Camden County Historical Society and director part ways

When the grass needed cutting and money was running out, he brought in his lawn mower and took care of the grounds himself.

When funds were unavailable for salaries, he didn't take a paycheck, so he could pay his small staff.

And when the heat failed last winter and leaks sprouted from water pipes, he fought for quick repairs - a frustrating process still underway.

Clearly, Jason Allen had his share of challenges as the first African American executive director of the Camden County Historical Society.

This month, Allen announced that he is no longer affiliated with the institution, and that his lawyer is in discussions with an attorney for the society's board of trustees. He did not describe what issues were being addressed.

The lack of funding for programs and building maintenance and preservation had been among his pressing concerns while working at the society's complex in the 1900 block of Park Boulevard in Camden.

"If you hoard history, it disappears," said Allen. "I'm looking to make history important.

"I want to be involved with people who are actively doing that," said Allen, who now works with the Gloucester County Historical Society on grant-writing and programming.

Wages also became an issue at the Camden job. "If you don't pay an employee for 12 weeks, what do you expect?" he asked.

Allen and Christopher Perks, president of the society's board of trustees, declined Wednesday to detail the specific reasons behind Allen's departure.

"These are confidential matters," said Perks, who acknowledged 2014 as a "lean time" and 2015 as "still challenging." "We're on the search for an interim executive director."

At the same time, "we don't know if a small nonprofit can afford an executive director," he said. "We're going through some strategic planning."

The society's financial outlook has slightly improved after recent efforts brought in money for much-needed repairs, Perks said.

Some of the funds - about $66,000 - were raised by Allen for programming and to cover the director of education and interpretation position, the former executive director said.

In about six weeks, the society will hold a book-signing marking the release of Along the Cooper River: Camden to Haddonfield, coauthored by board member Robert Shinn and Kevin Cook.

It's also expected to schedule a grand reopening this spring. The Camden County Museum and Pomona Hall, an 18th-century plantation - part of a three-building complex - were closed to public tours last winter. They were damaged when water pipes froze, thawed, and broke at their couplings, flooding parts of the complex.

Some limited first-floor tours of Pomona Hall have been provided to school groups and other organizations following some renovations. Two bathrooms also were fixed.

But many more repairs - related to water damage and normal maintenance - remain.

Pomona Hall is waiting for a new cedar-shingle roof, which will likely be finished this year. Bid documents are being prepared, Perks said.

"We have a very old facility that needs constant repair," Perks said. "Funding is always a serious challenge for a nonprofit.

"We are doing the best we can," he said. "We are continuing our mission."

Fully reaching the society's goals was difficult, though, said Allen.

"I wanted the place to be important to Camden County. That was my goal," he said. "As a museum professional, you have to choose where you want to be based on what you want to accomplish.

"I want to make a difference," said Allen, who also serves on the board of Historians Against Slavery, an organization working to bring historical context and scholarship to the modern-day antislavery movement. "But I didn't have the support to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, and that means you become ineffective as executive director."

The society's Charles S. Boyer Building, housing the Richard Hineline Library and administrative offices, is open by appointment from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

"We're still open, thanks to grants we got recently," said William Roulett, director of education and interpretation. "We're also starting a digitization project, where we're putting pictures and documents on a hard drive."

The society, founded in 1899, is a private nonprofit organization that collects, preserves, and presents documents and artifacts detailing the history of Camden County and South Jersey.

"We still have a lot of patrons coming here for genealogical research, and research on the history of Camden," said Jacinda Williams, collections manager and librarian. "Luckily, there's still interest from the community in basic research."