The board of the Sheldon Museum voted unanimously Wednesday to rescind an October motion to change the facility’s name.
Instead, the board agreed to seek public comment on a possible name change before making another decision on the matter.
During nearly two hours of discussion, members said their vote to rename the museum the Haines Museum and Cultural Center was premature and had not adequately involved the public or the Sheldon family.
“I think we were too hasty in picking a name. Clearly, many people in and out of the community had strong feelings about this,” said board member Lorrie Dudzik.
Board chair Jim Shook said he had pushed the board for a vote on the matter in order to bring to a head a discussion that’s been going on for at least three years. “I think we did bring the issue to a head, but I didn’t expect it to hit the fan so much.”
Testimony at the meeting included a letter from four grandchildren of museum founder Steve Sheldon asking the name “Sheldon” be included if the name is changed.
Board member Gregg Richmond said he wasn’t convinced of the need for changing the name and member Diana Kelm said a change might lead to additional expense and confusion.
“Do we even know we want a name change? I’m totally neutral. But I’m not going to support a name change until I’m convinced we need one,” Richmond said.
But others at the meeting said incorporating the town’s name would help in marketing the museum to visitors, eliminating confusion with Sitka’s Sheldon Jackson Museum and strengthening the museum’s connection to the community.
Noting that the Sheldon family has moved out of town, resident Diane Sly said that “Sheldon” name belonged to the past and that younger residents have no connection to the name, but they are connected to the idea of a Haines museum.
Several board members spoke in favor of a change to the “Haines Sheldon Community Museum,” but some members said including that name in a solicitation of public comments might bias the results.
Several comments went against keeping the phrase “and Cultural Center” in the name. Museum director Helen Alten called it “extra baggage” and former curator C.J. Jones said she’d always disliked that part of the title.
Alten said she thought a name change would not be expensive, but could potentially cause a loss of financial support from donors. “I think we need to let the people talk. I think we’re going to find some interesting ideas.”