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Discussion for Museology Encore in memory of Ronnie Cline (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-30 00:06:32
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hey folks. So this episode is a last minute encore, as I learned on Tuesday that my friend and our favorite Museologist Ronnie Cline had passed away that morning. Ronnie was a sweet, curious, and kind friend who inspired so many now-museologists. Please join us in remembering him and celebrating his legacy with this one. 💔

In this 2018 episode, we talked about his life and work managing 30,000 artifacts over 22 California State Park Museums. He told me about everything from mummies to paintings to hot dogs, behind-the-scenes museum life, vintage ghosts, following your dreams, and changing the tone of history and I divulged about the time I may have ruined a 16th Century Dutch portrait. Also: why Jack London is your new posthumous celebrity crush.

If Ronnie inspired you, let me know below. Or just share your favorite exhibit in your favorite museum; he would have loved that.

Sending hugs,

Alie Von Dad

Files

Museology (MUSEUMS) Encore in Memory of Ronnie Cline - alie ward

A very special encore in memory of our favorite Museologist, Ronnie Cline. In this 2018 episode, we talked about the life and work of a great dude and a good pal who passed away this morning. On the agenda of his legendary episode: Museums! Mummies! Paintings! Hot dogs!

Comments

Cee

I just listened to that episode this morning and didn’t realize he had passed. The world lost a super rad and sweet human and I’m rly glad we have an Oligies episode to remember him by!!🩵

wicker bitch

Shout-out to the mastodon at the Green Bay public museum 🥹

Priyal

Sorry for your loss Alie. Listening to that episode took me right back to doing my Arts degree and the Museology subject that I absolutely LOVED. Definitely an area that I regret not being more involved in.

Christa Avampato

It was such a shock to hear about his passing. I just loved this episode so much and it was the first time I heard the term museologist. I remember how he talked about Jack London with so much passion. That caught my ear because I'm such a Jack London fam. I also remember him talking a lot about how the California State Park Museums includes historic homes. What a treasure.

Erin White

My favourite exhibit is the frames of the missing paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston; they were stolen in 1990 and the frames will remain up but empty until they are someday returned. It is my favourite museum because it is a beautiful place, it will always be the way it is now, and you get in for free if it is your birthday or your name is Isabella.

Chrysalis Ashton

This breaks my heart. My love to you and to his family and friends. ❤️ My favorite museum exhibit here in Michigan is at the Grand Rapids Public museum and it is the animal taxidermy displays. They are set up with different natural scenes and then there is this one room from the original museum that is dark and creepy and just covered floor to ceiling in weird taxidermies. There’s a fireplace and a giant shell and a mastodon skeleton and so much more. I love it.

Lynette Dávila

May he rest in peace. I hope his people know how many smiles he brought into the world.

Diana Teeter

I’m so sorry to hear of his passing 💔 I have so many favorite museums/exhibits but a recent amazing museum moment happened on my first ever trip to Chicago last year. I got to see Sue the dinosaur! I was moved to tears, she was one of the reasons I was so fascinated by dinosaurs when I was growing up. It was such a wonderful experience to see her in person

Jason Yuan

I'm a construction worker that only tears up for pet videos and soldiers returning home to surprise their family. But the intro and outro message really hit me. Especially how well both of your chemistry was in the interview.

Susanne Collins

I am so sorry to hear this. I have many incredible museum memories but none quite as formative as having my senior prom in Dinosaur Hall at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. I remember patiently waiting under the giant T Rex for my crush to ask me to dance. He didn’t, but it was a helluva party!

Paulina Krasińska-Sroka

Oh, I had no idea! :( I took a couple of days break from IG, and only now checked Museumronnie's profile, prompted by this post. He was the best and will be missed 🫂

Brooklyn Baron

This is heartbreaking 💔 I’m so sorry for your loss Alie, and for the world’s loss. My favorite museum exhibit of all time is the Hall of North American Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. As a nature obsessed kid growing up in downtown Brooklyn I mostly experienced wilderness through pictures and nature documentaries, and getting to look at dioramas of these amazing wild places and creatures across this continent really fueled my interest in science and conservation. I went back to NYC in April to visit family and I made time to visit the AMNH. I actually teared up looking at the wolves, grizzlies, and mountain lions—thinking simultaneously about the absolute decimation of the populations and habitats of these and so many other species and about the thousands of city kids like me who learned about wild creatures and places from those dioramas. Rest in peace, Ronnie—you did incredible work and we are so grateful!

NJ Baker

I am so sorry to hear this! When I listened to this interview I thought “oh, this man sounds so lovely and I would love to be his friend.” We recently visited the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, after 4,500 km in a rented RV with three (alleged) adults, two kids, two extremely excitable dogs, and one pissed off cat. When I walked into the ROM I felt the stress roll away, and immediately remembered this interview and grinned. Thank you for sharing Ronnie with us, Alie, and I hope his loved ones find some peace in knowing what a difference he made in the world.

kimm kaZombie

His episode was one of the first episodes of ologies I ever listened to. His conversation about going back to school later in life was part of the reason I felt like I could return to university in my late 20s. I even took a minor in heritage management.

