Understanding another place and time is to know where we came from and where we’re going. As people, we yearn to explore, to empathize and to make a difference.

A group of volunteers at the Old Methodist Church Museum of Daphne are doing all those things, according to Ken Balme, the museum’s president.

“We are 100 percent volunteers—in the past, the City of Daphne has been approached about getting some paid help, part-time or whatever, but with no success,” he explained. “The City has a 99-year lease with the Methodist Church and pays for building and grounds maintenance, security system, power, water, etc. but no salaries; needless to say, we'd be shut down with no volunteers.”

He said that he appreciates those who give so much of themselves to preserve Daphne’s history.

“Mickey Boykin was past president for five years; Helen Baroco, treasurer, and her husband Joe do all kinds of odd jobs, like repair headstones in the cemetery (adjacent to the museum); Doris Allegr has been the unofficial custodian of the cemetery for 30 year; and Al Guarisco is a walking encyclopedia of Daphne history,” Balme divulged.

The museum is the result of many hours of hard work and dedication.

Allegri explained that, “Back in 1974, Myrtle Jordan, Bobbie Baggette and I formed the Daphne Museum. It was located in a room off the Daphne Library. After the city remodeled the City Hall, I had to pack all the artifacts and we stored them in the old Jail, till the Methodist Church became available.”

According to Helen Baroco, “I have been a volunteer for the Daphne Museum since 2002. I volunteer for this particular museum because it is close to my home and it is a showplace for items that are part of my heritage.

As a native of Baldwin County whose parents came to the Belforest and Loxley areas in the early 1900s, I have a great interest in local history and an appreciation of how much everything has changed, particularly in the last hundred years, or so. The Daphne museum has an invaluable collection of artifacts. The collections of clothes, letters, photographs, newspapers and various documents provide so much insight to the past. A number of these items have been passed down to me and I have donated them to this museum. I have donated items to the Baldwin County Heritage Museum in Elberta and the Mobile Museum.”

Boykin has also volunteered there for many years. She, too, wants to keep elements of her family and past intact.

“I have been volunteering for the museum since the year 2000, before Daphne’s Mayor at the time, E. Harry Brown, dedicated the Old Methodist Church of Daphne as a museum in May of 2001,” she recalled. “I volunteered with the museum because Mrs. Helen Trione Callaway, a lifetime resident and community activist whom I had known all my life, was rounding up volunteers to actually begin the process of cataloging and displaying what few artifacts were on hand at the time.”

“I had also recently retired and had plenty of time. I grew up in Daphne and I loved the idea of preserving its history, especially since the museum was going to be housed in the old Daphne Methodist Church, which was constructed in 1858. I have lived in Daphne most of my life and am so proud of our City. I have a passion for preserving and exhibiting items, photographs, books, and documents that represent how life was in days gone by. Surviving was difficult and everyone worked very hard. The artifacts in the Daphne Museum are representative of the hard lives of our parents and grandparents. As a senior citizen myself, I remember my grandparents and parents using many of the articles, such as large, black wash pots. As a child, I actually ‘helped’ my Mother and Grandmother do the ‘wash’ in the backyard. I doubt that my help was needed, but this was a good lesson in the hard work of women. Clothes would be washed in one pot by using a long, wooden, pole to swish them around. The clothes would then be transferred to the rinsing pot, using the same method. Finally, they were hand-squeezed and hung on lines to dry. This was an all-day task and in our family, Monday was usually wash day.”

Allegri also holds family heritage as an important motivator.

“The old church and cemetery has a special interest, as my mother and father were married in the church in 1921,” she divulged. “Mother’s family is buried in the cemetery.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Howard donated the property for the church and the cemetery in the early 1930s. I think there was a church in 1858 before the present church was built. There is a grave with a headstone dated 1847, there could have been others but we have no records. As for May Day, we are trying to locate all May Queens. My mother was May Queen in 1917, during the First World War, then, 25 years later, I was May Queen. We have old courthouse records from Blakely, 1868 to when they moved the courthouse to Bay Minette in 1901. We have seven years of the Daphne Standard Newspaper.”

The volunteers seemed to agree that elements of the future motivate them, just as a responsibility to the past does.

Baroco explained her hopes to educate future generations.

“I believe it is important to preserve historical elements to provide a visible demonstration of how much our lifestyles have changed,” she said. “This is a means for younger generations to actually see a washboard, flat irons, spinning wheels, curling iron, scythe, a grape press for making wine, a hydraulic ram for raising water from a stream into an elevated cistern, wartime ration coins and books and so many other items from the past.”

“To me it is impressive to see how much this museum has accumulated in its short existence. I like to explain that the Daphne Museum is something to see even without its artifacts. The building itself is a monument to survival having stood for 154 years. Once inside one can see the old chandelier that began as an oil lamp and was later electrified. There are a number of original church pews in the front and a slaves' gallery in the back. Once inside one can spend hours looking at the displays and looking through the many books of historical articles, pictures and letters. I would also tell newcomers that the museum is always looking for volunteers. It would be great to have enough volunteers to be able to extend the visiting hours.”

Allegri agreed that, “The younger generations learn from the older family members, artifacts and records we have placed in the museum.

Boykin also believes that children benefit from learning about days gone by, she said.

“If we don’t preserve and demonstrate our history, young people of today and future generations will not know about the difficult times their grandparents experienced,” she explained. “Today’s young people grew up in the age of prosperity, technology, and modern inventions that make life so much easier; so without preservation of our past history, they cannot imagine life without these modern conveniences.”

Balme expressed a connection among the volunteers. He said their interests and dedication have brought them together to make a difference in the city of Daphne and in the lives of others.

“There is an over-arching love of history, per se, and especially the Daphne area,” he confessed. “They all love to talk about the events of history in which they have been involved.”

“They are ‘collectors' (in the best sense of the word) of artifacts, stories, family histories and knowledge of Daphne.”

“They all have what we used to call, the work ethic--I'm not sure that term is used these days when we talk about the state of the economy. You will find that each of them has different areas of interest and knowledge, which when taken as a whole, makes for an endearing picture of our locale. And all of these folks have other volunteer passions for other causes.”

The museum is open for visitors from 1 to 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and at other times by appointment. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

The museum is located at 405 Dryer Ave. For more, visit daphnemuseumalabama.com.