Home to an astounding variety of dinosaur fossils, vintage photographs, old tools, mineral specimens, and shell and mineral folk art, Fick Fossil and History Museum is a must-stop while in the Oakley area.
The museum, housed in the same building as the Oakley Public Library, got its name in honor of Vi and Earnest Fick. The Ficks are known for their extensive fossil hunting around the Monument Rock area. Several decades ago, the couple displayed their findings in their own home, but eventually this was no longer feasible due to the high level of traffic in their home. This led to the founding of the Fick Fossil and History Museum, with the museum opening its doors in 1975.
Museum director Jodee Reed explained more behind the history of the museum. “The museum started due to the Ficks having over 2,000 visitors at their home in the early 1970’s. They decided it was time to get it into a building and so they started in the Chamber of Commerce building but it was very small since Vi has hundreds of pictures. They discussed their collection with the city and the city passed a bond issue to house the museum and Oakley Public Library.”
Reed pours her heart and soul into the museum, lovingly caring for the fossils, arranging displays, and greeting visitors with a smile and a story. Working alongside Reed at the museum are Ruth Clark, Accessions Manager, and Donnette Ellegood, assistant. The trio makes the Fick Fossil and History Museum a special place to be.
Visitors to the museum will see an “amazing fossil collection”, according to Reed. While the majority of the collection came from the Ficks, there have been other generous donors, as well. “Many patrons from Logan County (Oakley, Monument, Winona, Page City and Russell Springs) and travelers from all over the world have donated to make our wonderful collection,” she explained.
Another very special and historical feature of the museum is the abundance of old photographs, donated by Vi Fick. Throughout the years, the old photos have been well taken care of, but the museum did recently take steps to digitize the photos. But never fear, the originals remain. “We have recently digitized all of our pictures, but we have a beautiful display with picture stands for our patrons to view. One section is the different towns around the area, next section is businesses, churches and schools and our last section is of different people of Logan County. We have several patrons who have donated numerous pictures to make our collection,” Reed stated.
The museum is very active, hosting events for the patrons such as traveling exhibits, live music, and shows. The traveling exhibits have come from places such as Kauffman Museum in Newton and Smoky Hills Museum in Salina. Max Haverfield will be putting on a Christmas show in December, and each year the museum hosts a Kansas Day event for the schools in the participating towns.
While many of the exhibits are stationary, the folk art displays are rotated out often to feature as many of Mrs. Fick’s works of art as possible.
Visitors to the museum have the option to view the museum themselves or to take a guided tour, depending on their preference. “This allows visitors to spend as much time as needed wherever they like to look. We like to let our visitors take their time and look at their own pace,” said Reed.
Reed would like to encourage folks to pay a visit to the museum and spend some time in the town of Oakley itself. “We have a lovely town and enjoy showing our visitors the interesting things that Oakley has to see. We have amazing parks that are very well maintained and with the latest playground equipment. Our school grounds are very well maintained and the latest addition to the Oakley Elementary playground is new equipment fundraised by the Oakley Elementary PTO group. Aside from the school buildings, Irwin Stadium and Irwin Field which were built in 1939 by a New Deal works program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on April 9, 2013. The rock building which is also on the school grounds houses the cafeteria, library and district offices. This building was also built by the WPA program,” she explained.
For all these reasons, make plans to visit the Fick Fossil and History Museum the next time you are in the area. The museum is free to visit, and is funded based on visitor donations. To learn more about the museum and stay up-to-date on new photography, events, and activities, you can “like” them on Facebook.
