Looking for community service hours before starting high school, Eric attended a volunteer fair at a local church. He spent a significant amount of time chatting with a representative at our Society’s booth, which sparked his interest. While driving Eric back and forth to his volunteer shifts at the Historical Village, Stephanie fell in love with the preservation of local history, marveling at how so many historic area buildings were gathered in one place. She especially pointed out the loom and log cabin as being her favorites.
After attending several events as a guest, Stephanie decided to step into a volunteer role herself. She quickly became a pillar of our behind-the-scenes operations, serving as a member, board member, and Society secretary. Today, she helps in the gift shop, organizes and handles food stations at events and enjoys working at Heritage Day, Haunted Village, and Santa at the Train Station. She also lended her expertise in quilting, knitting, and sewing for our ’25 Open House Fashion Event, beautifully blending her passion for fiber arts with local history.
Stephanie deeply believes in the power of preserving Hilliard’s history. "Kids need to know how things are made," she remarked, "and many don't even know where their food comes from.” To bridge this gap, Stephanie envisions adding an operational fireplace to the village log cabin, allowing young visitors to experience hearth cooking firsthand. She also suggests bringing the cabin's quilting frame out for Heritage Day so children can try their hand at traditional quilting. Stephanie also hopes see the Archival Library expand with information dedicated to farm life and early log cabin history.
For Stephanie, this passion is personal. Her absolute dream is to spend a full day and night living in the log cabin by sleeping in the rope bed, weeding the garden, quilting, doing stuff everyday you need to survive and cooking over the hearth. This would bring to life the world of her favorite childhood show, Little House on the Prairie.
For anyone interested in joining or volunteering, she offers a final piece of advice: “Come on over, sample everything, and take a weekend walk with our docents. If something catches your eye, find the expert on it and strike up a conversation. Explore our events to see what fits your tastes. And remember, you don't have to commit to a full day—you can work in shifts so you don't wear yourself out.”
