Greetings From the Sawmill

           Hi, I'm Matt Parbs, the new Executive Director of the Sawmill Museum. I'm a young un', just over 25, and I hail from Springfield, Illinois, the home of the Railsplitter himself. I spent the previous couple of years at the National Museum of Surveying where I helped preserve the legacy of surveying while ensuring its future. 

             Due to the struggling economy, which decimated the surveying community, the museum had to close to start the 2013 year. So I'm now here. Thank you to the Sawmill Museum Board for picking me as their leader, and while today was my first full day,  a big thanks to Clinton for welcoming me with open arms.

             So what to expect from this blog? Find fun stories; analysis of lumber & sawmill history; discussions of agency, history, nerdy museum stuff, and race/gender/class; and most of all, updates on some of our events. To be honest, I will go anywhere "my pen" takes me, as I follow it rather than force my pen to form the words.  Most of all, this site is for dialogue between the museum and our guests. We want to have you engaged with the museum.