Published: October 20, 2006 01:05 pm      

Volunteer surrounds himself with history

EDMOND — Harold Stump has been the face of the Edmond Historical Society and Museum for the past 15 years.

If you have ever visited the museum, 431 S. Boulevard, it was probably Stump who greeted you and answered any questions. And he was probably there to thank you for visiting or for making an optional donation.

Until about one year ago, Stump, 90, served as a museum docent every day it was opened. These days, his day to work is Wednesday. “I’m there all day,” he said. “Most docents are there for two hours.”

Stump answers the phone and visitors’ questions. He also helps with mailings and “anything else” they need him to do.

“I enjoy learning something new,” he said. “And I’ve learned a lot.”

Stump first came to Edmond in 1934 to attend then-Central State College. While attending the university, he stayed in a house on Hurd Street, near the First United Methodist Church of Edmond, 305 E. Hurd St.

Across the street from that house lived Antoinette “Tony” Vorel. The couple married in 1939. Her wedding dress was part of last year’s “Weddings in Edmond” exhibit at the museum.

“The house (her childhood home) has a red roof and siding on it. They’ve added air conditioning,” his wife said. “It has never looked better.”

Tony Stump recalled their courting days in a much smaller Edmond. “We didn’t have a car, so we walked everywhere. Sometimes we’d just walk around the block.”

She remembered dates the two had at the Gem Theater on South Broadway when movies cost 10 cents. And she reminisced about eating at Royce’s Café. “Everybody went to Royce’s,” she said. “No one had much money then, so we didn’t feel deprived,” she added.

The couple later moved to south Oklahoma City where Stump spent 22 years of his career working at Tinker Air Force Base.

They returned to Edmond in 1991, although they had really never left. Her mother remained in Edmond until her 90s, and Tony would visit the historical society museum to do genealogical research. She now volunteers in the genealogy area of the museum one day each month.

Stump got involved in his wife’s hobby because she did not care to handle the plastic covers on the photographs. So they formed a family tree hunting team.

He would look through the photos and she would look through books and other printed materials.

“My wife is interested in hunting for family all over the world,” he said. Her interest became his passion. As soon as they moved to Edmond, he volunteered. The rest, as they say, is history.

“We’ve found lots of interesting things and people,” she said. “Cousins we didn’t even know we had.”

The search for their roots has taken them across the United States. They have visited some of those cousins they did not know they had in Kansas, some of whom still live on land Stump’s grandparents owned.

They also have found some of Tony Stump’s cousins in Atlanta. Those relatives took them ruby hunting in North Carolina. “We actually found some,” she said.

“I think everyone should get acquainted with the museum,” Stump said. “Especially the kids. It’s an opportunity to learn about ourselves.”

Volunteers like the Stumps are an instrumental part of the Historical Society’s mission, said Gregory Zornes, curator of collections and volunteer coordinator for the Edmond Historical Society Museum.

“He has been an amazing part of the museum for the longest time,” Zornes said of Harold Stump. “For a lot of years he has been instrumental in greeting visitors and doing anything else that needs to be done.

“They are an unbelievable part of the museum. We couldn’t function without the volunteers.”

Zornes encourages anyone who is interested in volunteering at the museum to come in and visit with any of the current volunteers.

He also encourages the public to attend the Brown Bag Lunch series on the third Wednesday of each month. Discussion topics include Edmond in the 1920s, in the 1930s, the Grand Ole Opry and soon to come, Edmond during World War II.

In addition to the exhibits illustrating the history of Edmond, the museum features an extensive genealogy library. The library offers yearbooks dating from the early days of then Central State University and Edmond High School. There are old telephone directories, photographs, books and computers. People come to the library from across the country, and the world, looking for their roots.

“It’s a rewarding place to be,” Tony Stump said. “You can work on your own history as well as help others find theirs.”

“The museum is for the good of Edmond,” Harold Stump said. “I enjoy the people — the staff, the volunteers and the public.”