Jamie Winter, visiting from Sacramento, was our 100,000th visitor (in a single year). She and her family were visiting for the first time after talking about it for years. The anticipation of wondering who would come in the door was fun for all of us, and the fact that the family had planned this trip for a while and just happened to walk in the door at the magical moment was very special.

Recently, I was reminded of a comment shared during our board meeting last fall, when the Board received this news that the Museum had welcomed over 100,000 visitors that past year, a true milestone for us.

Michael Schwager, one of our original board members, commented, as he swept his arm around the building, “You know, what the visitor sees here throughout the Museum, is just the tip of the iceberg. The 90 percent is what happens in this small space.” He nodded to the office behind us and the boardroom.

I have been thinking about that 90/10 split ever since Michael made the comment, and now that we are approaching our next board meeting and preparing to move the Museum’s long-range plan forward by another step, I realize again the critical role our Board plays, quietly behind the scenes, in everything the Museum does.

So I wanted to go back to remember and pay tribute to the people I so loved working with and who are the true foundation of the Museum we have become.

When talk was floating around about a museum in the mid-1990s, it felt really scary to me, which is probably why I was silent in the background while others were enthusiastically pushing the concept of a Peanuts or a Schulz Museum.

However, at some point, I saw a glimmer of something I could understand, and I realized that other board experiences I’d had, plus some construction experiences, could serve me well because, between Sparky and me, I was the one who would be driving this forward—but we needed a board.

This is a mockup of the Museum that was on view outside Snoopy’s Home Ice for visitors to see what was being built across the street.

 

There were logical legal and financial people to tap for the Board, and then I sought board members with certain expertise who would also understand Sparky and the unique quality of his creation.

In addition to Ed Anderson, our attorney, and Mark Cohen, a cartoon aficionado and agent (who had enabled Sparky’s meeting with many cartoonists who otherwise would have been too shy to request a meeting with Sparky), we sought out Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of what is now the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University and a friend with whom we gathered regularly at the Cartoonist’s Annual Reuben Awards Weekend. We also tapped Sparky’s hockey buddy, Steve Lang, who was one of three founders of a transportation museum in Maine.

And then, almost miraculously, we met Michael Schwager at a party and realized his work as a professor of Museum Studies at Sonoma State University and the director of the University Art Gallery there would make Michael a perfect fit.

It seemed as though we were off and running.

David Robinson and his staff with our Board.

We were steered to Bob Bailey, a museum consultant from Petaluma. That seemed appropriate because Sparky’s home had been here in Sonoma County for 40 years, and his Redwood Empire Ice Arena anchored him in the area. Place and home were important, and I knew Sparky would not want to be “advised” by a ‘heavyweight from out of town.’

Bob Bailey guided us through a selection of architects. The choice of David Robinson, of Sausalito, and associate Basil Smaha, as the architectural team also seemed like a perfect fit. David and Sparky had a unique affinity, each curious about the others’ art. David’s wife, Mary, said that when David came home after spending time with Sparky, he would be full of joy and enthusiasm. David felt it was important to incorporate the four squares of the classic Peanuts comic strips into the Museum design, in the East Wall and in the ceiling of the Great Hall, with the round skylights representing thought bubbles. David hoped that Sparky would be as happy as he was about their work together. And indeed, Sparky was.

Those days of exploring and decision-making were fun because Sparky felt comfortable with this group.  He could discuss ideas with them, sit in on some meetings, and weigh in on the decisions. Running all the ideas by him was a great comfort to me, as it truly was his Museum.

Once we got rolling, we took trips to investigate other museums and facilities, specifically those that focused on a single person. Sparky suggested we use his plane for this, so his pilot son, Craig, flew us to museums in California, including the John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, and we also visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts.

Mark Cohen (far left), Michael Schwager (center, with left elbow on table), Barbara Gallagher (third person to Michael’s left), Ed Anderson, and Randy Pennington.

But to go back to the idea of the 90 percent of the Museum that is not seen by visitors…

Our visitors DO, of course, know there are people behind the scenes who do the work of the exhibitions and the programs, but the board members usually are not thought of, and their important work is less recognized. These are the people I thought of when Michael talked about the iceberg.

It is these board members who have supported me and the Museum for 30 years now. These are the people whose love and respect I treasure.

We have been enormously fortunate in the people we have attracted to work with us at the Museum, and I attribute that to Sparky and am grateful for all these moments as the Museum moves towards its 25th anniversary in 2027.

 

Some of our current board members, left to right: Rosie Marie McDaniel, Karen O’Connell, Patrick McDonnell, Jean Schulz, and Laura Whiting. This photo was taken during a dedication ceremony celebrating an installation added to the Museum in 2023—a plaque (right) honoring the 20th Armored Division, which included Sparky, and their WWII service.

 

—Jean Schulz