Maxwell Walters, Curator
Max studied history, archaeology, and museum science at Central Michigan University, and went on to focus in museum collections and curatorial practices at Johns Hopkins. His prior museum work was at the Ukrainian American Museum of Detroit, the Historical Society of the Tonawandas, and Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire.
He was originally introduced to the history of Western New York while doing research on the Erie Canal for the Historical Society of the Tonawandas, situated just north of Buffalo on the canal’s western terminus.
“I pursed a career in museums as a way to apply my lifelong interest in history and create memorable exhibits. During school I was very taken by broad historical topics like industrialization and its impacts on culture and politics, but after my more recent work in museums I’ve become increasingly interested in narrowing in on the stories of specific people and small communities. This approach reveals fascinating glimpses into life during different eras and it infuses a human element into the broad and abstract historical narratives we study in school.”
Catherine Oag-Miller, Archivist
Catherine holds a Bachelor’s degree in History with concentrations in European and African History from the State University of New York at Fredonia, where she also minored in Italian Studies and Museum Studies. Building on the passion for archival work she developed during her undergraduate studies, she earned a Master of Science in Library and Information Science, focusing on Archival and Special Collections Librarianship from Syracuse University. Her schooling, and subsequent career, are the result of a lifelong passion for history.
“My favorite thing about working with archival collections is the access I have to the individuals of our past and being able to preserve and interpret their stories and contributions to our collective history. It has bred a familiarity with the past that I would struggle to attain elsewhere, and for that, I feel very privileged.”