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After 14-years of service, Jo Crabtree, the Coordinator of the Bartlesville Area History Museum, is retiring.

Crabtree said that she will miss working with the City of Bartlesville. She said she has high hopes for the Bartlesville Area History Museum moving forward.

The community should continue to appreciate and respect the heritage they are saving for themselves in Bartlesville. That is the hope that Crabtree leaves behind. We need to recognize that without a past, we have no future; we have to know where we came from in order to know where we are going.

Crabtree said there is a great staff that remains at the BAHM. She said the City of Bartlesville is more than capable of finding a strong replacement that will mesh well with those that are sticking with it through-and-through. She had nothing but kind words for Collections Manager Debbie Neece as well for her stellar work for the museum.

“Neece is a great asset for the museum, and I hope those after me see that and offer all their respect to her,” Crabtree said.

In the 80’s, Crabtree owned a home food store with her mother. She said she owned the Harmony Music Store in Tulsa at one point, too.

Prior to working in Bartlesville, Crabtree had an interest in genealogy and studied it professionally in three Oklahoma counties. In Ramona, Elizabeth Collins asked Crabtree several times if she would join the Book Board that would compile the historical information of families in Washington County.

That offer would be accepted by Crabtree. A few years passed and Crabtree served on the Board. Eventually, Karen Smith, the Bartlesville Area History Museum Director at the time, asked Crabtree if she would be the Volunteer Coordinator. Crabtree said she said “no” several times before accepting the offer after the third ask.

Since 2005, Crabtree served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the BAHM. She eventually became the Museum Coordinator in 2017 for the City of Bartlesville. A gift shop for the Friends of the Bartlesville Area History Museum was managed by Crabtree. She said profits made there go right back to the museum. It funds special projects or helps pay for expensive equipment as well. Crabtree also served as a liaison for the Friends of the BAHM.

Administrative work and requisitioning was another thing that Crabtree did for the City of Bartlesville. She said she had a great interest in designing and installing exhibits as well.

When asked why she wanted to retire, she said knee surgery keeps her from doing what she wanted to do. Being on the move and always on the go is what Crabtree loves to do. 14-years is the longest that she has been in one spot, and she said that she was ready for a change of scenery as well. She said she loves, and will truly miss, the BAHM.

While we are calling it a “retirement,” Crabtree does not envision retiring and being home all the time. She said sometimes life delivers things that you are not expecting, but you just have to roll with it.

When reflecting on the job at the BAHM, one of the most difficult things for Crabtree was seeing older volunteers she worked away. She said they were the greatest generation of people ever and that we need more people like them. People do not volunteer today like they used to.

There is some self-centeredness to it today. Crabtree said she hopes that changes and that people act more as servants for the community than for themselves.

(Photo courtesy: Bartlesville City Beat)