Museum Staff
Curator
Susan Shine Kilcrease
Susan Shine Kilcrease is an 8th generation Texan and Hardin County descendent. Her earliest local ancestor was Benjamin Franklin Richardson who built a ferry on the Neches River in 1829, and was granted a Zavalla Land Grant in 1831. Her natural interest in history is a direct result of the lessons taught to her by her father and grand parents and in her life-long pursuits of historical research and travel.
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Susan received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and graduate work at Lamar University and at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She spent her career on the stage and in Music Education, as a high school Choral Director and as a professional opera singer for 20 years. She brings her staging, lighting and artistic experience in the performance world to her exhibit design.
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Joining the Ice House Museum in 2020, she recommended changing the Museum from an Art Museum to a History Museum, which had been demonstrated clearly in her research. Additionally the long tradition of story-telling is alive in her stories which she shares on the popular Facebook page and at the museum in the exhibits and tours.
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Archivist/ Director of Education
Debbie Brown
Mrs. Debbie Brown began her career as an elementary school teacher, where she taught at East Texas Christian School for 15 years. She is a student of Lamar University earning a Bachelor's of Education. In addition to her certifications as an educator, she also possesses certifications in Educational Director of Museums, Director of Museum Operations and as Jr. Historian Director. Later, she attended Pensacola Christian College where she did graduate studies in Education of Ministry.
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Mrs. Brown was employed by the Kirby Hill House Museum for 2 years, and at the John Jay French museum for 1 year.
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In 2020, she joined Susan Kilcrease at the Ice House Museum, coming onboard as Museum Archivist and Director of Education for the museum. She brings her training and experience in elementary education to the museum as she assembles activities and events for the children who are our Patrons. Additionally, she has built an excellent Junior Historian Program for the museum, where she hopes to excite kids about history and artifact care. The majority of her time at the museum is in the care, cataloguing and research of the thousands of artifacts in the museum.
