A Conversation With Dan Truckey, Director of the Beaumier UP Heritage Center

In this episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down with Dan Truckey, Director and Curator of the Beaumier UP Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University.

Topics discussed include Truckey’s involvement at the Beaumier Center, career paths for students interested in history and heritage preservation, the legacy of Dr. John Beaumier, and what we can expect at this year’s Sonderegger Symposium.

The Beaumier UP Heritage Center is a historical museum and educational facility that serves to promote and preserve the history and culture of the Upper Peninsula through an active slate of exhibitions and engaging public programs for the whole region. The center also collects and preserves artifacts related to the history of Northern Michigan University.

Before returning to his alma mater, Truckey served as executive director of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center in Traverse City. Previous employers included the Sioux City Public Museum in Iowa, Noah Webster House, the Connecticut Historical Society and the former Catskills Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Truckey is a folk singer-songwriter, and also enjoys downhill skiing, biking, hiking, playing tennis and spending time with his wife, Leigh Barry (’90)—whom he met at NMU—and their two kids, Thomas and Josie.

Transcript

David Haynes:

Hello, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Rural Insights Podcasts. Today I’m really pleased to have a former colleague of mine, or current colleague of mine, Dan Truckey, the head of the Beaumier Center on Northern Michigan University’s campus. Welcome, Dan.

Dan Truckey:

Thanks, David. It’s great to be here.

David Haynes:

So Dan, tell us. Tell our listeners first of all, what is the Beaumier Center?

Dan Truckey:

Well, the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center, the real idea behind it all, our mission, is to celebrate the history and culture of the Upper Peninsula. And so what we do is, well, we do a lot of things to do that. We, one, do a lot of exhibitions. Yeah, about two or three exhibitions a year. Temporary exhibitions on various topics of U.P. history. But in addition to that, we have a lot of exhibits that are traveling exhibits, that been around the Upper Peninsula and now many of them are online. We have an active schedule of events that we do out through primarily the academic year. Everything from lectures, to concerts, to film series. I can’t remember all the things that we’ve done over the years, programming wise on campus and beyond. But I also like to see ourselves as an advocate for heritage preservation in the Upper Peninsula as well.

And then lastly what we are is we’re a laboratory for students. Being here at the university, it’s really important that a part of what we are is helping students who want to get hands-on experience in their career goals, mainly in the museum field or history field, public history, but also students have gotten first-hand experience working in promotion, and management, cultural events. And so it’s, I’ve had over 70 students work or intern for me in the last 15 years, and that’s been the most rewarding aspect of it all.

David Haynes:

Tell us again. So a student that comes and interns, what kind of career path would they want to be following after an internship at the Beaumier Center?

Dan Truckey:

Oh, it’s pretty varied. I mean, a lot of the history students are coming in, and sociology and anthropology students we’ve had, want to work in the museum. And so for them, usually it entails them going off to graduate school, but not all right away. Some go off and find entry-level work, but most of them end up back into graduate school at some point in time and resume studies. Several of my students now work in the museum field as mid-level professionals, so I’m very proud of them. Others, it’s I’ve had students who were into social media and they became my social media managers and they’re now working in the social media industry, or website industry. And graphic design as well. So, I’ve had so many students who’ve done many different things. In fact, found themselves here.

One student of mine who she wanted to be a journalist, but she ended up doing promotions for me, now she ends up doing promotions for companies online all over. For me, I hope the experience of just the opportunities that working in this field can open doors for many different kinds of things. Just not museums or public history per se.

David Haynes:

So before I go much further, I know who John Beaumier is. He was a friend of mine. But why don’t you tell everybody who John Beaumier is? So, why it’s named the Beaumier Center, who he was?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah, that’s always a great question, and I love answering it because he was quite the individual. He was a young guy who came here to Northern in 1949 from Escanaba. He was on a football scholarship. One of the first football scholarships to the university. By his own admission, was not much of a student. Didn’t really have an idea of what he wanted to do. Took some biology classes and got a degree in botany. And went on to med school at Marquette University, and then eventually his, well, doctorate, I guess, that’s not the right word for it. He became a doctor and an orthopedic surgeon working in his own practice, and eventually at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

He graduated from Northern in 1953 and wanted to do something for Northern because he really felt, and I always tell people, “He is the epitome of the Northern experience.” The young person who comes here doesn’t really know what they want to be. Has never really distinguished themself in any way. Finds themselves here and goes off to have a great career and make a difference in people’s lives, and he did. And he wanted to give back something to Northern. And so the idea he loved is the history and culture of the region. He wanted to do something that celebrated that and helped preserve it. And I think, with a little bit of help from Russ Magnaghi, probably more than just a little bit of help, he really helped to find this idea of creating this heritage center. And it was in 2003 he made a donation and then we opened the first gallery in 2006.

David Haynes:

He was one of the great NMU advocates, and had this sharp wit and a wonderful sense of humor. He was just a very interesting man. He really was a great guy.

