Matt Edwards, the director of the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, hopes the spirit that built the museum from the ground up is still alive and well in Surry County.

“This is an institution that was created by volunteers, so volunteerism is a legacy that is an important part of our history,” he said Wednesday morning. “It is something that is at the heart of this museum, both in the past and moving forward into the future.”

Edwards said he has a pool of about 100 volunteers, but he needs more.

And don’t think there isn’t something for any city resident to do. From working the telephone from home to scanning historic photos to helping archive and preserve the museum’s donated collections, Edwards said if someone wants to give a little of their time he can find the niche for the would-be volunteer.

“We have volunteers working in capacities that range from working the front desk to conducting tours to working in our collections,” he said, sweaty from building a hands-on exhibit in the children’s section. “My goal is to find a position that is exciting for every volunteer. If we can make it fun and exciting, they will want to come back.”

Grant funding from the New York-based Bay and Paul foundations have given Edwards the chance to get back to archiving and preserving the museum’s many collections.

“That’s something that in recent years has been lacking here at the museum due to tight budgets, because unfortunately when money gets tight preservation and archiving is one of the first things cut,” he said. “This grant of $5,000 has afforded us the opportunity to add at least a portion of it back into our budget. So now we need volunteers to re-house collections not stored in archival conditions.”

It is an opportunity to get hands-on with rare historical objects, something that summer volunteer Susanna Pyatt gets excited about.

Pyatt, a history and anthropology major at the University of Oklahoma, is currently working in the dusty storage area, helping archive and store various collections.

“I just love it,” she said. “This is something I want to do for a career, so the chance to get my hands dirty is exciting for me.”

Edwards said such work is “part of what we do.”

“It may not sound like the most exciting kind of job for many people, but it’s at the heart of our mission here: to collect, preserve and interpret our area’s history,” he said. “In the grand scheme of things our job is to preserve these objects in perpetuity, allowing us months or years down the road to be sure they’re in good condition.”

Work is also under way to digitize more than 10,000 historic photos, making them available online.

“It’s not very cumbersome or difficult, but it’s a time-consuming process and we need volunteers to help in the effort,” he said.

The bottom line?

“I’m not saying we’re dying for volunteers, but we need to expand our volunteer pool,” he said. “For anyone who is interested, we have a position for them and we’ll make sure it’s something they enjoy.”

Anyone interested in volunteering at the museum can call Edwards or Volunteer Coordinator Nancy Davis at 786-4478.

Several local residents and visitors learned on Friday that any possibility of paranormal activity in the downtown area is likely related to tragic events.

Mount Airy Museum of Regional History ghost tour guide Vicky Town told those on the tour that while some might consider these haunting entities ghosts, she respectfully calls them “permanent residents who never left.”

Town, a traveling storyteller by trade, brought accounts of former residents’ lives to life during a balmy night amidst downtown lights and music on Friday.

At each street turn, the audience latched onto her words.

With each stop, Town both forcefully and delicately relayed accounts of painful and tragic local occurrences.

The events often happened in the same areas where folks today still enjoy family, food, beverage and entertainment.

In response to the stories, some on the tour grimaced, others asked questions, some kept curiously quiet, but alert, others shed a tear or two.

A few relayed confirmation about their own personal experiences. A communication Town called valuable to the story telling tradition.

“Each tour, I keep collecting information.” Then, Town said she prays a lot once she gets home, often in response to the intensity of the tours.

Author of the ghost tour script, Mark Brown said, “I wrote in a down-home style.” He said a flickering lantern has been part of the script from the beginning.

Brown said through experience he has learned when a story warrants a second look.

“Things happen that you know just doesn’t feel right,” said Brown.

As a result, scripts change and are flexible. Each variation depends on which professional story telling guide leads the tour, said Brown.

Museum Guest Administrator Nancy Davis said tour feedback has been “very good.” Some patrons send in photos of their personal experience after the tour, said Davis.

The Regional History Museum Ghost tour is in its third season. The museum is said to be haunted by some, including staff. This year’s tour added the fire engine room.

A local resident for more than 40 years, Dr. Steve Yokeley confirmed after the tour that he believes some of the paranormal accounts. In particular those spoken about at the Old North State Winery ring truest to him, he said.

