Springfield museum’s exhibit to focus on ‘unsung heroes’

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A new exhibit opening next month at the Illinois State Museum will feature three “unsung heroes.”

Museum officials say they’re focusing on “ordinary people who did extraordinary things.”

They are nurse Anna Heistad, who worked in Chicago in the early 19th century during a flu pandemic, missionary worker Minnie Vautrin, who helped shelter thousands of women and children, and Thomas Jones, a Navy medic.

The display relies on photos and personal objects to tell their stories.

Erika Holst is the Illinois State Museum’s curator of decorative arts. She says they are stories of the three individuals show “incredible heroism.”

The exhibit opens on March 3 at the museum in Springfield.