New Follett House manager likes to work with public

SANDUSKY — The new manager of Sandusky Library's Follett House Museum said he's eager to reach out to the community with programs for people of all ages.In fact, Jeremy Angstadt, the new museum services manager for Sandusky Library, said the library's heavy emphasis on programming is what attracted him to the job.When he saw the library's "help wanted" notice, Angstadt said he looked at the library's website and Facebook page and saw the library has plenty of events."I could see that they were very active in the community," Angstadt said.Maintaining the Follett House Museum is important, but "programming reaches out and makes a connection with people," he said.Angstadt, 27, joined the museum in September. Along with running Follett House, he'll work in the library's reference section. He replaces Maggie Marconi, who left to work for Ohio History Connection in Columbus.Follett House is an 1834 Greek Revival Home at 404 Wayne Street. The library owns the home and uses it as a museum for the city's history.The library plans to be heavily involved in Sandusky's bicentennial celebration in 2018, said Molly Carver, executive director of Sandusky Library.She said library executives who interviewed Angstadt noticed he has experience with programming and wanted to get kids involved with hands-on experiences. They were also impressed that he researched the library and knew plenty about it when he showed up for the interview."He had good questions for us about what we were doing," Carver said.Angstadt said he'll be busy updating exhibits at Follett House Museum and developing programs at the museum, at the library and at offsite locations. He said he hopes to increase the number of programs the library presents at local schools.Additionally, he said he'll continue traditions at Follett House, including the vintage mansion in the annual candlelight tour of homes in December.Follett House will also have an open house close to Thanksgiving, as in year's past. The open houses will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving.Although he's young, Angstadt has plenty of experience at historic sites. He worked in Pennsylvania at Valley Forge National Historical Park and at Eisenhower National Historic Site. Recently he worked as an interpretive aide at Slate Run Living Historical Farm in Ohio.Angstadt has a bachelor's degree in history from Penn State University and a master's in history with a concentration in public history from Villanova University. He enjoys reading about history."Right now, I'm reading about topics that more pertain to Sandusky," he said. "I just finished a book on the War of 1812."Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Jeremy Angstadt, the new museum services manager for Sandusky Library, stands in front of the Follett House Museum in Sandusky on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.