Published: April 02, 2008 08:49 am            

Meet your neighbor - Richard Herring

vanessa.fultz@gaflnews.com



The Suwannee County Historical Museum is still in good hands.

Since long-time museum curator Carol Herring passed away in January 2007, Richard, her husband, has served as interim director of the museum. And Richard is no stranger to the museum.

Carol got involved in the museum many years ago as a result of her passion for history. Richard, 62, worked by her side.

“I was always more interested in making sure they had funding,” Richard observed.

When asked what his favorite relic was at the museum, Richard was hesitant to answer.

“It’s Ted Bundy’s jail cell door,” he said, noting the article was hidden in a storage room. “It’s not something that people like to hear about.”

“I just think it’s fascinating when you think about the history behind it,” he added.

Bundy abducted and murdered a Lake City schoolgirl in the late 1970s, then buried her in Suwannee County, where he was later jailed. Bundy was to be tried here for the crime but the location of the trial was changed.

A volunteer at the museum noted that many people ask whether the barred gate that separates the museum area from rented office space was Bundy’s cell door.

Richard said it is not.

Other interesting artifacts at the museum Richard was anxious to talk about include a cart formerly owned by Florida’s 12th Governor, George Franklin Drew (1877-1881).

“It was used to take his little girl to school in,” Richard said, adding the item is on permanent loan from the Drew family.

Richard said the former governor resided in a mansion near the Suwannee River State Park and caught a train to Tallahassee every day.

“He hated staying in Tallahassee because he had to live in a boarding house,” Richard said, noting this was before the state provided a governor’s mansion.

“I’ve got something back there that only one person has been able to guess what it is,” Richard said of one of the museum’s artifacts.

He said most people think the contraption was a machine used by a blacksmith to keep the air hot.

“But it’s a vacuum cleaner. It doesn’t blow air, it sucks air,” he said.

Richard also boasted about the museum’s phone display.

“We’ve got one of the best telephone museums in the south,” he said. “Kids love this back here.”

The area houses a mechanical setup donated by the former North Florida Telephone Company. It houses numerous phones from various time periods, some of which still work. When students visit the museum they can call from one telephone to another.

“[Kids] don’t know what these are,” he said pointing to a rotary phone, “They’ve never had a dial up.”

Richard said the museum attracts many people from different areas.

“January and February were remarkable,” he said. “We had people from 18 different states and three foreign countries come through here.”

This included visitors from France, Canada and Great Britain. Richard said they were travelers just passing through.

Richard and Carol met in the United States Navy in Puerto Rico during the Vietnam War. Carol was the head nurse recruiter for the north central area of the U.S. He was a Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Richard preserves the past but has an interest in the future. When he is not at the museum he does church work and watches Star Trek.

“If you want to know what’s coming up in the next 20-25 years, just watch Star Trek,” he said. “Something new will come out...that they were doing 20 years ago on Star Trek.”

Richard said the building that houses the museum near the train tracks was open to indigents for many years.

Pointing to black spots on the bare wooden floor he said, “Homeless people would come in here to get out of the weather and to get out of the cold. They would just light a fire right on the floor.”

Richard and Carol worked at the Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch for about seven years. Because of his interest in working with young people, Richard entered the field of education. After Richard left the ranch he entered the education program at Valdosta State College where he obtained a degree in behavior disorders.

Richard taught special education for 25 years at Suwannee High. He had previously obtained a journalism degree at the University of Florida.

Richard has one child, Andrew, who is a career Navy man. He has two grandchildren, one 7 years old, the other 7 months.

Andrew not only followed in his parents’ footsteps in serving in the Navy, he is also a third generation Navy man on his mother’s side.

        

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