Howard County Historical Society

Kelly Karickhoff never dreamed that 18 years of “minding the store” could involve so much change and innovation. Originally from Kokomo, Karickhoff had lived for a while in South Carolina, North Carolina, and overseas, before returning home to the community that she knew and loved. It was here that she knew she wanted to make a difference in the way people remembered her hometown and thought of their history and the history of the entire community. Her first and only job has been that of Executive Director of the Howard County Historical Society. She returned in 1991, and has been the executive director since that time.

“It was a very different organization in the beginning,” comments Karickhoff. While the mission has remained the same from the start, the organization has flourished in a number of areas, including facility expansion, quality of museum standards and incorporation of technology into the day-to-day functioning of the facility and the artifacts. The historical society has the responsibility of maintaining the historic Seiberling Mansion, and a collection of over 60,000 artifacts representing Howard County's rich history.

The society is housed in the famous Seiberling Mansion, which was fated to be demolished, had it not been for the Historical Society coming to the rescue. Since 1972, the Seiberling Mansion, because of its historical and architectural significance, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of Interior. The mansion has been home to the Howard County Historical Society since 1974. Its 500+ members are dedicated not only to the preservation of the history of Howard County, but also to the community this organization has created.

In 2008, Karickhoff began what has come to be the Society’s annual giving campaign. The first ornament was of the Seiberling Mansion. The ornament sold in the gift shop and was marketed to their membership with a postcard as well as publicity through the local media.

The response to the first piece was overwhelming and they soon sold out of the product and had to reorder. Additionally, a bookmark was made of a beautiful stained glass window in the mansion, known as “The Lady of the Lake”, and mirrored their annual campaign motto of “Looking Backward, Growing Forward”. The bookmark was used to thank campaign contributors for their generous donations to the first program. With their first annual campaign, the society raised over $40,000 in contributions.

In 2009 the ornament depicts the amazingly ornate front doors of the Seiberling Mansion. This piece mirrors the 2009 annual campaign focus, “Opening the Doors to Opportunity”. The goal is to exceed the previous year’s donations and draw a larger membership from creating more public awareness of the society. This will be accomplished with new program that partners the Historical Society and local schools with interactive programs to bring awareness of the county’s history to the youth of the community.

“We’re talking to our friends right now,” says Karickhoff, of the challenges facing a new annual campaign. “We are trying to appeal to the community and their families with a variety of exhibits and events that attract different people of many generations to our organization. It’s vital that we convey the importance of local history in our community.”

 Download a PDF of the Howard County Historical Society case study