Somefrills

I love museums, especially smaller local museums, and actually got married at a museum. Consequently, the wood paneled room on the upper level of the Swedish American Museum in Philadelphia may be my favorite exhibit. Also love the Mütter, even if we did NOT get married there

Lisa Gorman

I loved this episode and Ronnie seemed like a truly awesome human. I'm so sorry to hear of his loss. I love all natural history museums, but one of my favorite exhibits I've ever seen is the glass flowers and plants exhibit at the Harvard Natural History Museum. They look so real that I didn't understand what they were at first. Also, the realization that someone painstakingly made glass replicas of apples with various types of diseases for science is just the best and really increased my love for humanity.

Annie Deaderick

Such a good ep, but more than that what a wonderful human. My favorite museum is the Florida museum of natural history in my hometown and it has many amazing exhibits but I always loved one in particular where the scale of the exhibit is that you are shrimp sized so there are huge models of fish and invertebrates and it feels like you're in a warm shallow reef

Wandering Wyatt

I hadn’t heard this episode before. Fantastic. What a beautiful human. So sorry for your loss.

Amy Elz

My favorite exhibit is inside Mercer Labs in New York City. In a black box with mirrors on the floor and ceiling, the walls, covered in LED panels, play a looping video of a deep, dreamy ocean. The visuals create a sense of the infinite as they're reflected above and below you and you're lost in the beauty of it all. The space is so peaceful and joyous and it feels like forever. I hope that wherever Ronnie is, it feels the same.

Vita Trincali

How can you feel so sad when you learn that someone you don’t even know has passed? Oh, you listen to an expertly conducted interview that somehow makes you think you have known this person for years. Ronnie sounded like a sensitive, intelligent and totally chill guy and I’m sorry I can only know him through the interview. But I accept it has to be enough. Favorite museum exhibit is at the Rochester museum and science center. It had a traveling exhibit on sound and you got to play all kinds of instruments and modify sounds they make. I could have stayed for hours.

Andrew McVay

Thanks for “bringn’ it back” Alie ❤️ I love museums, but instead of having a favorite location or exhibit, my favorite is the written descriptions for the displays… I’m always a room or two behind my family trying to read all the detail! Pictures aren’t enough 🤪

Mie [me-ay]

i was thinking about him and this episode earlier today, before i had seen this. i’m so sorry to hear about his passing. he was genuinely one of my favourite ologists thus far and i’m sure he was an even lovelier friend and person. i’m sending his friends and family all of my love, and i hope you’re doing okay, alie ❤️ love you poddad

Janika Mäki

My favorite piece at an exhibit is our amazing skeleton of a steller's sea cow at the natural history museum of Helsinki. It has a really interesting backstory and it's presumably the most complete skeleton of now extinct sea cow. It's big, beatiful and truly majestic.

Mara Schoner

Sorry to hear about this loss, Ali. One of my favorite museums is the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in Vancouver. Their collection of totem poles dazzles me.

NJ Baker

You’re right Mara, that is one amazing museum. ♥️♥️♥️

Tania Magic Fingers

I knew he was ill from Instagram but was so shocked by the sad news. He came across as such an amazing, fun, loving, caring person. My heart goes out to his family, friends and colleagues. This weekend I will buy sausages (no hotdogs in my area) and listen to a Jack London book in his honour. Sending you Hugs Ali.

Kirsten Love

I loved the Most Boring display posts that were popular during COVID (one was..a stick...). My favorite is the Denver Museum where you watch them carefully clean and prepare actual fossils. Watching them meticulously clean plaster and dirt is fascinating and shows how a single bone is hours of work.

The Joyful Spitfire

Relistened to the episode and felt Ronnie’s warmth and enthusiasm for his work. My thoughts and prayers to all who are grieving. One of my favorite exhibits is Walter De Maria’s New York Earth Room installation in NYC. Located in a loft since 1977, this space is filled with earth and can be visited for free. It is a respite from the chaos of the city.

GhoulNextDoor

Oh no!! His passion in this episode is so evident and wonderful. What a deep loss for the world. One of my favorite museums/ exhibits is the Roman Vindolanda fort at Hadrian’s wall. Particularly a display of ancient jewelry where there is a ring with “Matri, Patri” inscribed meaning mother and father. It just inspires so much wonder about who lost that, what occasion did they receive that ring and so much more. Vindolanda is full of incredible personal artifacts and even preserved writing tablets with peoples names and every day thoughts and interactions and I recommend looking it up for sure! Museums are so important and can be so deeply changing. The work Ronnie did is so important.

