Q & A: Kathy Curran, New Director of the Suffolk County Historical Society

Riverhead Patch recently spoke with Kathy Curran, the new director of the Suffolk County Historical Society as of Aug. 1, replacing longtime director Wally Broege.

Before taking over as director, Curran served as Public Programs and Exhibition Development Coordinator for the society.

Riverhead Patch: Tell us a little about your background.

Kathy Curran: I grew up in Massapequa. I am a retired art teacher from the Connetquot schools. I have a Masters in American Education and American Folk Art.

Patch: How did you begin working with museums?

Curran: It came to me that instead of just doing historical research, I would like to present an exhibition, a direct way of drawing in the public to history. I worked with the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, Hofstra University and I was preparing something for the Long Island Whaling Museum when Wally said come work with me.

Patch: What are some of the more memorable exhibits in which you were involved?

Curran: One thing I most enjoy is to collaborate with other organizations. The first exhibit I did was “Luck, Strategy, and Diplomacy,” about early American games and gaming. We had vintage games, game furniture. At the same time the East End Arts Council put up “Games People Play,” with its members creating art work about games. We had a joint opening, with a trolley going back and forth between the museum and the arts council.

Patch: Do you feel there’s been a change in the way the community has received the museum?

Curran: I definitely feel the community has become more engaged and realizes we’re all part of a living tradition. A museum is an educational institution, and I feel we’ve been doing that.

Patch: How is the museum funded?

Curran: From our membership for one, and with state grants and monies from the Suffolk County Legislature. We are a nonprofit institution.

Patch: Tell us about the current exhibition at the museum.

Curran: It’s all about the elite hunting clubs of the past, and how they all eventually became state or country parks: “Private Places, Public Spaces.” So what began as a preserve for the few is now preserved for everyone. We’re having a series of lectures throughout the summer about each of these clubs.

Patch: What are some of your future plans?

Curran: An outreach to young parents, to bring their infants and toddlers to the museum, to have them guided through some part of an exhibit so both they and their children form the habit of coming here.

Next summer I plan to have a history detective camp, and I want to do an exhibit “Temperance, Prohibition and Rum Running.” My vision is for the museum to be the gateway to a cultural corridor in Riverhead. You have the Rail Road Museum, the Science Museum, the library, us, and you can finish up at Atlantis Marine World.

Patch also spoke with departing Director Wally Broege. 

Riverhead Patch: What are the highlights of your tenure?

Wally Broege: First and foremost it’s the people I’ve worked with, who really wanted to do the best to preserve and communicate the history of Suffolk County. Some of my favorite exhibits? The environmental ones: “Barren and Wasteland,” taking from an old quote about the Pine Barrens—and now, of course, they are a precious heritage. And “Shifting Sands," about the barrier beach of the south shore. And the Civil War exhibit, “Patriots Come Forward.” It’s always been terrific to begin an idea, watch as it grows into an exhibit, and see it though to a happy conclusion.