Megan Martin
Megan Martin is the society’s Volunteer Coordinator and expert on the Historical Village’s Log Cabin. She frequently can be seen dressed in a period costume telling visitors about 19th century life. “I like to teach people about the past so they can appreciate the future and what they have,” she said.
Love of history runs in her family -- all of whom have been Columbus area residents since 1870. From childhood days Megan not only heard stories of old-time family life but visited many historical sites. “My parents would go on vacation every year to historical spots so I have always been interested in history. I have always loved history. I like reading historical novels. I’m always learning through reading,” she said. ... Megan has been involved with the society since 2001, joining the year after she retired from her job as a laboratory technician at Anheuser Busch. One of the first people she met at the society was the late Mary Fuller, herself an expert on the Log Cabin. Megan credits Mary as her mentor and teacher.
For school tours, Megan portrays the part of a 1800s pioneer woman at the Log Cabin. Her interest in talking in first-person began with her love of Colonial Williamsburg which she’s visited 11 times. “I was also a volunteer at the Ohio History Connection where I worked in the farmhouse,” she said. There again, she presented information in the first-person.
School children as well as adults are curious about many things in the cabin. “I explain the gun and tell them what they ate. Boys just eat that up -- but when they find out they had to eat squirrel, possum, ground hog, raccoon, and rabbit they are not so thrilled,” Megan explained.
Men who visit want to know where the door under the staircase goes – it’s a cupboard. Girls and women often say the Victorian dolls in the upstairs bedroom are “creepy” because their eyes don’t close. “I say I don’t know what the word creepy means,” being from the 1800’s.
“I usually can answer everybody’s questions. If I can’t, I refer them to another docent.Usually there is somebody who can help answer their questions,” said Megan.
Megan encourages volunteers to sign up to present at the log cabin “A lot of people get scared of the cabin because they think they can’t do what I do, but that’s not true,they can do it,” she said.
Knowledge of history is the secret to being prepared. For example, a student once asked Megan why she wears red fingernail polish. “I tell them I don’t know what fingernail polish is... then I say there was a crock with red berries, which I was using to dye some wool and the dye got on my fingernails – which is true, dye would do that.” she added. And as to why she wears glasses, Megan replies, ‘Thank goodness for Benjamin Franklin,’ the 18th-century man who invented them.
“One time I forgot my hat and I apologized for my short hair. I said I got some bad water and caught typhus and I had to cut off my hair,” she mentioned.
The most unusual item in the cabin is the rope bed and cornhusk mattress, a style often used by pioneers. Megan said. “The cornhusks and ropes make the bed very noisy and uncomfortable.” The ropes are the only thing supporting people while they sleep. “That’s where the saying ‘Sleep tight’ comes from. I always tell that story,”
Megan added. Some volunteers ask where Megan gets her period costumes. “There is Amazon, and I’ve also done Google searches for bonnets, hats, and aprons. There are also recollections websites that have handmade items of all kinds.” She added that there is really no need to buy anything. “The society has costumes in the museum for people to wear – skirts, blouses, dresses, and men’s shirts.” The Historical Society also has vests that can be worn with street clothes.
In the future Megan would like to see more presenters speaking in the first-person. “It would be neat,”
“I really wish that we had to a way to do more advertising of the Village to reach more people,” she commented.
Megan also would like to recruit more docents, especially those who can volunteer on weekdays. “We need more people because we do school tours and we need people who aren’t working. We offer a good docent training program if people would take advantage of it. We can teach them how to be a docent. We have broken down the history into five main points and then a trivia story to tell. It is not too hard.”
In her free time Megan makes beaded jewelry. Bracelets are her favorite. “You can wear two or three of them. I majored in art at the Columbus College of Art and Design. I like putting colors together and arranging patterns,” she said.
Megan’s son, Dustin, is a retired Navy officer who commands the Junior ROTC program at Grove City High School. “He is a big history buff,” said his mother. Megan also has two grandchildren.