Dan Truckey:

He was a Wildcat through and through.

David Haynes:

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Dan Truckey:

And even though he worked at the University of North Dakota for a long time as their trainer, he just loved Northern U. And he was a wonderful man. I loved getting to know him and spend the time I did. Now, the eye of my family got to be friends with him and it just, he and my parents both died in the same year and it was a really tough year for me-

David Haynes:

Oh, that’s new.

Dan Truckey:

… because of losing all three of them.

David Haynes:

Oh, that’s good for our listeners to know, what an interesting man he was. Born and raised in the U.P. and never forgot those roots, even when he left and came back. So tell us, Dan, what’s going on right now and what can our listeners expect if they come visit the Beaumier Center between now and the end of the year, and into next year? What would they see?

Dan Truckey:

Well, currently we have an exhibition up through December on the fisheries of the Upper Great Lakes, and really looking at the history of the fish populations. And the different uses of fisheries, whether it be from the commercial to the recreational, and how it has affected fish populations, and the work being done to preserve the fish populations. And this really comes from looking at our students here at Northern. We have a fisheries department here at Northern. Jill Leonard is in charge of the fisheries program, and starting to look at the work that her students are doing at Northern. Which is something we try to feature in our exhibits from time-to-time is, how these topics connect with work that’s being here done at the university, and it’s important work. Everything from protecting lake trout populations, to the sturgeon, which are probably the most historical fish in the Great Lakes.

It’s actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I didn’t have high expectations for it as an exhibit, and the people really seem to like it, especially visually. But there’s some really powerful material in the exhibit, including these paintings done by Alexis Rockman which really look at the ecology of the Great Lakes over time. It’s been well received and I hope people enjoy it.

And besides that, we have two major events coming up. We have one more concert we’re putting on this winter or this fall on November 2nd, called Altan from Ishmay. I was going to say, “Ishmay.” From Ireland is going to be coming to perform on November, 2nd. And then November 4th we have our annual Sonderegger symposium which we’re really excited about.

David Haynes:

So, what goes on? I’ve taken part as an audience member of Sonderegger. I’ve presented. Tell our listeners what is the Sonderegger symposium, and what will be talked about this year?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah. Well, I mean, this is our 22nd year and it really wasn’t originally envisioned to be an interdisciplinary conference about the Upper Peninsula. And though it has at times been that, it ultimately is usually a historical conference about the U.P. But when I started managing it about four years ago, we came to the conclusion that there should be a theme every year for it, to try to drive the different types of presentations. This year the theme is heritage preservation and tourism. Looking at the importance of both historic and heritage preservation, but also the role they play in developing tourism in the U.P. Yeah, people come into the U.P. to see the history beyond just the leaves and the natural wonder that’s up here.

And so this conference will be featuring a day of presentations by various people both from the U.P. and beyond the U.P. about many different topics. Everything from a survey of charcoal kilns and the history of charcoal kilns in the U.P., to our keynote which is a gentleman named Donovan Rypkema from a company called PlaceEconomics in Washington D.C. who is going to be talking just about this idea of heritage preservation and tourism. Which is his business, it’s what he does, and the importance to the communities. I see it really as something for the U.P. that’s very important is us, the challenge in preserving our historic sites, and making sure people know about them so they can come and see them, and appreciate the history of the region.

And so the sessions are going to be about many different things. One of my favorites is going to be about Ewen-Trout Creek basketball, which you may wonder, “What does that have to do with it?” And the reason why is there was a gentleman named Gary Fors, who was on the state championship team in 1972 who bought the old gym. A gym I played in at high school, not for Ewen but for one of their competitors. And he’s preserved it, and was turning it into a museum that was not really public yet. He’s saving it because it was such an important part of this small community’s history. And a friend of mine, Kristin Ojaniemi who’s been making a documentary about the basketball program at the school, so they’re both coming to talk about these projects. I’m really excited about it.

David Haynes:

So again, there’s an attachment to the Sonderegger symposium. Dr. Sonderegger was a professor at Northern in military history, who I took a class from. And his wife, Marion Sonderegger was an community activist and leader, and they funded the symposium. So, people can go to all of these for free, right?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah, this event is completely free. It’ll be at the Northern Center on November, 4th, all day long from 8:00 to 5:00.

David Haynes:

Okay.

Dan Truckey:

And we’ll even have a sandwich lunch that people can enjoy. It’ll also be online. We’ll be streaming it so people can watch it from anywhere, which is the amazing thing. That people in, well, probably not Russia anymore, but in China you can click and be able to watch it hopefully. And we save them all so that you can go back and watch ones from past few years. It’s a really great resource looking at the Upper Peninsula and the Upper Great Lakes.

David Haynes:

So it’s, all the things you mentioned, are they open to the public and free?

Dan Truckey:

Mm-hmm.

David Haynes:

The exhibits for free?