Marianne Thomas

I lived in Oxfordshire when that episode came out. Home to many museums including the Pitt-Rivers, known for a collection of shrunken heads. The museum's namesake was an infamous criminal who stole human remains & other sacred items. They had a new curator around the time of this episode. They've since been making strides in restorative justice. This includes repatriations, grants for artists & researchers from affected communities, and public education. It was so interesting hearing about the ethics, politics & economics of museums. There are museums & collections with nicer histories than Pitt-Rivers. But seeing the arc of justice start to bend in real-time had a profound impact on me. It may be too little too late, but late is infinitely better than never

ChickenChomper

He seemed like a truely sweet and fun person. I loved when he said that his favourite part of his day was when he was walking into work. It made me remember how happy I used to be getting to walk into my museum every morning. Thank you Ronnie for letting me re-live this beautiful memory with you!

Chris Moore

Wonderful interview. I’m sorry for your loss ❤️

Suzanne Clark

Thank you for sharing your interview with Ronnie Cline from years before in light of his recent passing. He indeed was an interesting person and it was a joy to listen to his interview. Without even knowing him, we've all lost everything he had to contribute in the years to come, and that is sad.

Myra Poundstone

Thanks for sharing this episode again. He seemed like such a warm and kind person, and I’m glad this episode is around to exemplify that. My favourite museum doesn’t exist anymore in the same form, but it was the MacLeay Museum on the University of Sydney campus. A friend and I went there for a public lecture about bees in our first year of uni, and I loved the aesthetic of the old building with its eclectic biology collection. Most of the collection was from a while ago, and it included a giant tapeworm (in a jar) extracted from the stomach of a boy in the 1800s, and all kinds of skeletons and insects. Sorry for your loss ❤️ thanks for this thread and this community

Kate E

Ronnie seemed like such an interesting, smart, and caring person. I listened to this epi the first time, followed him on Instagram, and enjoyed getting a glimpse into the life of a curator. I was glad to have been “introduced” to him via Ologies. My heart goes out to his family and friends, what a terrible loss. Regarding a museum recommendation, anyone in DC should check out Lincoln’s Cottage, a small gem of a house museum away from the Mall where the Lincoln family spent some time during the summers and where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Grab excellent soul food (Hitching Post) or burgers (Slash Run) across the street.

Charity Wood

Ronnie’s episode was one of my first as an Ologies fan, and was the first Ologist I subsequently followed on social media. Have been following him for years now thanks to this podcast. Alie, thanks for being a buddy for so many years. You and your ologist buddies have accompanied me on many cross country trips, gym sessions, and body doubling house cleaning sessions. Thank you for asking all the people all the questions, and sharing their answers with us in the most creative and fun way. You don’t just reach us, you also reach the Ologists like Ronnie…your creation has resulted in the most entertaining and enlightening of domino effects. We love you. 🫶🏻

Kate E

You may be aware of this already, but Carl Akley was instrumental in developing the taxidermy for the Natural History Museum dioramas and was a big conservationist. There is a good bio of him called Kingdom Under Glass if you’re interested

Rachel Guthrie

Ronnie’s work and what you two talked about was very inspiring! Museums are one of my favorite places to visit, particularly exhibits that have to do with forests and our environment. Thank you for sharing this episode again ❤️

Magsaroni

This was my first time listening to this episode, and it was so much fun! I once interviewed for a museum job, and although I didn't get it, it was still cool to see the behind-the-scenes of the museum! I will definitely ask to see the storage areas of any museum I visit in the future, to find out all their secrets!!

Alie Ward

Then he musta been the wrong guy <3

Alie Ward

What a sweet sweet tribute to him -- thank you <3

Pj anderer

Hi Alie. Truly Devastating to hear about Ronnie's passing. If it's any solace it was his episode that inspired me to become an ologist, but not quite how one would think. I was unemployed and living on the east coast and not really having luck with jobs in GIS when the episode came out in 2018. And there was a section about how he got the State Park job by taking a test. To me it sounded so much easier than resumes and interviews and all that stuff that didn't seem to be working at that moment. So I started searching park jobs and government jobs and different things on USAJobs (not actually CA state parks, humorously). But one job I to which I applied was an Archaeological Technician with the Forest Service. It took several months to work through the brutal fed hiring system but about June I get call (several calls actually) and wind up taking a job in California north bay, so not even that far from Jack London and Sacramento. And I've been more or less working as an arch ever since.

Pj anderer

Also, kinda remarkable the things that come up in the episode that are now a part of my story as well. Archaeology comes up a few times. Ronnie commuted from Sacramento to his job and I now live outside Sacramento and similarly commute up to my USFS job. Also my forest was very much on fire when I start to drive cross country and a lot of my California life now revolves around fires (including 2020 when we had the largest in the state).