Mary Tyson: Celebrating our Rich History

Ketchum is home to two museums! The Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA) is a non-collecting contemporary art museum, and the Wood River Museum of History and Culture collects, preserves, and celebrates the rich history of our community. Over the summer, we unveiled the newly renovated galleries at SVMoA, so I thought it might be exciting to check in with Mary Tyson, Director of Regional History at The Community Library, to talk about the Library's recently reopened (and newly re-named) Wood River Museum of History and Culture.  

—Jennifer Wells Green, Executive Director of SVMoA  

Hi Mary, thanks for taking time to chat with me. Since both of our museums had "facelifts" this summer, I thought it might be fun to learn more about your project and help celebrate the Wood River Museum of History and Culture reopening. Let's jump in!

You just moved into a great new building. How is this different from the Forest Service Park location?

When we were in Forest Service Park, about 85% of our audience were tourists. Our local community didn't come to the Museum very often.

Now that we are between the Library and the Gold Mine — not to mention next to Hank & Sylvie's — we have seen our audience numbers increase, and we are seeing kids of all ages, especially teens, walk in the door. The foot traffic is fantastic! The Museum is now more kid-friendly and interactive; people love it. During Wagon Days, we had so many people visit, and they were almost all locals.

We can celebrate the history of our region in a more substantial, much more significant way. This space is new and different, refreshed and upgraded. Our installations have a lot of interactivity so people can make a stronger connection.

You have five long-term exhibitions on view. Do you have a favorite?

I'm especially proud of the installation, "A Writer in New Country: Hemingway in 1939." Visitors can use a vintage typewriter to type "One True Sentence," and there are objects and artifacts that belonged to Hemingway on display. I wanted people to connect to him as a writer and less as a hunter who drinks a lot and is hard to befriend. Sure, people ask about his character, but I was focused on his writing and sharing the objects with his DNA. Writing was so important to him, and that is what has endured.

Do you have a favorite object that visitors can see?

I do have a few favorites. One is a "cabinet card" or studio photograph of Wah Kee Lea from around 1890. We don't know his story or have more information, but we can show this photograph to highlight anti-Chinese political sentiment and activism. It was fierce in this Valley, and it feels right to bring up that history. There is a lot to talk about. It's a complex topic; we included it because we want to discuss everything happening in our regional history, including difficult topics. Another example is Minidoka, the WWII confinement camp that was just 80 miles south of Ketchum.

What is your favorite museum outside of Blaine County, Idaho?

The Morgan Library in New York! It is surprising and compelling how they made a modern addition to an old building that was someone's home. The old Library, with its small galleries, is a beautiful space filled with treasures and unique objects. I once saw an exhibition about the writer J.D. Salinger, and it was so powerful. It takes a lot of work to make an exhibit about a writer. You can't just show the manuscripts. I was thoroughly intrigued.  

And where would you go if you could see any museum in the world?

The Smithsonian's Museum of African American History and Culture

And finally, what is your favorite local activity?

I like going in Frenchman’s Bend hot springs knowing that the hot water heated homes in the thirties, and it’s named after a silver prospector from France who was known as “the Frenchman.” And, of course, the Wood River Museum! We are eager to welcome the public to our new space. We are open Tue-Sat, 10am-6pm, and admission is free. Learn more here.