Recent Projects

Lee Jeans Archive

Collections Move, 2019

Jean has served as Historian & Project Archivist for Lee Jeans since 2003. She was responsible for organizing, inventorying and creating a searchable database of the Lee Company’s corporate archive. The Archive collection includes over 30,000 items ranging from original advertising art, product samples, price lists, catalogs, photographs, marketing materials and corporate business records dating to the company’s founding in Salina, Kansas in 1889.

After more than 100 years in Kansas City, Lee Jeans moved its corporate headquarters to Greensboro, North Carolina in 2019. Jean was contracted to hire, train and manage a team to inventory, document and pack the Lee Archive collection for the move. Three semi-tractor trailers transported the collection to its new home in North Carolina. Jean continues to conduct research on the company’s history and iconic products to support Lee teams world-wide.

______________________________________________________________________________”The Children’s Mercy Story”

An exhibit for Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2017

Children’s Mercy Hospital contracted Jean for the conceptual development, research, writing and design of an engaging history exhibit to convey the tradition and commitment of Children’s Mercy Hospital to quality patient care, research and education. The exhibit links the hospital’s past with its current ranking as one of the nation’s leading pediatric medical centers. It draws from the hospital’s archival collection and features photographs, artifacts and personal stories–of patients and the people who help patients and their families–coping with traumatic injuries diseases and health crises, with their skill, dedication and compassion. Interactive elements invite hospital staff, patients, their families and visitors to compare their experience and test their knowledge about Children’s Mercy Hospital’s history.

The exhibit is located adjacent to the hospital lobby on the Adele Hall campus, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City, Missouri.

Hotel Savoy and Savoy Grill, Kansas City, 2015

Before work could begin to restore parts of this beloved Kansas City hotel and restaurant and re-open with modern amenities, 21C Hotels of Louisville, Kentucky contracted with Jean to ensure that materials of historical significance were identified and preserved. Hotel records, correspondence and cash ledgers, blueprints and photographs dating from the early 1900s through the hotel’s closing in 2014, as well as iconic furnishings and memorabilia were carefully reviewed and removed from the building for use in the restoration/renovations. Some materials were donated to local museums, archives and libraries for preservation and public research and access, and duplicate furnishings sold at public auction. After undergoing extensive restoration and renovation, the hotel reopened in 2018. Some of the hotel’s rich history is prominently displayed in the hotel’s public spaces.

“Americans by Choice: The Story of Immigration & Citizenship in Kansas”

Winner of 2012 National Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State & Local History

Most Kansans can trace their heritage to another part of the world. They came in search of a better life for themselves or their children—many came to join family or friends. Between 1865 and 1880, Kansas attracted immigrants at a faster pace than anywhere else in the United States. This permanent exhibit at the Robert J. Dole Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas helps visitors to the courthouse connect this story with their personal experience by providing context, personalizing the facts and figures, using signature graphics and asking questions through the use of engaging interactive components. Visitors to the exhibit can test their knowledge of U.S. history and civics by taking a sample citizenship test at a touch-screen, through a live feed from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. A traveling version toured the State from 2011-2013, and was viewed by over 65,000 visitors.

An accompanying documentary video produced in conjunction with the exhibit, “The American Dream in Kansas: In Their Own Words,” features new citizens describing why they chose to become U.S. citizens and what it means to be an American. To view the video, http://www.ksd.uscourts.gov/the-american-dream-in-kansas-in-their-own-words/

Jean conceptualized the project, served as Project Manager, researched and wrote the script, produced the video and coordinated the design, fabrication & installation of the exhibit.

Visit the exhibit at the Robert J. Dole Courthouse, 500 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas, 66101, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Interactive kiosk allows visitors to take the self-test from US Customs & Immigration Services website.

Lee Jeans 125th Anniversary Tour-2014

In 2014, Lee Jeans celebrated its 125th anniversary. Lee Asia-Pacific hosted a 125th anniversary Archive Tour of Lee ‘s most iconic garments. Jean provided tours for members of international media outlets in: Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Manila, Philippines; and Mumbai, India. She also presented Lee history lessons for teams in Shanghai, China and Hong Kong.

