Photo: Racine Heritage Museum
Racine Heritage Museum
Racine Heritage Museum
Racine has always been a small city with a rich history. Racine was where the Case Tractor Corporation (now CNH) began, where HF Johnson founded SC Johnson, as well as playing a large role in helping the escaped slave Joshua Glover reach Canada.
One institution that is helping people preserve Racine’s fruitful past is the Racine Heritage Museum. Established in 1870, the museum has housed a sports exhibit, a basement mummy and currently, an exhibit on the influential Racine Drum and Bugle Corps. I spoke with museum volunteer Norah McCue about Racine’s long history and why learning from the past is important.
How did you get interested in the Racine Heritage Museum?
I was a history teacher in Racine for 40 years so I knew about this place. When I retired in 2007, I thought I would come in and see if they had any tasks that might be interesting due to the historical aspects of the building. I wasn’t born in Racine so it was entertaining for me to learn the history. They immediately signed me up and I’ve done various projects here since 2008.
What are three things in Racine history that people would be surprised to learn.
People would be surprised at the vast amount of products that came out of Racine. The variety of products and things that were produced in Racine really amazes me. Racine at one time was a major producer of egg incubators for the entire country. I also learned about the railroad junction in East Racine and the variety of rail service that was available to people at the time. There’s also the various immigrant populations; I learned about Greek immigrants, Armenian immigrants, and Irish immigrants. There were a lot of Irish Immigrants that settled in the early days of Racine. Everyone knows about the Danish, but I was interested in exploring the other populations.
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Why is it important for a community to preserve its historical artifacts?
People need to have a sense of place. There’s so much franchise going on now, you don’t see the small family-owned businesses that were everywhere in Racine. A sense of place makes you feel more a part of the community. When I first moved to Racine, there were many more businesses downtown. For instance, my husband could get his clothes taken to a tailor who would customize them. You can’t find a tailor anymore. People should understand that there was a different way of doing things and some of those things were a loss.
How does this museum benefit Racine?
It’s a window into your past and the places where you are living now. It gives you a place to be rooted. It gives us a window to see the good and bad things. The museum gives people a little understanding about events in Racine, why they happened, and the way they happened.
What subjects would you like the museum to explore?
We’ve done a really great job covering manufacturing, but it would be fun to visually reconstruct different areas of the city that have changed over time. We also have the sports hall of fame, but it doesn’t really cover the early history of sports in Racine. I’ve run across sports materials from the 1800s and early 1900s that may be interesting to people.
