Doug Schoonmaker at OSH Museum.

If you want to meet Doug, come on by on a Thursday and he will probably be here!

Doug has volunteered at the museum for 11 years and he and his wife Jane have volunteered at many organizations throughout the years. Doug says that “OSH Museum is definitely the most interesting and fun non-profit I have volunteered for. When you come visit the Museum be sure to talk to the volunteers and ask questions as we all have stories to share. Thanks for making me volunteer of the month. I do appreciate it. All our volunteers are wonderful and deserving of this honor.” 

Doug was the third generation of his family to work at Fairview training Center. He spent almost 19 of his 33 ½ years working for the state as a Psychiatric Security Aide there and spent some time working in the 48B Forensics Ward in the 90’s..Doug holds a degree in Criminal Justice and volunteers as a Master Food Preserver with Oregon State University.

Why does he like the museum so much? He said “I look forward to coming in as you never know who is going to walk through the door.”

February 2025

Jackie Pierce is our Volunteer of the Month!

Jackie Pierce in the Timeline room at the museum.

In 2021 Sue Zakes, a board member at the time, approached Jackie about volunteering at the museum. They had worked together at Fairview and at Oregon State Hospital.

Sue went to a Oregon State Hospital Retirees lunch and talked to Lorrie Walker and Jackie. They have been working as a team ever since. “I enjoy doing the overview of the museum while Lorrie takes care of the money.”  A recent guest commented that Jackie’s passion for the Unfit to be at large exhibit, which explores women’s suffrage through the experiences of women at the Oregon State Hospital from its opening in 1883 to 1920, is important to “help us remember how far we come, and help us from sliding back to into a country where women are not equal to men.”

Prior to volunteering at the museum Jackie volunteered with the Red Cross, World Beat, and Mission Street Park Conservancy Plant Sale.

Before retiring, Jackie worked at OSH as a Psychiatric Social Worker in the Forensic Program for 8 years and then in Geriatrics for 9 years. Prior to working at OSH I worked two years at Fairview the Institute  for the Developmentally Disabled. She retired in 2006.

Jackie says she enjoys volunteering at the museum “because I like meeting new people and educating the public about mental illness and the history of how they were. I also like to make sure people know just how closely we are all connected and how easy it is for someone with a quick stroke of a pen can have us sent away to a state hospital.”

Thank you Jackie for helping us spread awareness about mental health!