More than artifacts: Burke History Museum connects generations

When Corwin Keys leads the way through the History Museum of Burke County, his love for local history is evident; the curator is as excited to describe the exhibits as a visitor would be seeing them.

In the military room, Keys draws on his experience as a Navy veteran to describe the artifacts, which range from World War I uniforms to photographs of Burke County natives who fought in various conflicts.

Instruments, photos, and other memorabilia from musicians Etta Baker and Johnny Bristol are part of the music room. On the far wall, a glass case holds two wooden, Albert system clarinets — something Keys geeks out over, considering he used to play the clarinet.

While Keys loves the history itself that is preserved in those walls, two big things he finds gratifying are when people connect with the exhibits and when he can help visitors conduct research.

Across the 24 exhibits are historic photographs in which locals often recognize family members.

“People finding a connection within this museum happens almost daily,” Keys said. “I recently had a group of kids come through … and one of the youngsters looked on the wall down at our school exhibit and found his uncle from when he was playing high school football.’”

Keys said one of his favorite stories was when the museum opened on a Sunday alongside the library for a Black History Month event, opening its Children of the Struggle exhibit.

The last group that came through were three women: A grandmother, a daughter, and a granddaughter, Keys said.

“Grandmama came in, and she saw the picture of Ms. Woody’s third grade class downstairs and immediately recognized her cousin, saying, ‘There’s my baby cousin right there!’” Keys said. “And holy cow. That is why I do this job. That level of connection, that’s what I do.”

Keys said the museum is also a great resource for research, especially with its newspaper archive. Few people visit for that reason, but Keys said encouraging people to conduct research at the museum is one of his goals.

The newspaper archive is tucked away in the museum’s basement. Shelves spanning from floor to ceiling hold dozens of bound copies of The News Herald.

There are more than 100 years of newspapers in the archive, Keys said. He said it’s one of his favorite rooms that will inspire ideas for the rest of his museum tenure.

“The goal is, down the line … once I start publishing what I’ve got out here, that I’ll be getting, ‘Hey, I need to come look at (a newspaper from) 1956, can we do that?’ ‘Absolutely, come by on Wednesday.’ And they can come and it’s already set out and ready for them,” Keys said. “Because this room (newspaper archive), while it’s not necessarily an exhibit, I’m absolutely willing to assist anybody with research.”