DOWAGIAC — When director Steve Arseneau teamed up with city officials more than four years ago to bring the Dowagiac Area History Museum from the campus of Southwestern Michigan College to downtown, he had no idea how the facility would be welcomed by the people of Dowagiac.

Thankfully for him, not only has the local population embraced the institution, but even travelers from other parts other country have walked away impressed by the museum’s collection of local history.

Speaking in front a packed house at the Dowagiac Elks Lodge Wednesday evening, Arseneau described how a retired couple from Ohio found themselves enamored with the downtown museum — in spite of the fact they had never lived in Dowagiac — during a visit nearly three years ago. The wife, whose father once worked for the Round Oak Stove Company, later donated one of her dad’s memorabilia to the museum.

Then the checks started rolling in, Arseneau said. The couple had cashed out one of their life insurance policies, and began donating money to nonprofits, including the Dowagiac Area History Museum, many miles away from where they call home.

“You never know who you are going to impact at the museum,” Arseneau said. “We get visitors from 6 months to 99 years old. We are impacting so many people.”

Thanks to the generosity of the people packed inside the local clubhouse Wednesday, Arseneau and his team of history-loving volunteers will continue to be able to touch the lives of many people who walk through the doors of the museum.

The museum hosted its first ever “Keep History Alive” fundraiser that evening, drawing more than 100 people out to the Elks Lodge for a night of food and fun. Attendees enjoyed a dinner provided by Cassopolis’ Smokin’ Good BBQ, and had the chance to bid on dozens of items, donated to the museum by local individuals and businesses, in a series of silent and live auctions.

A diverse crowd attended the event, ranging from veteran volunteers and members of the museum to local officials, including Dowagiac Mayor Don Lyons, Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke and Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman.

“I think there are some people here who just love a good auction, too,” Arseneau said shortly before taking the podium that evening.

The director said that around 140 people purchased tickets to the fundraiser, a number he “felt really good about,” he said. Based on the response to the items up for auction, he was confident the event would surpass the goal of $5,000 he was hoping to raise for the museum’s operations.

Among the visitors was Dowagiac’s Sue Wilder, who has volunteered with the museum for the last seven years, starting back when it was still located at SMC. A lover of local history — she is also a member of the Cass County Historical Society — Wilder said she felt it was important for herself and others to donate their time and money to museum.

“Like the name [of the fundraiser] says, it’s important to keep history alive, especially here,” Wilder said. “So many people don’t know how this city used to be. We are keeping those stories alive.”

Mayor Lyons also took a few moments to address the crowd Wednesday. Echoing Arseneau’s statement, Lyons said when he and other city leaders worked to move the museum from its old home to the refurbished Behnke Paint Store on Railroad Street in 2013, they did so “on a wing and prayer.”

Watching the museum’s steady growth in the years since has reaffirmed that decision, the mayor said. As someone who frequents local museums wherever he travels, Lyons said the Dowagiac Area History Museum stacks up at the top of all the institutions he has seen.

“I want to extend my personal thanks and the personal thanks of everyone in Dowagiac,” Lyons said. “Whether they appreciate the history or not, it [the museum] makes this a special place, a place that people are happy to call home.”