Hometown Hero: Royal Oak Museum Curator's Kindness is Legendary

Knowledgeable, well-read, organized, dedicated and kind are just a few of the adjectives that quickly come to mind when people are asked to describe Muriel Versagi, the curator of the

“She is one in a million,” said Mary Pineau of Berkley, who volunteers at the museum a few days a week. “I have never met anyone as knowledgeable about her community.” Pineau stopped by the museum two weeks ago and is now a volunteer.

Versagi is a past president of the Royal Oak Historical Society (1988-2001), which was founded in 1939. She has always loved and studied history. Throughout her life she read every how-to and preservation book she could get her hands on, she said.

In 2004, after retiring from a consulting business she shared with her husband , a Royal Oak Patch political blogger, she founded the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum with Agnes Buhalski, Bonnie Linehan, Pat Eaves and Blanche Meyerhoven Roth. Each woman donated $1,000 to purchase the collection of William Rasmussen, a former Royal Oak police officer and Historical Society director who operated a store in which he sold historic artifacts.

The first museum was in a single room at the . Using some office cubicle partitions donated from the now demolished Parker Elementary School, the museum displayed the Rasmussen collection for six years, while Versagi kept her eye on the Northwood Fire Station on Webster Road near Crooks.

With the help of community volunteers Jay and Patty Dunstan, who were able to secure block grant funds, the museum was able to move to the former 1927 fire station in 2010 and set up shop.

Versagi is clearly enamored of the 1920s structure built at a cost of $65,000. “It was the best city-owned building for many years,” she said.

The angels of Northwood Fire Station

“This building is magic,” Versagi said of the fire station. “It has angels. When I need someone, my prayers are always answered.”

She cites Mike Frentz, of , as an example. When a repair is needed, Frentz donates the materials at cost and then does the handiwork needed, too.

Rita Simons is another heaven-sent volunteer, according to Versagi. Simons is responsible for a display of Royal Oak’s early schools.

Of Versagi, Simons said, “She is the museum. She puts in so many hours. She is very well-organized and a joy to work for. She sets the tone for the museum."

On a typical day, Versagi has a half-dozen or so volunteers scurrying around the museum. Some are hanging displays, others tend to the gift shop and still others scampered up and down the tall stairs cataloging artifacts. (The station's fire pole had to be removed for safety reasons.)

All of the volunteers say the reason they are there is Versagi. Her kindness is legendary, they say.

"She makes the museum interesting and fascinating,” Simons said.

Museum treasures

Next to Versagi, the museum’s most fascinating treasure is a note and signature written on the back of a formal letter. With the help of PBS’ History Detectives, a television show that explores historical mysteries, Versagi traveled to Springfield, IL, and learned the museum has an authentic Abraham Lincoln signature in its collection.

Read the entire story of the Lincoln signature in Versagi’s words here.

Help the museum syrup-titiously

The Royal Oak museum is always in need of donations. The heating bill alone is more than $1,000 a month in the winter. The easiest, and tastiest, way you can help the museum is to show up to the Memorial Day Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at the before or after the parade on May 28 from 7 a.m. to noon.

Since the parade moved its staging area from the farmers market to the intersection of Interstate 696 and Main Street, pancake breakfast sales have dropped slightly. Museum volunteers are hoping veterans and residents participating in the parade will remember to stop by this year and enjoy a delicious meal that is for a good cause.

The all-you-can-eat pancakes are $6 for adults; $3 for children under 10.

Museum Hours

School and scouting groups are always wecome at the museum, and so are individuals with a love of history or the city.

"I would say anyone who has lived in Royal Oak more than 15 years, stays here because they have fallen in love with the city," Versagi said. There is no better place to travel back in time than the museum, especially with Versagi as your guide.

The museum is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1 - 4 p.m.