Heritage Hall: Grout tells Waterloo's story through archival photos, artifacts

By MELODY PARKER, melody.parker@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO --- Mary Hanna was only 24 when she and her husband George built their log cabin in 1845. They were the first settlers on the site that would become Waterloo. She stares stoically out from a framed photograph in the Grout Museum's Heritage Hall. If she could see how the community has grown and evolved, she might be smiling.

The museum's new permanent exhibition, "The Story of Waterloo," is a timeline featuring photographs, artifacts and documents that explore Waterloo's growth, set-backs and periodic rebirths over the decades.

It serves as a visual transition between Pioneer Hall and Engine of the Heartland, said Curator Robin Venter. The display also celebrates immigrants and emigrants who came to Waterloo for various reasons --- cheap land, jobs --- and stayed to weave their stories into the community's fabric.

"Time is a continuum that doesn't begin or end with a decade, but flows into one another. That's what we did in this exhibit. Familiar names and business pop up --- Youngs, Rooffs, Sulentics, the Courier, John Deere, Rath Packing --- through each decade. There are stories that people are going to have to hunt out themselves. In a way, it's like a historical scavenger hunt, " she explained.

Several hundred photographs, about 30 artifacts and additional documents were culled to build the exhibit. Venter recalled an earlier timeline that represented the decades from the 1840s to the 1990s. It was removed more than a decade ago, she said, "but I always knew we would be coming back to that. We went through probably thousands of photos, pulled the ones we thought were important and narrowed those down. I knew in my head the photos I wanted to use to tell Waterloo's story. These photos just jump out at you."

There are views of Waterloo's transition from muddy streets and timber buildings to paved roads, bridges and bustling downtown. Photos also relate to national events, such as female workers manning an assembly line at John Deere in the 1940s during World War II, the Klinefelters sitting in a horseless buggy outside the Klinefelter Livery Stable, and the Anti-Tobacco store run by a temperance woman.

Artifacts include Mary Hanna's trunk given to her by Native Americans in trade for food, and Waterloo's first post office.