“I have heard several people say they have seen ghosts here before,” said Yokeley.

Before the tour started the Yokeleys expressed an interest in hearing for themselves about the possibility of any supernatural cultural influences. Their guests from Asheboro said they were also interested and looking forward to the tour.

Residents and visitors alike stated afterwards that they enjoyed the historical framework and learning about the “local” supernatural activity.

The tour is based on a 75-25 ratio percentage of history and ghost phenomenon.

Town “did a great job” and is “a great storyteller,” said several patrons upon the tour conclusion on Friday.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History held its second storytelling event Saturday in the museum courtyard. Judging from the reactions of the children in the audience, the art still connects on many levels for listeners as well as tellers.

Surry County Imagine That! Storytellers Guild representative Terri Ingalls said the group is always interested in people who want to listen as well a learn to be storytellers.

“These oral traditions still register on every level,” said Ingalls. “All storytellers are different. That’s what I love about it. There’s always a connection. We (the guild) meet on the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Mount Airy Library and the meeting is open to everyone.”

She said the guild’s meetings are casual and also provide a supportive atmosphere for participants to try out new material and hone it with the suggestions of their peers. Ingalls will be the next featured storyteller at the museum’s third event set for the second Saturday of the month at 2 p.m. Persons may obtain more information about the guild by calling 336-251-3806.

“This is a new program for us. We do historical talks during the fall and winter and we looked at this as a family friendly thing to do during the summer,” said museum Executive Director Matthew Edwards. “We’ve been impressed with the response to this and the first one and are looking at adding more storytelling programs based on this success.” Persons who want more information on ongoing Museum programs may call 336-786-4478.

Storyteller Vicky Town was the featured performer Saturday. The Philadelphia native, who lives in Fancy Gap, Va., told a story about two Irish sisters, Mary and Margaret. Town told the group about a huge giant kidnapping Margaret. Mary, a tiny girl, went after the giant armed with a small axe and shovel and 52 cupcakes in a dainty backpack.

After helping a frustrated leprechaun find his glasses, Mary was rewarded with a pair of almost microscopic pink fairy shoes by the enchanted little shoe cobbler who clued her in that Margaret is being held captive in Glass Mountain, which is notoriously hard to climb.

Mary discovered the enchanted pink shoes will grow to fit her feet and she climbs the mountain and challenges the giant to a contest of strength. She dares him to ram his head through a large tree. He tries and knocks himself unconscious. While the giant is out Mary tells her sister of her plan and proceeds to carve out a hole in the tree with her axe. She covers this with thin tree bark. She wakes the giant up and wins the contest by seeming to ram her head into the tree.

The giant, not one to be put off from a meal, convinces the girls to stay overnight. Mary uses her shovel to make a low wall of dirt and rock at the mouth of the cave and places logs under the girls’ sleeping blankets as they hide. The giant awakes and snaps the logs in two, thinking it is the girls. He goes back to sleep but is frightened in the morning as the girls launch a barrage of questions at him. The giant backs up in fear, trips and shatters as he falls off the mountain. The girls take his gold and help their family and the entire village.

Town also told another story of a heroic Chinese girl who earns the name Paper Flower after outwitting an evil woman and her bratty children who torment her. Paper Flower could only return home with her pay to help her family if she wrapped fire, water and wind in paper. She does this by making a lamp, a drinking cup and a fan and earns money to help her family for the rest of their days by making beautiful things from paper.

The Jesse Franklin Pioneers club from the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History received second place for a group project in the Literary Contest at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh this spring for the 2013 Tar Heel Junior Historian Association annual convention.

Club member Jonathan Casey placed first in the essay contest while Olivia Edwards and Emily Richardson were winners in the artifact search contest.

The local club members were among m,ore than 350 students, advisers and parents from across North Carolina who gathered at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh for the convention, an all-day event.

Hands-on workshops at the convention focused on two topics: conflict in the 1800s and North Carolina A to Z. Students learned about subjects ranging from the history of the “Star Spangled Banner” to earthenware pottery. The Museum of History and the Museum of History Associates co-sponsored the statewide convention.