Curatorial Team & Exhibit Acknowledgements
Caledonia Conservationists: Prairie Environmentalism Along the Whetstone was made possible by a FY2023 ArtSTART Grant from the Ohio Arts Council, matched by contributions from the Terradise Nature Center Board, & an anonymous donation. Our exhibit builds off Terradise’s decades-long legacy as an interdisciplinary hub for local history and natural history research, conservation, & advocacy in the Sandusky Plains region; & exemplifies Terradise Nature Center’s mission to “inform our communities in their natural & cultural heritages.” For the first time, we are telling our full story!
Caledonia Conservationists was made possible, in part, through Terradise Nature Center’s terradisebooks.com project: digitizing the diaries, poetry manuscripts, slide film, photography, & more, of Trella & Ray Romine, & the Terradise archives: spearheaded by Terradise Nature Center Founder David Haldeman. Caledonia Conservationists was also augmented by oral history interviews with key players in Marion County’s local history & conservation movements: David Haldeman, Larry Yoder, & Gale Martin of Natives in Harmony. We thank our interviewees for their contributions both to this exhibit, & to the Sandusky Plains conservation movement!
DAVID HALDEMAN (Exhibit Archivist & Terradise Archives Digitization & Transcription Lead), son of Trella Romine, is a musician, former music educator, & long-time President of Terradise Computer Systems, Inc. in Cincinnati. David founded Terradise Nature Center in 2018 to carry on the legacy of Trella & Ray Romine & their vision for Terradise. As Terradise archivist, David spearheads the terradisebooks.com project: digitizing & amplifying the rich resource that is Terradise’s library & archives.
JED HALDEMAN (Exhibit Design & Digital Exhibit Engineering), grandson of Trella Romine, & President of Terradise Nature Center, co-owns & runs Mast Interactive: a web design & development solutions firm based in Columbus. Jed is responsible for Terradise’s brand identity & web & digital strategies, & with visioning Terradise’s future strategy.
JESS LAMAR REECE HOLLER (Exhibit Lead Co-Curator, & Oral Historian) is a cultural worker, public historian, oral historian, historic preservationist, community arts organizer, & non-profits capacity-builder with deep roots in Caledonia. Jess directs the Terradise Environmental Arts Residency, is Co-Founder & Director of Marion Voices Folklife + Oral History, & consults across the state as Caledonia Northern Folk Studios.
JEFF NAGLE (Exhibit Lead Co-Curator & Lead Researcher) is an independent environmental historian, labor organizer, public historian, & science writer with training at the intersection of labor history, environment, & history of technology. His research focuses on imaginations of environmental & energy futures across Central Appalachia.