“Overland Park: A Place of Peace, Comfort & Plenty”

An exhibit for the Overland Park Historical Society, an all-volunteer, private non-profit

Winner of 2015 National Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State & Local History

Overland Park got its start as a great place to live when William B. Strang Jr., a railroad developer and capitalist living in New York City, was in Kansas City in 1903, after a devastating flood of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. A visionary and entrepreneur, Strang decided to build a flood-free, self-sustaining, park-like community for middle class families connected to jobs and stores in Kansas City and Olathe by an interurban railroad line. Strang purchased over 600 acres in northeast Johnson County and platted lots for homes and businesses, graded streets, and planted shade trees. He built the interurban railroad line in less than a year. He donated land for a school and a church, built recreational facilities, and sponsored dances, ball games, and air shows—attracting buyers for his lots and entertaining residents and visitors. The combination of affordable property, community services and amenities, and the ease of getting to cities north and south on the Strang Line, was key to the successful establishment and growth of Overland Park between 1906 and 1925.

This free-standing interpretive history exhibit, researched and planned by Jean, brings to life the story of William Strang and others who shared his vision. The exhibit has been re-installed in the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Overland Park, Kansas.

Open the doors to four subdivisions and “Meet the Neighbors” who lived in each subdivision.

A Sanborn fire insurance map of Overland Park shows the location and construction of commercial buildings, surrounding photos of businesses in downtown Overland Park.

Shawnee Town, 1929 Strategic Plan, Shawnee, Kansas

Jean facilitated a comprehensive strategic planning process with extensive community involvement. The City of Shawnee is now implementing the Strategic Plan, transforming Old Shawnee Town from a recreated Kansas prairie town to an historically accurate interpretation of the City’s history. In 1929, Shawnee was the center of a rural cash crop economy, meeting the needs of area farmers before suburbs and annexation changed the landscape of rural America. This story is the focus of Shawnee Town, 1929 with interpretive programs and exhibits emphasizing three historical themes: Shawnee’s role as a farm town supporting area farmers; the strength and resilience of community spirit in Shawnee through difficult and prosperous times; and the effects of transportation on Shawnee as a link between points to the west and the urban center of Kansas City and beyond. Today you can visit a 1920s truck farm–or stop in Town to see what goods and services are available in Shawnee in 1929. Visitors of all ages are in for a memorable experiences in a unique setting. See www.shawneetown.org for hours and more information.

Black Archive of Mid-America, 2010-2011
The board of the Black Archives of Mid-America contracted with Jean Svadlenak to inventory, pack and move its collection to a new facility for processing and safe-keeping. The project involved assessing the collection in terms of relevance to the mission, developing guidelines for determining what to maintain as part of the Permanent Collection and for deaccessioning. Jean developed a storage plan including recommendations for systems, fixtures and supplies to re-house and store the collection for long-term preservation and access to the public. The Archive collection includes over 30,000 items ranging from art, photographs, furniture, and clothing to archival materials, sound recordings and reference materials.

“Caring for Body, Mind & Spirit: The Story of St. Joseph Nurses”

An exhibit for the St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation

Winner of 2015 National Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State & Local History

When the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet arrived in Kansas City in 1874 to open St. Joseph Hospital, they set a new standard of nursing. At a time when nursing required no training, the Sisters decided to train. Their decision was a commitment to nursing education and a commitment to the advancement of professional nursing. And they broadened nursing to mean care for the whole person – healing in body, mind, and spirit. The exhibit conveys the importance and role of nurses and the rich tradition established by the Sisters of St. Joseph— still evident today in nursing care of patients. It features photographs, artifacts, quotes and personal stories of nurses, religious and lay, who personify the spirit of St. Joseph. Nurses, doctors, and patients share their thoughts about nursing at St. Joseph in a 4-minute video, and simple, mechanical interactive components include pull-down panels providing broader historical context for St. Joseph nursing history, a flipbook with personal stories of St. Joseph nurses who have shared their skills around the world, and “How to take a pulse.”

Jean served as Project Manager for this permanent exhibit and produced the video, which is installed in the Donald Kirk Piper M.D. Memorial Medical Museum at St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Glass cases protect the ‘tools of the trade” from a stethoscope and thermometer to a digital vital sign monitor.