After putting in 20 years as the Museum’s Archivist, George Perkins is retiring this June. His legacy reminds us that the Museum is defined as much by the people who work and volunteer here as the objects and papers in our collections.
George’s connections to the Museum go way, way back—all the way back to 1972, in fact. That’s when he began volunteering for what was then the McLean County Historical Society. At that time, the Historical Society had suffered a near-calamitous fi re at the McBarnes Memorial Building. So, a temporary storefront museum opened at Route 9 and Fairway Drive and then on Front Street in downtown Bloomington. Eventually, the Historical Society would return to the McBarnes Building before opening in the old courthouse in 1991. As a volunteer, George opened and closed the Historical Society on Saturdays during this topsy-turvy time in the Museum’s history.
In 2005, George joined the Museum staff, having recently retired as an archivist for the telecommunications giant Verizon. As noted, he had been a longtime Library & Archives volunteer, so the transition was a smooth one. To cite a few of his many accomplishments, he first oversaw the digitization of the Museum’s photographic print collections and then helped direct the ongoing digitization of the Pantagraph Negatives Collection.
With a talent for space allocation, George proved invaluable in making the most out of existing and repurposed Archives spaces. During his tenure as archivist, George also made a series of signifi cant donations to the Museum, enabling the Library & Archives to purchase new and more suitable Archive shelving. The up-to-date shelving greatly expanded the linear feet capacity of the Museum’s Archives.
In addition to his career as an archivist, George also contributed to Bloomington-Normal’s cultural scene, serving as a cast member for the American Passion Play for no less than 42 years — most of those as one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus.
However, what George is perhaps the most passionate about is genealogy. He is an accomplished genealogist, having acted as president of both the McLean County and Illinois State Genealogical societies, teaching genealogy for decades, lecturing at conferences around the country, and publishing several genealogy books. In his 1999 publication, Shared Traditions, George beautifully sums up the impact one man can have: “No matter how great or small, or how long or short a man may live, he has made his contribution to the character of mankind through his relationships and actions with the people he has come in contact with.”
During his tenure, George has come in contact with thousands of people, helping each one to discover something new from something old and creating an insurmountable impact. For all of George’s hard work and dedication to the Museum and its mission, staff members and volunteers will perhaps miss most George’s buoyant personality and unflagging good spirits — especially in staff meetings, which routinely end with George saying “hearing nothing else, we’re adjourned,” swiftly knocking the table with his fist as to simulate a gavel. Help us celebrate his well-deserved retirement by sharing a congratulatory message or fond memory using the form linked here by June 17, 2025.
Questions? Please contact Director of Communications Micaela Harris by clicking here.
