Lake County >> From a young age Tony Pierucci harbored a fascination with the past. Growing up in Stockton, he was immersed in his family’s long history in the city. “I couldn’t go anywhere in Stockton without there being some kind of family story attached to a place,” he said. “So I think growing up in that kind of atmosphere where history really is alive, it’s personal, not just history in the background … made me grow up with a love for it.”
In mid-December, Pierucci started work as the new Assistant Curator for the Lake County museums, the Historic Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake and the Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport. And he’s bringing something new to the table which is sure to help both spaces flourish. “I’m the first professionally trained museum curator, so I have the standardized education,” he said.
But he was quick to add that the museums wouldn’t be where they are without the current curator. “The county museums have benefited hugely under Linda Lake,” Pierucci said. “I’m excited to bring in an institutionalized education to what has already been a really well functioning museum.”
Pierucci studied Classics at Gonzonga University and went on to earn a Masters at the University of Missouri in Art History and Archeology. Pierucci’s interest in museums was apparent all his life and choosing a major was an easy decision. “I always loved going to museums and I always was fascinated by them,” he said. “I think it kind of was just a gradual thing. When I was a freshman in college, [I thought], ‘Everything else I’m doing is leading me toward this career, I might as well make it a formal thing.’”
He was interested in his field of study because of the tangibility of the subject. “It was the fact that the professor at my college who was the head of the Classics Department was an archeologist,” he explained. “It was dealing with the physical remains of past societies that drew me to classics.”
Of course, the subject is about more than the objects themselves. “Also for our understanding of people and maintaining that sort of cultural heritage,” Pierucci said. “Archeology is very important and everybody should be sort of semi-versed in archeology. Not only the Pomos but the descendants of the pioneers in Lake County.”
In addition to his degrees, Pierucci has on the job experience to bring to his position. “Before this I worked at the Museum of Art and Archeology at the University of Missouri,” he said. Then he spent two seasons as Collections Master at the Harvard-Cornell Archeological Exploration of Sardis in Turkey. “I think I learned most about museums while working in Turkey because of the importance of record keeping and maintaining well ordered collections. So that maintained in me a need for that regardless of the size.”
When first entering Gonzonga, Pierucci planned to pursue Education as well as Classics. Though he dropped the first subject, his desire to teach remains. “My freshman year I entered with a major in Education and Classics, and I found a love of the material so much that I wanted to spend most of the time learning about that material,” he explained. “I’m passionate about education, I just didn’t want to be a teacher in that classical setting. I wanted to be a teacher in the flexible setting that a museum offers.”
Considering his interest in teaching stems from a day spent visiting an old schoolhouse, a less traditional educational environment makes sense. “One of my most cherished memories about history growing up was when I was in third grade we had something called Pioneer Day,” he said. “You dress up like a 19th century school kid … It was really like an immersible experience.”
When he was on the job hunt and the Assistant Curator position popped up, this childhood memory brought him to Lake County. “I was excited to be a part of a similar experience,” he said. “Similar opportunities are present for us to work with local school kids.”
Expanding the museum’s educational opportunities is high on his list of priorities. “One of the things that I’d really like to work on is editing and creating a broader reaching education program,” he said. “We already have an immense amount of visitors coming into our museums. Between the summer of 2013 and the summer 2014 we had over 800 children come into the two museums. I’d really like to increase that.”
Another item on his list of plans is to enrich and increase tourism. “During the same time period we had nearly 5000 people visit the museums,” Pierucci revealed. “Just the normal visitors, not including the school groups … just people coming through and a significant number of those people are out of towners. Work on ways that we can continue to serve the public here in Lake County and those who come into Lake County, just visiting.”
Pierucci believes that museums have a lot to offer outsiders. “The museums themselves do serve as an ad hoc visitors center almost for the county,” he said. “You have people coming from out of town who are passing through and they stop by. I’m excited because they offer the opportunity to work and educate the locals and to give people from outside Lake County a glimpse.”
Before coming to the county Pierucci didn’t know much about the area, but he’s been pleasantly surprised by the community. “I’m amazed what it can offer people, both visitors coming in and also residents,” he said.
Pierucci is optimistic about the future. “We have the numbers now, we know that our impact is, and it’s a significant impact,” he said. “Now we know, we know how we can do better, so I think that’s what we’re going to want to work on.”
He hopes to expose more people to the museums’ many benefits. “[Museums] really have a say on what’s going on in the current and can really have a say on the future for that community,” Pierucci said. “They provide a safe space to contemplate our collective past. Every ethnicity, every community, every demographic has specific histories and sometimes it’s difficult to discuss them in a safe context.”
The past three months have been a joy for Pierucci. “Just today, I was immersed in, elbow deep in records from the 1890s,” he said. “There’s just so much history in the area and these two museums have so much to offer. There’s just a great opportunity to move forward.”
Pierucci’s new job isn’t without it’s difficulties. “I think one of the biggest challenges, and this is what a lot of museums face, sometimes there isn’t a desire to go out and volunteer and donate money to these institutions,” he said. “Sometimes there’s a difficulty between trying to bridge the gap between people acknowledging the benefit of these museums and donating.”
Even with some challenges, Pierucci is excited to move ahead as the new Assistant Curator. “I really look forward to working more with the public and hearing back from them as to what they want to museum to be,” he said. He explained that while he’s just getting to know the area, there are people who have been living in the community their entire lives. These individuals can offer insight into what the museums were like years ago and he’s seeking their input. “I’m really eager to work with the community and I always encourage them to contact us. We’re extending our hand, and we’d love for people to extend theirs as well.”
To donate or volunteer, contact the Historic Schoolhouse Museum at 707-995-3565, the Historic Courthouse Museum at 707-263-4555, or email Tony Pierucci at Antone.Pierucci@lakecountyca.gov.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
