ShawneeDispatch.com

In the early 1880s, Dr. J.C. Maloney circulated a petition, asking for money to create a better public square in Shawnee.

He raised a whopping $54 for fencing and square improvements.

"This is all the money we need, and with a good day's work we can make a beautiful park out of it," Maloney said.

This story is the first of many in the new historical walking tour brochures offered by Old Shawnee Town, called "Shawnee: Downtown and Around the Corner." The brochures are just one of the new projects at the museum, which is gearing up for its busiest time of the year for educational programs and looking for a little help from the community.

Old Shawnee Town applied for a $4,000 Johnson County Heritage Trust Fund grant to support some of the cost for the brochures in the spring of 2003. It took some time to research and develop the 1.1-mile tour, which meanders through the downtown area, and the museum just got the final prints of the brochures last week.

Gay Clemenson, director of Old Shawnee Town, said there had been other versions of a walking tour that needed to be updated. The tour aims to give museum visitors a better explanation of the original locations of Shawnee's historic buildings.

The tour begins at City Hall, then meanders along Johnson Drive to Cody, north to 57th Street, and ends up back at City Hall. The brochures also identify points of interest nearby that are more accessible by car.

"The photographs are really engaging and compelling," Clemenson said. "I think it will be very satisfying to residents to see some of the history of the downtown organized in an easy walking tour."

The museum has organized several guided walking tours as well, beginning at 10 a.m. April 30, May 7 and May 14 at City Hall.

In the midst of preparing for expansions outlined in the museum's new strategic plan, the directors of Old Shawnee Town also are trying to implement some new programs that will add a little something more to a visitor's experience.

April and May are the biggest months for school groups to visit the town, and the first tour is scheduled April 7. There's just one problem: at this point, when the children arrive, Shawnee Town is going to look more like a ghost town.

Clemenson said this is why the museum is asking for volunteers to "people" the town and make it look alive when school groups visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next two months.

"The programs, as they're outlined, can operate without volunteers, but any volunteers that are here would truly be an enhancement to the children's experience," Clemenson said.

Volunteers will not have to worry about memorizing a list of dates, facts and figures, though, Clemenson said. Old Shawnee Town will provide historical costumes, and a brief training session will be held April 5.

"They're pretty much going to be doing daily activities that would have happened in 19th century Shawnee town," Clemenson said.

The museum is holding an informational tea for those interested in becoming volunteers at 9 a.m. tomorrow in the Trading Post at Old Shawnee Town.

Looking even further to the future, the museum has been able to start work on research and projects that relate to the new focus on 1929 outlined in the museum's strategic plan. In addition to meeting with Jean Svadelnak & Associates, the planning facilitators, to review its long-range plan, the museum has obtained microfilm copies of the Northeast Johnson County Herald, the weekly newspaper that covered the area from 1929-1932.

Clemenson said the museum plans to go over the 1929 editions to develop a museum paper that will include stories from 1929 on the front page and current museum activities and features on the back page. Old Shawnee Town also is continuing its quest to find pictures, diaries, clothes and several other items from 1925-1935.

With so many projects partially dependent on the help of volunteers, Clemenson said the development and progression of the museum, created by community members in 1966, now requires more and more community support, interest and participation.

"We're starting to bring in and bring along the community as we go," she said.

Those interested in volunteering at Old Shawnee Town or sharing items from 1925-1935 with the museum may contact the museum at 248-2360.