History gets a fresh face

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY-Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA -- Compared to the East Coast, where European history stretches back hundreds of years to the days of Christopher Columbus, Alaska is relatively young, especially from the perspective of a museum curator. But the brief history of the Last Frontier is also full of adventurous souls and amazing tales.

This is what has captured the interest of Tonya Cribb.

"The history up here is very exciting," Cribb said. "A lot of people really pulled themselves up by their bootstraps."

Recently hired by the city of Wasilla to head up the Dorothy G. Page Museum and Wasilla's visitors center, Cribb positively brims with enthusiasm as she talks about her plans for preserving, sharing and enjoying the history of Wasilla. She wants to create hands-on exhibits for children, give displays a fresher look and carefully photograph, document and protect the many objects of historical value at the museum. She also wants to welcome more volunteers to help with these projects.

Just a few months in her new role, Cribb has already made some noticeable changes in the museum and gained the respect of her colleagues.

"She's a ball of enthusiasm," Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller said at a recent meeting. "The city is very lucky to have her."

But the South Carolina woman is somewhat of a surprising find among the museum's antique homesteading equipment, old dog sleds and black-and-white photographs of salty miners. Slender, well-dressed and speaking with a soft, Southern accent, Cribb insists that while people say she looks like she's 17, she's actually 30.

Like Alaska itself, Cribb has packed quite a bit into her relatively brief history -- a bachelor's degree in fine arts, a master's in museum work. She is a ceramic artist, although she modestly insists she hasn't earned the status of "artist," and she spent several years as an art dealer. Before coming to Wasilla she did museum work in Juneau.

Cribb came to Wasilla sight unseen, but she was fairly confident she would enjoy the challenge of taking over the museum. While she sees a great deal more potential, she says she is excited about the many objects and displays the Dorothy G. Page Museum already has.

Enthusiastic about what is already there and what could be in the future, Cribb has hit the ground running. Since her arrival, the museum has been equipped with new track lighting to replace the fluorescent lights that Cribb says damage artifacts, and new carpet.

With the help of a museum assistant, she has rearranged some of the exhibits and office space, and has gotten the city a grant to replace display cases that could have been hurting the artifacts more than preserving them. The particleboard the shelves are made out of, she explained, gives off damaging gases.

This is just one of the many "behind the scenes" decisions that have to be made at a museum -- thought and effort that might not always be noticed by people walking through and enjoying the displays. During a tour of the museum, Cribb led the way to the storage room and described the need to photograph, document and preserve all these valuable items. At the same time, she says, she wants to make them more accessible to the public, to people who might need them for research or other purposes.

With a strong background and appreciation of art, Cribb says she also envisions expanding the history museum's purpose to include displays of local art.

"It's not just a repository for old stuff … It should be a place of learning," Cribb said. In her vision, the Dorothy G. Page Museum could be a sort of energized community center where adults and children could attend art classes and visitors could trace the history of Wasilla.

"This area is growing so much," Cribb said, adding that she would like to help people enjoy and understand how the town has gotten to where it is today.

Cribb said she realized in Juneau that she is fascinated by the Last Frontier and the adventurous people who have built it. And she seems willing to give Alaska a chance as a long-term home. But while you can take a woman out of South Carolina and surround her by decades of dog mushing, gold mining and cold winters, you might not be able to take the South Carolina out of the woman.

"I think I'll always feel like I'm Southern," she said with a smile.