Scott Schaut, curator of the Mansfield Memorial Museum, dies at age 67
Scott Schaut, the longtime curator of the Mansfield Memorial Museum, will be remembered for his love of Mansfield and his tireless efforts to preserve military, industrial, natural history and more at the stately museum at 34 Park Avenue West.
Schaut, 67, died July 4 at Country Meadows Rehabilitation Center after an extended stay, according to his death certificate at Richland Public Health.
"He wasn't simply an employee. He had a sense of dedication to that museum that was way more than an avocation. It was more like his life's mission to preserve the building and expand the museum," Ed Olson, the board president for the museum, said Friday. In October 2022, the Frank P. Lahm Aviation Museum opened at 40 Park Avenue West rear, directly west of the museum.
Schaut created the new aviation museum, doing everything except the hardwood floors, Olson said. Schaut did the exhibits and even built the wooden cabinets housing aviation artifacts and memorabilia. He raised about $50,000, exceeding his $25,000 goal. That money will be kept for maintenance of the museum, Olson added.
"The board of trustees appreciated his work," Olson said. "He was highly regarded by the trustees and it will be a terrible loss to us."
Scott Schaut's background
Schaut grew up in Milwaukee but moved to Mansfield in 1977 from Washington after finding the perfect home.
He spent summers with his grandmother and said she used to tell him, "You were born old" because he was interested in old stuff.
He said he found the museum by accident when he was doing research on his house. He is the second curator; the first curator was Edward Wilkinson. After Wilkinson's death the museum was open sporadically. The fire marshal closed it in 1955 because there was only one staircase leading to the third floor, Schaut told the News Journal previously.
"I must have talked to 50 people and they said, 'Oh don't bother. The second floor has collapsed onto the first. Everything is condemned. It's been stolen because no one had been inside for so long," he said. "Albert Allen Jr. tried in the '90s to get people interested in it, but it never came to anything. I finally found someone here who was interested and Gib Frontz took me upstairs and we walked all the way up to the third floor and we opened the iron gates," Schaut said. "It was like a movie and they creaked. When I got to the top of the stairs my heart stopped and I thought, 'Oh my God, this is really a Victorian museum.'"
Schaut said he finally told the board he wanted the honor of reopening the museum. The building is virtually in its original condition as when it first opened in 1899.
The museum reopened to the public on Memorial Day 1999.
"This is my life. I have sacrificed everything for this place, literally. But it's important. If we don't preserve and save our past history who is going to?" he told the News Journal previously. "So much has been lost already."
The Mansfield Memorial Museum kicked off its 2022 season with a new Westinghouse Appliance Exhibit, the largest exhibit of Mansfield-made appliances with 257 items on display.
The Westinghouse exhibit is one for history lovers, former Westinghouse employees — including those who worked at the Mansfield plant — and anyone who enjoys seeing appliances that were well-built and have lasted decades. Eighty-five percent of the display is from a private collector.
Schaut a man of many hobbies
Schaut's also worked in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian. He apparently was drawn to Mansfield by his frequent purchases, mostly from World War II, from a Mansfield dealer. He was selective in what was donated and told successful donors it would always be there, unlike some other museums.
"He researched local history, found interesting local people, wrote books and spoke frequently to local groups. Again unlike other history organizations, he did not wait for donations to walk in the door but actively sought out items from families and collectors," said Peggy Mershon, a friend and colleague who loved doing historical research with him.
"He was rabid about local business and compiled many sets of employee newsletters. He was lucky when he discovered the Westinghouse robot and that some of the former employees or their children shared their experiences, photos or even blueprints which ended up in his book, 'Robots of Westinghouse, 1924-Today,'" she said.
"He found the original Elektro in various places and pieces, restored it and made a duplicate which he rented out for a national tour. It's back in the museum now, standing next to the original. He didn't have time to recreate Elektro's dog , Sparko," she added.
"And he didn't have time to write a definitive biography of silent film actress Martha Mansfield who topped his list of local people who deserved a book. He was particularly interested in people in the arts — performers, musicians and artists. He had a large record and tape collection bought when a local radio station was going to throw it out. He opened research and acquisition to video and audio," Mershon said. His annual calendars, a fundraiser for the museum, were also popular with old photos of Mansfield and Richland County history.
Scott was a musician himself, at one time playing organ for churches. He repaired old pianos, both in Washington and here.
Schaut worked for free for 8 years at Mansfield Memorial Museum
Olson said Schaut worked 8 years with no pay under the previous museum's board of trustees. About 2018, the museum received a significant donation of $20,000 and the current board voted to use half of the donation to start a salary for Schaut. The board then entered into yearly contracts with Schaut and his salary became part of the annual budget.
"He was there every weekend conducting tours even though he was not getting paid," Olson said of Schaut's dedication during the years the museum was having financial difficulties.
But most of all Schaut was unbelievably devoted to the Mansfield Memorial Museum, both continually repairing the physical plant and preserving its contents. Many people have said, upon learning of Schaut's death, that it will be hard to find anybody with his dedication, knowledge and expertise.
Olson said Schaut was so diligent he completed an inventory of everything in the museum, including what items are the property of the museum, what items represent personal collections, and which items were on loan or on permanent loan.
"Those items on loan will remain there until the person indicates they want them back," he said. Olson said the inventory is recorded on paper and also on CD.
The museum, which originally opened in 1892 and re-opened in 1999, is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building and it is the first memorial building built in Ohio and the last standing.
The museum is temporarily closed due to Schaut's death.
Funeral arrangements have not been disclosed.
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Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield museum curator and history expert Scott Schaut dies at 67
