Meet Your Museum Commissioner

Photo by Susan Holland Stephanie McLeod, Gravette museum commissioner, stands beside a cast iron kettle recently donated to the museum by the Cardinal Corner Pawn Shop. Stephanie is co chairman of the third annual Dutch oven cook off sponsored by the museum on Gravette Day.
Photo by Susan Holland Stephanie McLeod, Gravette museum commissioner, stands beside a cast iron kettle recently donated to the museum by the Cardinal Corner Pawn Shop. Stephanie is co chairman of the third annual Dutch oven cook off sponsored by the museum on Gravette Day.

Stephanie McLeod is full of energy. It might be hard to keep that energy focused since she has so many and varied interests. But there's one place where her focus is clear, her love of local history and her desire to preserve it. That love led to her becoming a member of the Gravette museum commission.

McLeod, the former Stephanie Deaton, was born in Oklahoma City but moved to Gravette when she was in high school. Her first job, in the late '90s, was at the museum when it was located on Second Avenue, S.E., off Main Street.

"I guess you would say I was the curator," she said.

She moved with the museum in 1999 and was employed at the present location until August, 2000.

Stephanie graduated from Gravette High School in 2000 and went on to attend the U of A in Fayetteville, where she received a bachelor of arts degree. She met her husband Nathanael in college and they married after graduating. When they moved to Little Rock for him to attend medical school at UAMS, she attended UCA in Conway and received her master's degree in art education.

When Nathanael graduated from medical school, the McLeods moved to Indianapolis, Ind., where he did his residency. When that ended, they returned to this area and now live in Springdale. Stephanie teaches art at Hellstern Middle School there and her husband works at the VA Hospital in Fayetteville, where he specializes in internal medicine. When they returned to Arkansas, Stephanie told John Mitchael she was interested in being on the museum commission as soon as there was an opening. She began attending board meetings and was voted onto the board in late 2013.

In addition to her teaching job, McLeod has a soap-making business with her brother, Justin Deaton. Justin, four years younger than her, lives on the old family homestead west of town. Their business, Second Batch Soap Company, sells most of its soap on its Etsy.com website; but occasionally the partners set up a booth and sell their product in person.

Pursuing another interest, Stephanie has recently made a ukulele and is teaching herself to play it.

"It doesn't look like a regular ukulele. It's square," she explained. "But it works." Then, reflecting, "My brother's a musician. He could probably help me," she said.

McLeod does ceramics, gardens, knits and sews.

"I basically will try to make just about anything," she said.

She is also assisting Erin McVittie in teaching water aerobics three days a week at the Gravette pool. The class is open to all ages, but several senior citizens participate through the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center.

McLeod's nickname is "Leftanie." During college she played softball on a Fayetteville city team, the John "Cougars" Mellencamp. Another Stephanie played right field and she played left field.

"So she was Stephanie Rightfield and I was Leftanie," McLeod explained. "We were probably the worst team in the league, but we had some fun."

Right now Stephanie is very involved with plans for Gravette Day. She is cochairman with Patti Bertschy of the museum's third annual Dutch oven cook-off. So far, they have six teams entered, four regular teams and two novice. She is working to get sponsors for the event, donations of raffle items and prize money and medals for the winners.

"My goal is to get the museum more involved in the community and the community more involved in the museum -- to connect," McLeod said.

The Dutch oven cook-off has drawn more interest each year and seems to be a good candidate to help make that connection.

Community on 07/15/2015