HINCKLEY — Gary Dugal, Good Will-Hinckley’s president and executive director, announced recently the retirement of L.C. Bates Museum Director Deborah Staber. We are honored to announce the retirement of Deborah Staber, who has been a passionate and dedicated director of the L.C. Bates Museum since 1992. Staber retired on June 30, concluding a remarkable career spanning over 30 years, during which she has overseen and nurtured the museum’s operations.
Dugal recently presented Staber with the Good Will-Hinckley ‘Legacy Life Changer Award’ saying, “It is with deep admiration, immense gratitude, and profound appreciation for your 32 years of faithful and dedicated service to the mission of Good Will-Hinckley, that we humbly say thank you.” He continued, “Your fierce passion and tireless efforts in educating our youth and the greater community have not gone unnoticed. Countless youth have been exposed to the wonders of our cabinet of curiosities under your watch. Your legacy at the L.C. Bates Museum has left the indelible mark of the helping hand in the fabric of Good Will-Hinckley and will continue to educate youth and families for years to come.”
The museum was first dreamt up around 1889 by progressive children’s activist George Hinckley, who established the museum after opening his Good Will farm school for underprivileged youth, now known as Good Will-Hinckley. Hinckley famously kick started the collection with just a few rocks: a fossil, a chunk of sulfur, and a stalactite. However, from these humble beginnings, the selection of wonders from the natural world grew to encompass dozens of preserved mammals, birds, and fish (including a marlin caught by Ernest Hemingway!), alongside the ever-mounting collection of rocks. The expanding collection eventually outgrew its home, and in 1920 it was moved to its current home thanks to the funding of Lewis Carlton Bates, who now lends his name to the museum as well.
Having continued collecting specimens and other artifacts for its collection, the L.C. Bates Museum now houses rooms dedicated to sea life, mammals, rocks, and cultural artifacts. In addition to the wall-to-wall taxidermy one might expect in a natural history museum, there are such oddities as an amphora reputed to come from the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace in Babylon (modern Iraq) and a piece of the original trans-Atlantic cable.
Tripadvisor reports, “The museum is an unexpected treasure trove. The American Impressionist painter, Charles Hubbard, painted dioramas that highlight the 32 Maine habitat exhibits. There are three floors to this museum, with galleries full of minerals, shells, birds, mammals, artifacts from around the world, and more, as well as hands-on educational exhibits for the children.”
It’s a museum that takes you back to the late 19th and early 20th century curiosity museums. The L.C. Bates Natural History Museum has been called a “Museum of a Museum” thanks to its eclectic collection of exhibits ranging from cultural artifact displays to taxidermied animals to the simple rocks that began the collection.
Throughout her tenure, Staber has managed every aspect of the museum’s operation, from administration and publicity to exhibitions and educational programming. She has skillfully coordinated volunteers and managed museum grants, herself securing significant support from prestigious organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Maine Humanities Council.
Staber’s leadership and passion have been instrumental in sustaining the museum on a modest budget, making it a cherished cornerstone of the Good Will-Hinckley campus. Her efforts have ensured that the museum remains a vibrant window into the past, delighting visitors with its eclectic collection.
Lyndell Bade, a museum educator who has worked alongside Staber since 2022, stepped into the role of director on July 1. Dugal states, “We are confident that Bade will continue Staber’s legacy of excellence and dedication to the museum’s mission.”
Please join us in celebrating Deborah Staber’s extraordinary contributions and wishing her a fulfilling and joyous retirement. The L.C. Bates Museum, at 14 Easler Road, Hinckley, Maine is open during the summer months, Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The L.C. Bates Museum, an early 20th-century natural history and cultural museum in Hinckley, is located on the campus of Good Will-Hinckley. It was founded by George Walter Hinckley (1853–1950) as part of the Good Will Home, a pioneering residential and educational institution for underprivileged children.
The L.C. Bates Museum is housed in the Quincy Building, a 1903 Romanesque Revival brick school building designed by noted Lewiston architect William R. Miller (1866–1929). Originally serving as an industrial and training space, the building was repurposed to house the museum by the early 1920s. With its distinctive terracotta egg-and-dart ornamentation and arched windows, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Described as a “Museum of a Museum,” the L.C. Bates Museum contains Maine’s most well-preserved museum interiors from the early 20th century. Its exhibits include 32 Maine habitat dioramas, galleries of birds, mammals, marine life, insects, reptiles, and minerals, as well as hands-on educational exhibits. The diorama backgrounds were painted in the 1920s by noted American Impressionist painter Charles Daniel Hubbard (1876–1951).
