Kate Crosby Selected as Dr. David H. Seibold Lifetime Achievement Recipient
11/18/25, 5:00 PM
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes distinguished service to the community and a commitment to preserving local history.
At the 2025 Annual Awards ceremony, Tri-Cities Historical Museum’s Board of Directors announced that Kate Crosby has been selected to receive the Dr. David H. Seibold Lifetime Achievement Award.
This is the highest honor bestowed by the Board of Directors. This award is not given often —only when truly merited —and Kate is only the third recipient in the Museum’s history, following Clarence Poel in 2009 and Wallace Ewing in 2022. It recognizes distinguished service to the community and a commitment to preserving local history. Kate’s career and spirit perfectly embody these ideals.
Kate’s unwavering dedication, professionalism, and passion left a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of working alongside her.
Kate joined Tri-Cities Historical Museum in 2019 as Curator of Exhibitions and Facilities Manager, bringing with her a keen eye for detail, a love of storytelling, and a deep commitment to sharing history with integrity.
Her passion was evident in every project she touched. Whether designing exhibits, working with volunteers, or collaborating with community partners, Kate approached her work with creativity and care. One of her most powerful projects was the Hezekiah Smith exhibit, which honored the life of a formerly enslaved man who settled in Spring Lake Township before 1850. Her work on that project earned her the Historian of the Year Award in 2021.
Kate’s exhibit work included Marushka: From Concept to Classic Tee, 50 Years of Screen Printed Art; Silent Films and Speakeasies; Travelscapes: the Artwork of John McDonald Abroad; In (Grand) Fashion; Play Ball: Sports History in the Tri-Cities; Picnics and Parades: 100 Years Coast Guard Festival; Ferrysburg: 60 Years a City; Old New Borrowed Blue: Wedding in the Tri-Cities. Kate also curated and cared for the Museum's permanent exhibits, bringing new narratives, objects, and interactives to the Ekkens Store, the US Coast Guard exhibit, and the Victorian House.
Kate passed away in September 2025, and will be deeply missed, but her spirit endures in the stories she told and the legacy she left behind. The Tri-Cities Historical Museum and our entire community are better because of her. She was a true historian and storyteller whose work will continue to inspire us all.