Following a shutdown Nov. 3-4 due its serving as a polling place and for cleaning, Heritage Center staff opted to remain closed. Plans were already in place to shut down the week of Thanksgiving.
Natalie Fritz, curator of library and archives, said there were several reasons for closing, including very slow attendance in the last week of October.
“(COVID) cases have been rising and a couple of our volunteers were not able to come in. We want to limit staff exposure,” she said.
The Heritage Center has a volunteer staff of about 80 people, the majority are retirees and senior citizens, who work as docents, at the front desk and in the research library and archives, and are potentially more vulnerable to the virus.
“The biggest concern is our volunteers,” Fritz said. “If things started to look hairy, we wouldn’t have a problem closing to keep them safe. Our volunteers are loyal and we’d hate for them to be at risk for being exposed.”
Fritz said the staff would reevaluate later this month if the closure would need to be extended.
The Heritage Center normally hosts SantaLand, opening during the city’s Holiday in the City celebration and on subsequent Saturdays leading up to Christmas, but will not this year due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Center will still get into the holiday spirit by utilizing the skills of a volunteer who decorates the lobby, highlighted by a large Christmas tree to greet visitors. It will also complement the city tree just outside on Fountain Ave.
While people may not be able to visit the Center’s historical artifacts, Fritz has helped them stay in touch with frequent social media posts and an ongoing monthly series of virtual programs on Wednesday evenings. The next will be 7 p.m. Nov. 18 with a behind-the-scenes look at the Heritage Center.
A future program with the author Kimberly A. Rinker, who wrote the book “Springfield: An Intimate Portrait,” is planned.
Fritz said these programs have reached new people who hadn’t visited the Center and a hardcore group of local history enthusiasts has formed. More virtual offerings will follow in the new year.
For updates on the Heritage Center or virtual programs, visit its Facebook page.
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