The Washington County Historical Society is excited to announce the new Warden’s House Museum Site Manager is Julianne O’Connell of Stillwater and at the Hay Lake School Museum in Scandia is Susan Stepka of Somerset, WI.

O’Connell has been the Education Curator and Exhibit Assistant Curator at the Stearns History Museum in St. Cloud. There she planned and gave guided tours, planned and hosted seasonal festivities and designed, built exhibits for the museum. Before that, she was an English and Theology instructor at St. John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville.

Stepka has worked at the Somerset and Dresser libraries as well as the records manager of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He worked as a seasonal guide at the Gibbs Farm Museum. She graduated from Forest Lake High School, earned her BA at the University of Minnesota-Morris and obtained her Masters of Library and Information Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“These new managers will give the museums a new perspective on our county history,” said Executive Director Brent Peterson. “It will be a fantastic summer seeing what they can do with our museums – the public should see new things right away!”

The Warden’s House Museum and the Hay Lake School Museum will both open for the season on Sunday May 1. The Warden’s House will be open Thursdays through Sundays Noon to 5pm and the Hay Lake School Museum in Scandia will be open Fridays-Sundays noon to 4pm.

For more information about the museums, call the Warden’s House at 651-439-5956 and the Hay Lake School Museum at 433-4014 or email at [email protected] wchsmn.org. About the Washington County Historical Society Founded in 1934, the Washington County Historical Society is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization with more than 750 individual, family, and business members. WCHS is supported by individual gifts, memberships and earned income, and foundation grants.

Susan Stepka