The Watkins Community Museum of History needs a clear direction that will put it on a firm footing for the future.

It continues to be painful to watch the struggles of the Douglas County Historical Society and the Watkins Community Museum of History.

The two latest installments in the saga came last month when Judy Sweets was fired as the museum’s archivist and last week when officials of the National Parks Service came to Lawrence to try to convince the historical society board to accept a $20,000 grant.

Sweets’ dismissal resulted not only in hard feelings among some long-time museum supporters but also in a complaint filed by Sweets with the Kansas Human Relations Commission. In the complaint Sweets claims she was the victim of age discrimination and was fired in part because of her complaints when she wasn’t hired as the museum’s new director.

The departure of Sweets and former director Steve Jansen has created deep rifts in the historical society and created an almost impossible situation for the new director, Rebecca Phipps. The historical society board also continues to struggle, as illustrated by the National Parks Service grant that was the subject of a meeting last week.

The grant was sought by Sweets and Tolly and Wayne Wildcat to showcase the history of the Underground Railroad in Douglas County. One of the main features of the exhibit was to be a large mural painted by Wayne Wildcat, a local artist. Members of the historical society board rejected the grant earlier this year because they were uncertain about being able to come up with the matching funds and because they didn’t know if the Underground Railroad exhibit was a good fit and a good investment for the museum.

The presentation last week by National Parks Service officials wanting Lawrence to accept the grant seemed to fall somewhere between a plea and a threat. They told board members they didn’t have to stick with the original exhibit plan but if they didn’t use the money it couldn’t be passed on to another project. They also said abandoning the grant might prompt the parks service to remove Watkins Museum from a national registry of sites related to the Underground Railroad. The message seemed clear that if Watkins didn’t accept the grant, the museum might as well not be asking the parks service for any funding in the foreseeable future.

The museum and the historical society certainly have a right to set a direction that will be most beneficial for the community — with or without the federal grant — but the problem continues to be that neither the museum nor the society seem able to set much of a direction for the future.

Hopefully, Phipps will be able to get a handle on the situation soon and work with the board to set a direction that will put the museum on a firm footing both financially and politically. It’s frustrating, especially as the city approaches its 150th birthday, to see efforts to share this community’s rich history stymied by continued upheaval at Watkins Museum.