By Krizia Williams, Graciela Vazquez, Tristini Tomlinson, Rebecca Ruiz, Taylor Cordova & Reece Nations
Entrance into the American Wind Museum. Photo by Rebecca Ruiz.
Lined in even rows side-by-side with each other, exhibits in and around the American Windmill Museum silently loom in seclusion until the visitors of the day arrive.
However, the attendance at the windmill museum has dropped significantly since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s March 31 executive action that implemented essential service and activities protocol for businesses statewide.
Situated at 1701 Canyon Lake Drive between East 19th Street and Broadway, the windmill museum’s operations are not subsidized and supported mainly through admissions sales and donations.
Coy Harris – executive director of the American Windmill Museum – said when the restrictions went into place, they were prepared to carry on normally until operations could return to normal.
“We continued working out here, all the staff was here,” Harris said. “We continued building exhibits, we just weren’t open to the public at that time. And then when we started opening to the public we (kept) working on exhibits. So really that hadn’t affected anything here.”
Consequently, adjustments to the museum’s operations followed suit. Patrons of the museum now interact with staff sectioned off by plastic cubicles and must adhere to rules requiring face coverings, he said.
Even though revenue has declined significantly in this span of time, none of the museum’s employees have been laid off due to COVID-19 pandemic-induced constraints. However, Harris made it clear another shutdown would not just be devastating for the windmill museum, but for much of the community.
Outside view of a few of the wind museum’s displays. Photo by Rebecca Ruiz.
“We bring a lot of people over here that normally wouldn’t come to this side of town, and if we weren’t here, all of that would be affected detrimentally for sure,” he said. “So, we need to keep our revenues up, we need to keep having people coming out, and don’t do any more silly closing downs anymore.”
Not all of Lubbock’s museums have been as committed to employee retention. Tanya Rosales, former gift shop employee at the Texas Tech Museum, said she had worked there for around a year before it shuttered operations during the spring semester.
Located at 3301 4th St., the Texas Tech Museum is a not-for-profit institution “by virtue of being a part of Texas Tech University,” according to its website. Admission to the museum is free, so its revenue is generated by donations and gift shop sales.
“(The) Texas Tech Museum had to go by what (the university) was doing,” Rosales said. “So, since Texas Tech didn’t come back from spring break, the museum didn’t come back either… we weren’t selling anything, so we couldn’t get paid.”
If a museum employee was not working in a capacity that could not be replicated from home, Rosales said their hours were cut.
While the health and safety of the public is important to Lubbock’s museum community, so is their commitment to reopen. Rosales said the museum’s closure is already having an impact on children’s education.
The museum is still closed to the public at the time of publication. The museum is only open in limited capacity for academic purposes until further notice.
Dorothy Svgdik – education and volunteer coordinator for the Municipal Museums of Lubbock – said while some museum staff has been able to continue to work from home, others have since returned to working on-site.
“It was an opportunity for our curatorial team,” Svgdik said, “and to kind of do facilities refreshed so we were able to get out in the galleries and do some museum work that we typically aren’t able to do when there are visitors in the space.”
Online events are also gaining popularity within the museum community. Museums are having to find new ways of keeping the public educated and informed, she said.
Windmills from various eras loom over the wind museum. Photo by Rebecca Ruiz.
“We are leveraging our website and social media as well as we’ve been able to go on local television, like Trends and Friends, and things like that kind of advertising that we’re here and advertising our events,” Svgdik said.
Times are hard seemingly everywhere in Lubbock’s museum community. Shirley Green, executive director for Lubbock Roots Historical Arts Council, said the Caviel Museum of African American History has seen its volunteer staff dwindle to around one-quarter of its usual size.
The Caviel Museum, West Texas’ first African American history museum, was founded in 2015, according to Texas Plains Trail. Its premises, a former pharmacy located at the corner of Avenue A and 17th Street, was owned and operated by Alfred and Billie Caviel from 1960 until 2009.
Many individuals involved with the Caviel Museum’s operations are senior citizens who are especially susceptible to the coronavirus, Green said. The museum, which is open to the public by request or appointment, has adopted a detailed procedure to ensure the safety of both guests and workers.
“You’ve got to check their temperature, you’ve got to make sure we got the hand sanitizer, you’ve got to make sure the building is sanitized,” Green said. “And you’ve got to make sure that (guests are socially) distanced within each other.”
The Caviel Museum has instituted some of its exhibits in a virtual format in the absence of public gatherings during Lubbock’s monthly First Friday Art Trail events, she said. Between these and other events, like July’s Caprock Jazz concert hosted by the Roots Historical Arts Council, the Caviel Museum’s mission is still going strong despite the pandemic’s hindrances.
Despite the pandemic’s continued impact on revenues and attendance, museums in Lubbock are staying true to their missions. Although times are tough right now, Green said the museum’s efforts are sustained by the community’s support.
Members of the community can help uphold the museum’s historical and educational role in Lubbock by spreading awareness and generously donating, Green said. More information on the Roots Historical Arts Council can be found on the organization’s website.
“We need all the help we can get financially,” Green said. “You know, because everything we do, it goes back into the community. Not one person on the board gets paid a penny, everything is one-hundred percent volunteer, nobody’s making any financial gain at all.”
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
