The division congratulates four esteemed retirees
The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs bids farewell to four long-time employees who have made a lasting impact on the division’s work and collections.
Madeline Dunn, the division’s National Register Coordinator, is retiring after more than 40 years with the division, a record of employment she described as ”an exciting and rewarding experience.” Her decades of work “have been an incredible journey” with fascinating assignments, rewarding opportunities and the ability to work with amazing colleagues and constituents throughout the state. Dunn began her career with the division as a casual/seasonal employee in 1973, earning about $2.63 an hour. In this position, she had the opportunity to identify historic properties constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries, conduct archival research and write National Register of Historic Places nominations for individual properties and historic districts as a cultural resource surveyor for the State Historic Preservation Office.
Over the years, new employment opportunities enabled her to continue researching multifaceted aspects of Delaware history, chronicling the construction of The Old State House, expanding documentation on the John Dickinson Plantation, and researching African American history, laws of Delaware and public education. As part of the division’s professional research staff, her efforts contributed to the 1976 Bicentennial restorations of the Old State House in Dover and the Sussex County Court House in Georgetown. Likewise, in preparation for the 1987 Bicentennial celebration of the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution, she assisted with the compilation of additional documentation on the John Dickinson Plantation. When she served as the division’s curator of education, she worked with the Delaware Department of Education and contributed to the writing and benchmarking of Delaware’s Social Studies Content Standards which enabled the division to become the first museological entity in the state to embrace select standards as part of the development of educational programming activities. Networking with the education community enabled Dunn to develop and conduct numerous social studies teacher in-service programs in collaboration with division colleagues, which promoted the division’s interpretive programming activities and incorporated aspects of sensitive history into tours and exhibits such as African American history and the Holocaust.
With a passion for teaching Delaware history, especially Delaware’s role in the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, she embraced the privilege of developing the Delaware Day Fourth Grade Competition for students on behalf of two Delaware Secretaries of State: Harriett Smith Windsor and Jeffrey Bullock. This exciting undertaking resulted in classroom instruction and the evaluation of student projects which engaged a total of 13,573 students between 2005 and 2017. Dunn also served as a state and national level judge for the Center of Education’s “We the People the Citizen and the U.S. Constitution” program. As National Register of Coordinator for the State Historic Preservation Office, she worked with consultants, private property owners, student interns, members of special interest groups and team colleagues on the listing of at least 35 nominations in the National Register of Historic Places.
Dunn said the division has been an important part of her life for more than four decades, but that she is looking forward to retiring and spending time with her family as she conducts her own research and writing histories on select areas of interest.
Cynthia Snyder, site supervisor of the New Castle Court House Museum, is retiring after a 30-year career working for the state in a position she has loved. She said she is proud to be a part of the growth and achievements of the museum these last 30 years. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Delaware where she majored in history education. She currently lives in the City of New Castle where she is very active in the community. She is a board member of the New Castle Community Partnership, has served as co-chair of A Day in Old New Castle for eight years, is an executive officer of the Battell and Read Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and served on New Castle city committees for development and tourism. She has received the Outstanding Service to the Community and the Governors Achievement Award from the state, the AASLAH Leadership Award in History and is an honorary member of the 1st Delaware Regiment. After her retirement, Snyder plans to continue her volunteer services in the community and spend more time with her young grandchildren, but said she will miss her Court House and Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs family.
Bridget Warner, site supervisor of the Zwaanendael Musuem, is retiring after a 24-year career with the division. Warner received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she studied clothing, textiles and interior design and also holds a minor equivalent in business management. She said she has a “4H plan” for retirement—husband, health, house and harmony. She said she enjoyed her tenure with the division, where she met many interesting people and learned something new just about every da while at work.
Jim Yurasek, the division’s public information specialist, has retired after working for the division since 2005. Prior to that, he worked for 16 years in a similar capacity for the Delaware Division of the Arts. Originally from New York City, he has resided in Wilmington since 1988. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. In his spare time, he performs as a trombonist in area orchestras and jazz ensembles. His plans for retirement are to spend time with his wife Kate, spending more time with friends and family, keep playing trombone and expanding his musical opportunities, fixing and maintaining his home, hiking, bird watching, learning the French language, travel and many others.