Gibson retires as director of Knox County Historical Society Museum

MOUNT VERNON — James K. Gibson will retire on June 30 after serving 27 years as director of the Knox County Historical Society Museum.

It was 26 years and five months longer than he intended.

Gibson said he has thought about the right time to retire.

“I’m 84. I don’t feel 84. I’m in pretty good health and nothing major wrong with me,” he said.

“But I thought about it quite a bit because I thought, you know, there’s going to come a time when I’m going to need to draw the line. I’ve thought about what that looks like,” he said.

June 30 seemed appropriate because the school kids have visited, and there is a lull until August when things start picking up again.

“I’m a month shy of 27 years, but that’s a long time. So I’ll let somebody else worry about answering the phone,” Gibson said.

“I think I calculated I’ve been to 400 board meetings from the time I joined the society.”

jim gibson, retired director of the knox county historical society museum

Gibson said he will not be idle in retirement.

“I’ve got plenty to do at home; there’s some work on the house. And I’ve got several projects in mind. Lamb Glass deserves to have a publication about them, and the bridge company certainly does, too,” he said.

One thing he does not plan to do is travel. He conceded, however, that he and his wife, Linda, might spend a weekend in Columbus visiting the sights.

A lifetime of preserving history

Gibson moved to the city in 1971 after accepting a position as a school psychologist with the Mount Vernon schools.

In the early 70s, the historical society was not very active. A core group of people decided to change that, and in the mid-70s, put together a program featuring the late Dr. Lorle Porter.

Gibson and Linda attended.

“We went and here’s this monstrous crowd. … And she was great. Linda and I went home and said ‘that was a pretty peppy little group. We ought to get more involved,’” Gibson said.

They did just that.

In the early 1980s, the society began discussing the need for a building for the museum.

“When we got serious about a building, [Cooper Industries] gave us a $100,000 grant, if we could match it,” Gibson.

With $30,000 in the bank, the historical society raised the remaining $70,000 in a few months. Gibson was on the committee that “tramped through beautiful buildings in town” searching for a building.

The society settled on its current Harcourt Road location, the site of a former Yamaha motorcycle dealership.

That was 1986. Gibson was a docent at the museum and on the historical society board.

When the museum director passed away suddenly in 1998, Gibson agreed to run the museum for six months while the board decided its course of action.

After the six months passed, the board asked Gibson if he would continue as he “seemed to be enjoying himself.”

“We were just beginning to talk about the addition where the Thunderbird is,” Gibson said.

“I thought, well, if we’re going to double the size of this place, it’d be a good time to continue to be in charge, so I said I’d do it for a few years more. And here I am.”

Milestones mark a storied career

Gibson cites the 6,000-square-foot addition in 1998, which doubled the size of the museum, as one of the milestones of his time as director.

Another milestone was when the museum agreed to take a Cooper compressor weighing 70,000 pounds.

“They gave it to us with the understanding that they would pay for an addition to the museum, but they only had a month to move it,” Gibson said.

“We couldn’t build the building in a month, so we poured the slab that it’s on, and when we got it moved, it was outdoors. We built the room around it.”

He also cites presentations to Scouts and Leadership Knox classes, as well as the monthly historical meetings, as things he has enjoyed.

What he will miss most, though, is the annual visit from the county’s third-graders.

Until around 15 years ago, each social studies teacher taught their curriculum.

Working with Gibson, they standardized the course. One goal was to get third-graders to appreciate how things change over time. That led to the annual museum visits.

Gibson said students “ask way more sophisticated questions when they arrive than they used to.” However, they are particularly interested in many of the museum exhibits, especially those related to technology.

“I have pictures of the old schools and that sort of thing. They do care about that,” Gibson said. “We have a splendid phone collection, and they love those. Of course, they all have cell phones clipped to their belts, but they just go crazy over the phones. They’re all mystified by how in the world you ever made phone calls.”

Gibson said he sees his job as ensuring young people understand that “we stand on the shoulders of the people who invented telephones and steam engines and all that kind of stuff.”

Surprises along the way

Another feature of being a director that Gibson has enjoyed is the surprises, such as the recently donated portraits of Anthony Banning, his wife, and daughter, courtesy of Banning’s descendants in Ithaca, NY.

Or the Chicago family that included the museum in its vacation because the son was a Paul Lynde fan. The family took a picture of the son sitting behind the wheel of Lynde’s Thunderbird.

Or the ruby slippers offered when Judy Garland died. Gibson did not accept the slippers since they had no connection to the county (and they weren’t Judy Garland’s.)

However, the conversation led Gibson to accept a picture of the woman’s grandfather laying brick streets in Mount Vernon with a wagon and horses.

“The phone rings, and you never know what it’s going to be,” he said.

“There’s just no end to stories, but it’s been a nice run. If somebody had said I was going to be here 27 years, I’d have been shocked, but time flies.”

Leaving a legacy at the historical society museum

At a reception honoring Gibson’s service, Historical Society President Mark Ramser presented Gibson with a gift certificate to The Alcove Restaurant.

He also read a proclamation from Mayor Matt Starr, who proclaimed Saturday, June 28, 2025, as James K. Gibson Day in the City of Mount Vernon.

The proclamation states that Gibson demonstrated “exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication, and a profound passion for preserving and sharing the rich history of our community.”

It also notes Gibson “played a pivotal role in the preservation of historical artifacts, the expansion of the museum’s collections, and in ensuring that our shared heritage is both honored and accessible to future generations.”

“Gibson’s service will be felt for many years to come, and his legacy will continue to enrich the cultural fabric in our city and county.”

Excerpt from a proclamation from mount vernon mayor matt starr

“We really do appreciate everything that Jim’s done here at the museum,” Ramser said.

After June 30, board members will keep the historical society museum doors open from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Gibson will continue to attend meetings and be available for telephone consultation.

“Just not in July,” he said.

Below are Cheryl Splain’s photos from Gibson’s retirement reception held at the historical society museum on June 28, 2025.