Photo Credit: Eye Life Photo
Last month, the Cedarburg History Museum announced that over the next few months, the majority of items in the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear (839 N. 11th St.) will be transferred to the Cedarburg museum (N57W6194 Columbia Road).
Chudnow Museum curator Joel Willems noted that the Chudnow Museum board decided to combine its resources with the Cedarburg Museum, a popular local and tourist destination, while keeping together the extensive Avrum R. Chudnow collection, which includes Americana ranging from clothing to vending machines and toys to pharmacy and grocery items.
Born in 1913, Chudnow inherited his love of collecting historical objects from his father, Max, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who later formed the Chudnow Iron and Metal Company in Milwaukee with his sons. Avrum died in 2005.
“Our family is delighted with the opportunity to continue our father’s legacy in making the past available for the present,” said Daniel Chudnow, president of the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear.
“This collection is the sum of one man’s dedication to the preservation of our collective past,” added Steve Daily, the former director of the Chudnow Museum and executive director of the Cedarburg History Museum, who has recently retired.
Rebooting the Cedarburg Museum
In its new home, the Chudnow Museum will focus on Cedarburg history and artifacts, as well as artifacts from other parts of Wisconsin.
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“It’s almost like a reboot of the Cedarburg History Museum, with all the new artifacts coming up there,” Willems said. “You have the stories, and you have the physical artifacts, and the two match together.” He added that the Chudnow Collection “won’t be taking over the Cedarburg History Museum, but complementing (it) and expanding on its mission.”
Cedarburg History Museum exhibits in 2021 will include a gardening and seed-themed window display, a pharmacy exhibit, a historic classroom, a fashion display, and a “Photographing Cedarburg” exhibit with items such as vintage images and glass negatives and photography, organized by a guest curator.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on many local museums, who have faced low attendance numbers since the pandemic’s onset last March. However, Willems said implementing changes to the Chudnow Museum to comply with health and safety standards, such as hands-free exhibits, were fairly easy. Virtual technology such as Zoom has also enabled museums to deliver programming to all, especially vulnerable populations such as elderly adults in care facilities.
Admission to the Cedarburg History Museum is free. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum’s temporary hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. “We are asking for monetary donations to continue programming,” Willems added.
To help with the transfer of items from the Chudnow’s 11th St. location to its new one, the Museum has established Friends of the Cedarburg History Museum, an organization of volunteers and docents. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Brooke Brown at 262-375-3035 or at stagecoachbrook@yahoo.com. For updates on the transfer and upcoming exhibits, visit cedarburghm.org or www.facebook.com/CedarburgHistoryMuseum.
