Marble Hill museum, cultural center may be in jeopardy

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- On Thursday evening, visitors to the Mayfield Cultural Center entered the dimly lit chapel and found 32 seats set up for a community forum to discuss the future of the center and the Bollinger County Museum next door.

By the time the meeting began, nearly 100 chairs were filled with residents who came to show they want to keep the museum and the cultural center going.

"We thought we might have 10 people attend," said Bob Hrabik, president of the museum board. "This is why we are here."

The meeting was called to gauge the community's response to the possibility of losing the museum and the cultural center. Hrabik said he was encouraged by the number of people who came to show their support for them.

The Mayfield Cultural Center and the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History are bleeding money. Each has its own board of directors, although the Will Mayfield Foundation is in the governing board of both.

The Bollinger County Museum of Natural History is located at the former Will Mayfield College main campus building in Marble Hill, Missouri.Fred Lynch

To make matters worse, museum curator Guy Darrough, who is in charge of the dig in Glenallen, Missouri, where the Missouri dinosaur was discovered, is rumored to be considering moving the dinosaur fossils and other artifacts to a museum being prepared for him in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.

Without the dinosaur, attempts to keep the museum going may be futile. Darrough was not present at the meeting Thursday. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

According to information distributed at the meeting, the Mayfield Cultural Center's expenses exceed its income by 60 percent, and it has a debt of $35,000 with the Bank of Missouri.

"We're hanging on by a shoestring," said Bob Fulton of Patton, Missouri, a former board member. "For the Will Mayfield Foundation, the financial problems are extreme. We desperately need an angel."

The foundation sold tax credits to fund the renovation of the building, but did not earn enough from those tax credits to get the center off to a good start, Fulton said.

During renovation, as with most old buildings, repairs proved to be costlier than anticipated, despite the help of donations and work from the community.

Once it was up and running, the board was not able to earn enough from activities to make a difference.

The museum averages an annual income of $25,000 with expenses of $33,218. Excess expenses are covered from reserves in the form of a $15,000 CD, the remains of an estate that got the museum off the ground.

Museum director Eva Dunn said when the museum first opened, students from across Missouri flocked to visit it.

But in 2008, a recession hit. In response, the state changed its foundation formula for school funding, which cut back funding for field trips.

"That started a downward slide," Dunn said. "If we don't have schools coming in, it's very detrimental."

Not all of the museum's visitors arrive in classes, and local people also frequent the museum.

During a question-and-answer period, several people commented the displays aren't changed frequently enough to generate repeat visits, and the museum is not marketed well, if at all.

Some mentioned hearing residents say they didn't know there was a dinosaur museum in Marble Hill. Others said they called to schedule a visit, but were told the museum would not be open, would close soon for the day, or received no response.

Becky Davenport, president of the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce, recounted difficulty the chamber had with a lack of cooperation in sharing information from the museum.

"You have to have a working relationship with the community," she said.

Throughout the evening, enthusiastic visitors suggested ways of marketing the museum and making it synonymous with Southeast Missouri. Current and former board members replied they tried those suggestions and got nowhere.

Erin Schulte of St. Louis -- whose grandmother was Lottie James Bollinger, who is credited with saving the former Will Mayfield College from destruction -- suggested the current board members might be too weary to keep trying, and what both boards need is new membership with a new perspective.

Hrabik encouraged anyone interested in serving on either board to sign up, saying he would be willing to step down if someone with more enthusiasm and ideas wanted to take his place.

As the meeting concluded, Terry Villa, who has been a volunteer with the museum, took a list to each row of seats and collected signatures of people who said they were willing to help.

Before work can begin to help market the cultural center and the museum and build resources, volunteers need to know Guy Darrough's plans for his dinosaur exhibit.

If he leaves Marble Hill, the museum board will need to repurpose the museum or close it. Only if he remains will it be necessary to work toward building financial resources and marketing the museum and cultural center.

"We need to know what will happen with the dinosaurs before we go forth," said Sharon Hopkins. "We need to nail it down."

Bill Teeters and others said they didn't believe Darrough would leave; he has enough artifacts to fill two museums.

Some claimed Darrough is difficult to work with. Others wanted to know why Darrough felt he needed to leave Marble Hill.

Some suggested instead of being threatened by a new museum in Ste. Genevieve, the museum in Marble Hill should join forces with it and promote both.

When the crowd broke up after a 2 1/2-hour discussion, Hrabik encouraged the people to do all they can to talk up the museum, hold on to their enthusiasm and encourage other people to become involved. A follow-up meeting will be announced.