By Joanne Healey
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May 13, 2021
I didn't know Mrs. Witt but spoke with her last year in preparation of our 50th Anniversary. I always felt it was a serendipitous opportunity because she had donated a painting to the museum months before and without that I don't know if I would have reached out to her to share her stories of the early days of the museum (she then sent me a 5 page letter of stories remembered). I felt that I did know her, though, because there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see her or her husband's name on something here at the museum or in the records. I often go into her handwritten inventory of the items donated to the museum searching for something and there it is - her school teacher perfect-penmanship on each card documenting its history. Johnnie Lee and her husband, David, were early proponents of the museum and on the first board of directors. She held the position of first curator and was very proud of that title. She helped in the restoration of the Lock House and received the Governor's Award for Restoration. But, not without a sense of humor, she laughed when she told me the biggest achievement was getting the public restrooms down here at the park. A remarkable worman, really, giving her time to not only this organization but to the Havre de Grace United Methodist, the American Association of University Women, the Girl Scouts, teaching, being a mother and wife. All this in the early 1970s. I am always in awe of strong, driven women especially so many years ago. To Johnnie Lee. Your box of original index cards is now, itself, in our catalog of historic items relevant to the Susquehanna Museum history.