After nearly a dozen years, Erynne Ansel-McCabe has stepped down as director of the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave.
The museum's board of trustees is looking for a replacement for Ms. Ansel-McCabe, who not only steered the museum through difficult economic times but also helped put together exhibits that gained national recognition.
"It's been wonderful. . .I've really enjoyed it," Ms. Ansel-McCabe said. "But it's time."
The board of directors has several new members and wants to "take the museum in a new direction," she said.
"After 11 and a half years, I'm not the person to take it forward. But I applaud them for that, and I loved it here."
Board of trustees Chairman Larry Joyce agreed that the board is changing the museum's perspective, and a new director would lead the way.
"Erynne and I are very close," Mr. Joyce said. "She did a remarkable job, and we have the highest regard for her."
Ms. Ansel-McCabe steered the museum through a stagnant economy as dollars dried up for non-profits.
Fundraising was difficult, she added, "and I think we wentthrough our deepest, darker days."
Yet Ms. Ansel-McCabe and others there brought the museum into prominence with several exhibits, especially one about Iroquois in baseball.
She credited museum staffers Stephanie Shultes--now the interim director--and Mike Tarbell with being invaluable in building exhibits and stoking the museum's popularity.
"I never did anything by myself," Ms. Ansel-McCabe said. "Steph and Mike were there every step of the way. It was a good partnership."
The baseball exhibit was one of her most cherished accomplishments. Another was getting the museum on solid financial and organizational footing, and a third was partnering with other museums.
"The last two and a half years we've really built a relationship with the Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown," Ms. Ansel-McCabe said. "We've shared ideas and artists. . .it's really been rewarding."
Ms. Ansel-McCabe is working part-time in the Schoharie County Clerk's Office, and new Bull's Head Inn owners Chris Guldner and Mary Sagendorf have asked her to be the special events planner at the inn when it reopens.
Meanwhile, the board of trustees is narrowing its search for a replacement for Ms. Ansel-McCabe.
Ideally, the board is looking for someone with strong fundraising skills and can work with the general public, staff and trustees, Mr. Joyce said.
"We've had applicants from all across the nation," he said. "Many have museum experience or experience in historical associations."
The search committee will be meeting soon to decide which candidates to bring to the Howes Cave museum, Mr. Joyce added.