Hillsboro Museums focus on the past to learn about future

Anyone who has visited any of the museums in Hillsboro has had the privilege of meeting Director, Steve Fast. The soft-spoken, kind man initially seems very calm and passive until he begins to talk about one of his passions, Mennonite, and particularly Hillsboro, history. Fast then becomes very animated as he shares about topics that he clearly cares deeply about.

But Fast has not always been about the history of Hillsboro.

“My background is in oil and gas and finance and that is what I have done for 20 years plus. I moved here in 2016 to be closer to my parents, Harold and Anna Fast, who were getting older,” said Fast.

His dad went to Tabor and when his parent retired, they decided to move back to Hillsboro.

“I think it was kind of a connection for them. This town had a lot of Mennonite Brethren and they liked the town and it was friendly to them. So it was appealing to them and they decided to settle here,” said Fast, “I was living in Houston. They wanted somebody to live closer by and I thought ‘well, it would be a good opportunity to get out of the big city and live closer’ to them so I moved here.”

Fast grew up in the Oklahoma panhandle in a town of 120 so adjusting to Hillsboro was not difficult..

Strangely enough, Fast did not actually go to Tabor, “ I am one of the few people in town who did not attend Tabor, I guess,” said Fast, “ I went to the University of Oklahoma and got my diploma there and then I got my Master’s in Russian Studies at Harvard.”

Fast went overseas for eleven years in Kazakhstan working in oil and gas. But then in 2007, they had a financial crisis so he came back to the states and worked in Houston which he stated wasn’t nearly as much fun. He then moved to be with his parents.

“I grew up Mennonite Brethren and I have always enjoyed history. About a year after I moved here, the city got a grant and advertised in the paper for the position that I have now so I applied and got it. It’s always been a part-time job, but I have always worked more than that,” said Fast. “ I enjoy it.”

Fast is now cutting down on his work at the museums and doing more with his personal business, Fast Decision Solutions, in order to support himself and his parents better.

As a result, he and the city are looking for volunteers to help out with the museum particularly with leading tours. There will be more information in the Free Press in the next few months of areas the museums are needing help so stay tuned for ways that you can help if you are interested.

Fast will continue to work for 15 hours a week. He knows that what he does is important.

“Last year, we had visitors from 22 states and 6 foreign countries. It’s important to preserve the past and to share it with people,” said Fast.

Hillsboro City Administrator Larry Paine agrees.

“When we hired Steve we were looking for some who had a good deal of energy and a good deal of interest in the community and that pretty well describes Steve. He’s been very good to work with and has been focusing on a number of preservation projects on the Schaeffler House specifically the last couple of years, so that has been a highlight of the work he has done so far,” said Paine.

Fast feels that is is so important to preserve the past of a culture in order to know where people are headed for the future.

“Keeping a vibrant and active museum in the community helps with our tourism and economic development interests. People in our community need to have a way of touching their heritage. And to be there and to see that and then to think forward of from that about where we are going and what Hillsboro is going to look like in the future is important,” said Paine. “It’s a way of grounding ourselves of what is our past, where did we come from, why did we do that and why are we here?”

If you are interested in Hillsboro’s past, present or future and have some time to help give tours to those who want to learn more about our various museums, please contact Larry Paine at the Hillsboro City Office at 620-947-3506 or stop in at the city office.

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