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Volunteers Double the Fun at Montauk
Walk
into Montauk on some days and you’re not seeing double, you’re seeing
twin sisters Donna Story and Bonnie Smola working away on the Montauk collections.
The sisters began volunteering at Montauk in the 1980s. Montauk, in Clermont, is the home of Iowa’s 12th governor, William Larrabee, and his wife, Anna, who inhabited the house a century earlier—in the late 1800s.
One of the twins’ largest jobs in recent years was to put on display the dresses of the Larrabee women. In 2000, Donna and Bonnie worked to clean and research the history behind several of the garments before putting them on display in a “style show.” First Lady Christie Vilsack was intrigued by the idea and invited the sisters to bring the dresses to Terrace Hill, where they were also put on display.
“We wanted those dresses to be on display and we wanted other Iowans to see the garments,” Bonnie said. “They were not in good condition when we found them. We had help from people at Iowa State University and from the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah who gave a lot of information on cleaning the dresses.”
More recently, the women have been working to raise money to repair the historic Kimball Pipe Organ, located in the Union Sunday School in Clermont. The organ needs an estimated $80,000 worth of repairs, and Donna and Bonnie are hoping to secure a Save America’s Treasure grant to help offset the cost.
Both Donna and Bonnie have backgrounds in nursing, and both have received doctorate degrees. The time they spend at Montauk varies. Even in retirement, however, the women haven’t slowed down. They’ve even walked across England together—nearly 300 miles from coast to coast.
Donna’s and Bonnie’s interest in Iowa history has made them invaluable to Montauk staff.
“These volunteers are extremely valuable to Montauk,” said Nadine West, Montauk site manager. “The work they do is something that I wouldn’t have the time to get to. They are able to give it the attention it needs.”
Call for Volunteers
The State Historical Society of Iowa is currently seeking education assistants
to work with museum curators on the monthly museum vault tours. Volunteers are
also needed to help with weekend programming. For more information on these and
many more opportunities with the State Historical Society, contact Sarah Macht
at 515-242-5193 or Sarah.Macht@iowa.gov.
