experience led to Naylor becoming the first full-time conservator at the State Historical Society of Missouri on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. It was there where she could put her stamp on what she was doing.

"The cool thing about that job and what enticed me was they were in the planning stages of building a facility for the state historical society," she said. "Previously we were in the basement of the university libraries. I took the job and had to wait three years, but I got to move into that brand-new facility. I designed my own conservation lab and worked in it.

"I mean, you can't pass on an opportunity like that."

On the move again

After five years with the state historical society, Naylor was hired by the board of the Wapello County Historical Museum to be the director of the IHHC. The museum had moved to its building 1 Museum Drive, and in 2022, had its grand opening.

"Really, it was kind of a dream because I was presented with a blank slate. The exhibit walls were up and painted, but there wasn't anything in them yet," she said. "So when I came on in 2021, it was like, 'OK, how fast can we get the exhibits going?' So from October 2021 to the end of April 2022, that's the only thing I was doing.

"There was a lot of growth. We didn't have any visitor statistics from 2020 or 2021 because of COVID, but I can confidently say that our visitor numbers from when they were open at the Amtrak Depot to when they moved here is way higher."

It's at the IHHC that Naylor gets to share her love of history through objects.

"Since we've been open I think we're pushing 16 exhibit changes already, but we have a lot of great help around here," she said. "Some exhibits have naturally sprung up from things we have in the collection.

"As a non-Ottumwa native, I've gotten to learn about all of the Ottumwa history," Naylor said. "Because I'm coming at it with fresh and bright eyes, I think what fascinates me about it tends to fascinate other people as well."

Naylor has entertained field trips of grade-school students from the area, and it means a great deal to see them look at artifacts and exhibits.

"I hope that it is as impactful to them as it was for me," she said. "Because I do feel like history in schools kind of gets the short end because it's hard to make it engaging in a classroom. But it really makes it real when you can see the objects, talk about the context and time period with other people who are really passionate about it.

"So I hope at least a few kids when they get older end up like me and realize, 'Oh, you know, history is actually fun and cool.'"

Erin Kraus = Heron Kross

The main attraction in Heron Kross, which opened in June of last year, is found in Naylor's lab at the rear of the building, where there is a large sink, microscopes, unique tools and other items that go into her passion of preserving history. One of her biggest ongoing projects is a Clayton County map from 1879 could be mistaken for something out of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

The front part of the building contains more vintage items.

However, Naylor's business, a play on her maiden name and also her faith, has its own historical roots.

"Since graduating and living in Missouri, I'd been taking a couple of projects on the side, mostly just friends and family kinds of things," she said. "I've been doing conservation work for a while, but it was always my intention to have my own business. Coming to Ottumwa made that a reality."

Naylor believed there was an appetite for conservation, which is different from restoration. Though Naylor will dabble in the latter from time to time, most of her work is preserving an item to prevent it from further wear and tear.

Naylor defines conservatorship under a "preservation umbrella."

"Preservation is about maintaining objects and preventing harm or the risk of being damaged. That involves environmental monitoring, having appropriate temperature and humidity levels, integrated pest management," she said. "A lot of the conservation work I do may make things look better, but it's not always a guarantee.

"Conservation is like, 'Things age and damage happens. What can we do to fix it or prevent it from getting worse?'" she said. "How can we stabilize the objects, and it's all on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes you work with thousands of documents that were involved in a flood. The first thing to do is get them dry so they don't get moldy. It's really about addressing the damage and making sure the object is chemically and physically stable and not going to get worse. It's a giant puzzle."

Naylor believes there is an appetite for what she does.

"I think there will always be a demand for that kind of work from individuals or historical institutions, and I'm familiar with the museum and institutional climate," she said. "Most historical societies or museum libraries don't have conservators on staff. You always need more conservators because there is so much stuff out there."

The Heron Kross clientele is a mix of local patrons, but also extends to Des Moines, Kansas City.

Heron Kross received a $10,000 Open 4 Business grant through Main Street Iowa and the Iowa Economic Development Association, and Naylor used that to buy a microscope and tables for her lab.

When she started the business, Naylor really didn't know what to expect.

"It has certainly exceeded my expectations. I certainly didn't believe I was going to get as much grant money as I have, which is amazing," she said. "And I'm very fortunate and thankful for all the institutions that have helped with that. But also just the local support.

"I have felt very welcomed and supported, not only in the Main Street District, but also by the general population," Naylor said. "I think people are excited about it and want to learn more and are just eager to see what I do."

— Chad Drury can be reached at [email protected], and on Twitter @ChadDrury