The day after she graduated from the University of Idaho in 1982, Dorothy Dahlgren began her lifelong career as the Museum of North Idaho's first professional paid employee.

"A few weeks before graduation, a professor called me in and said, ‘They’d like to interview you in Coeur d’Alene at the Museum of North Idaho’ and so I came in and they hired me," Dahlgren said Wednesday, seated in a museum office and surrounded by books, files and historic photos organized on shelves or neatly spread out on desks.

"I started work the day after graduation for 20 hours a week at $5 an hour with the title of 'curator,'" she said. "I was just thrilled because my worst fear was to have to move away from Coeur d’Alene. I just always felt like this was home and I wanted to have an opportunity to stay here and help the community."

And help the community she has. Dahlgren has tirelessly worked to promote and preserve North Idaho's history since that first day on the job. As the director of the museum, she oversees every aspect, from archiving and filing to exhibit displays, volunteer hours, fundraising and field trips. She also serves as the editor of the quarterly membership newsletter and as caretaker of the historic "Little Red Chapel" in the Fort Ground, among many other roles.

"I always saw myself as a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none," she said with a humble grin. "Working in a small museum allows you to do that."

Dahlgren is a 2016 recipient of the Idaho State Historical Society's Esto Perpetua Award, which honors people and organizations for their work to keep Idaho's history alive.

Don Pischner, the North Idaho representative for the society, submitted the paperwork for the award, in which he lauds Dahlgren for her "tremendous, unselfish, personal contributions toward collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of the Coeur d'Alene Region and to foster appreciation of the area's heritage." He said Dahlgren is only the sixth person in the North Idaho district to receive this award since it originated 20 years ago.

"It's very much deserved," he said of Dahlgren's award.

Dahlgren's coworker and colleague Robert Singletary echoed Pischner's sentiment.

"One of the things for me that is so outstanding about Dorothy is that she is so dedicated to the work she does for the museum," Singletary said. "She really is very practical, very dedicated. She just sticks to the issues. She's an extremely hard-working person."

He said she has helped the museum, a nonprofit, financially survive and she makes sure the museum follows national standards.

"Her primary focus is archiving, and that is so important for a museum," he said. "It's concentrating on the basics of good museumship, and she just doesn't deviate."

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What ?aspects of Idaho history do you most enjoy?

"I have enjoyed learning about the many different aspects of our past. What I enjoy most is enabling people to find information that is meaningful to them."

How long have you been the museum’s director and why did you want to do it?

"I started in 1982 as curator and, along the way, my title was changed to director. From the time I was a teenager I was the keeper of our family history. I liked 'old stuff' and the stories that went with it. I realized when people died, at least in my family, they had a trunk holding the things important to them like family photos, favorite books, a hat, letters — the stuff making up our lives. The museum gives people a place to honor and remember their family’s past. We are the community trunk or scrapbook."

What do you love about your position as director? What are some challenges you have faced?

"As far as the work goes, I really enjoy the variety in my job. In college my goal was to be a jack-of-all-trades and this job has provided the opportunity for me to do that. I do everything from plumbing to exhibit research and design. I love knowing that all the collecting, organizing and preservation work we do at the museum provides a place where people can come and find information that is important to them. The biggest challenge is working with limited resources. At our annual meeting in April outgoing board member Larry Strobel summed it up: 'You can’t make a silk purse out of sow’s ear, but Dorothy can.'"

How does it feel to know that you are doing a huge favor for Coeur d’Alene, for our posterity and for our ancestors who settled here?

"I get the most enjoyment when someone comes in and finds something that’s important to them. Just last year, a lady came in and her grandfather was George Williams, he was the architect here in Coeur d’Alene that designed the masonic temple and the Roosevelt School, a number of buildings in Coeur d’Alene. He was an important architect for Coeur d’Alene’s history and she didn’t have hardly anything from his life. I pulled out a folder that had his business card in it and she broke into tears. She was just so moved to see something that her grandfather had created. He probably carried that business card around. That meant something to her. So often, people come and they’re moved by being able to find an important piece of their family history. I just enjoy helping people.”

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What does receiving the Esto Perpetua Award mean to you?

"I am honored to have been nominated for this award. But, I believe the honor really goes to all the volunteers, boards, members and the community that have supported the work here at the museum. Without them, I alone could not have accomplished as much as we have. I appreciate the recognition for the part I played in preserving this region’s history and its contribution to Idaho’s history."

Why is it important to promote and preserve our history?

"North Idaho is rapidly growing and with those changes, we face a loss of community identity. I find it interesting that newcomers are so interested in our past. For example, there have been several new businesses that have contacted the museum for historical photographs. It made me wonder why these out-of-the-area companies care about old photos. I think it is because they want the recognition of a shared past, a sense of history, an understanding that this place is not interchangeable with countless other places. Through our local history, it helps identify us personally and as a community. People come to the museum seeking meaning in this place they call home — 'What was this before I came here and how will that define what this place will be in the future?' By collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of our region the museum provides the resources to understand and appreciate our rich cultural heritage. Having a sense of place and history provides a context for finding meaning and identity, and for feeling alive in our communities. The Museum of North Idaho is 'At the Heart of It All.'

What are some of the most interesting pieces you have in the collection at the museum?

"I really enjoy the photograph collection. We have over 30,000 images. We have the pilot wheel and signal bells from the steamboat 'Flyer.' We have the eagle that was part of the Fort Sherman gate. We have part of the Mullan tree with the blaze from 1861 when Mullan and his crew named the Fourth of July Pass. We have many items in storage that we do not have room to exhibit. We have one of the first logging jammers built in the area. We have architectural features from the F.A. Blackwell house. We have so many interesting pieces that help tell the history of our area that can not be used because our facility is too small."

What is your biggest accomplishment in your time here, since 1982?

"I think that I am most proud of the Museum of North Idaho Press. We’ve published over 20 historical books. That has provided the public with history that otherwise would not have been out there … It’s important for these communities to have their history in a book form. When it comes back to jack-of-all-trades and master of none, I knew nothing about publishing when we started this back in 1990, the state centennial. We published a book based on community exhibits that we put out. We worked with area historical societies to gather photos."

Is the museum going to find another home anytime soon?

"We are exploring our options for a new facility location and ways to support it. The museum will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018 and we are working to have plans in place to carry us into the next 50 years."

What are your hopes for the future of the museum?

"Since 1968 people have dedicated their time and resources to preserving our region’s history. I have followed in their footsteps, spending 34 years of life collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of the Coeur d’Alene region. I hope that there will be others to follow me. We have so much wonderful history and so many stories — steamboats, logging, railroads, mining, agriculture, Farragut, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe — we need a place to showcase and preserve our heritage not only for visitors but our children and grandchildren who will define what North Idaho will be in the future. Having that sense of history and place is important to our quality of life."

Is there anything you would like to say to our community about helping the museum or why it should be appreciated??

"The museum serves as our community scrapbook — the place where our region’s community and family histories and artifacts are professionally documented, archived and kept safe. If the community values its uniqueness and identity then it is essential that it support an expanded museum facility and programming."