Dan Truckey:

Oh, yeah. [inaudible 00:12:47].

David Haynes:

Take their children. Stop in to learn about history of the U.P., and they can just come in and wander around, right?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah. I think there are concerts all over. Activities are free to the public. I think this is something, I don’t know, Dave. I don’t know if you remember this from your time at [inaudible 00:13:04], still at the university. But there’s still this idea sometimes for people in the community, they’re not welcome here. The, “I’m not allowed to go to that,” and nothing could be further from the truth. We want the public to come. We want them to be on campus and doing things, and taking advantage of the cultural events we have. It’s one of the great benefits of having a university, is it does create a level of cultural activity that a city the size of Marquette, even though it has a lot of things that we can have. And I think [inaudible 00:13:35] the entire Peninsula we see that really, that’s a very important role for us is that we do serve the U.P.

And so, we really want people to come, and that’s part of the reason we make it free. I mean, it’s just our university mandate in some ways, but also just to make it accessible to anyone to be able to come.

David Haynes:

So you’ve been at Northern now, what, 15 years at the Beaumier Center?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah.

David Haynes:

So in all those 15 years, do you have one thing that stands out in your mind as your favorite, or the most fun? Or just jumps out in your head?

Dan Truckey:

Well, David, I have to thank you for this, and it is the opening of this facility back in 2016. I remember when we first started talking about the idea, putting the Beaumier Center in this building, and I was like, “I don’t see it. That’s not going to work.” And then I came over here and started poking around, like, “Yeah, that would work.” And you and Martha really pushed this idea, and I think a lot of people scratched their heads about it. But now that we’re here, I think people are like, “Yeah, that makes sense. It’s a great location on campus.” But our opening event, you talk about Dr. Beaumier, this was literally we opened this facility, the museum, less than five days after my mom passed away.

David Haynes:

Oh, wow.

Dan Truckey:

It was a really tough time for me to be opening a new museum. But the thing about it was that at the opening, because my mom’s funeral was the next day, not only was my father here, but all my brothers and sisters were here. And Dr. Beaumier was here and the whole university. For me in all the nine years here leading up to that point and everything afterwards, that was really an important moment for me. I wasn’t even that particularly happy with the exhibit I created because I was in such a bad space and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. Right after that we did the Ghost Towns exhibit, and that was a hugely popular exhibition.

David Haynes:

I remember that. Yeah.

Dan Truckey:

Part of the reason I did that was like, “We need to up the ante here. We’re in this new facility, we need to do better.” And so I think, being in this facility really changed things, and got us to really raise the bar and the quality of the exhibitions we do, and how we do them, and thinking about what we do. So yeah, those are really big highlights for me. And then there’s just so many, they’re so numerous, I have had so many great experiences at Northern, I can’t describe. I mean, I had the honor of writing the Concert Series as well as additional to these, and just the people I’ve met from all over the world and through that program was just a truly special experience that we’re still keeping going a bit, but it’s nothing like it was back in the day.

That was really important, and I was able to combine what the Beaumier Center does with the NMU Concert Series, and it created certain synergies that really raised the profile for the center which was really important for a long time to do. It’s still important to do, but it took a long time for us to get on the map.

David Haynes:

So, is people-

Dan Truckey:

And I still want to-

David Haynes:

I’m sorry. Go ahead. I’m sorry to be-

Dan Truckey:

No. No, no. That’s all right. I was finished.

David Haynes:

Well, that was great and it’s very interesting. If somebody wants to find out more, they just go to nmu.edu/beaumiercenter?

Dan Truckey:

Beaumier is all you need, and then it’ll-

David Haynes:

Just Beaumier? Okay.

Dan Truckey:

Yeah, just Beaumier and then it’ll bring you to our website with that.

David Haynes:

Okay. And if they come on campus, can you describe for them where it is?

Dan Truckey:

Yeah. Actually, it’s easy to find, the parking is the hard part. But if come up 7th Street from Downtown Marquette, right after you pass the entry sign to the university, we’re the first building on the right. You’ll see the brick wall and the lobby entrance to the Beaumier Center right there. There’s usually an exhibition banner up on our wall outside. There is a couple parking spots across the street in the parking lot designated for us, but if those are taken, it’s always best to go over to the Northern Center and pay … or not even pay, just park and you have the grace period to be able to come over and see what we have going on.

David Haynes:

All right. Well, Dan, I want to thank you on behalf of everyone in U.P. for what you’ve done and given to the Peninsula and our heritage. You’ve been a great leader in this, and all for the great things you did at the NMU Beaumier Center. So thank you, not only for joining us today, but thank you for the commitment you’ve made to this great culture that we all live in and the heritage that we have. So thank you, Dan, and we appreciate it-

Dan Truckey:

Thank you, David.

David Haynes:

… and I know everyone will join this.

Dan Truckey:

I appreciate it.

David Haynes:

Have a good day everyone.