Becoming Part of Something Bigger than Yourself

Get involved! is the battle cry since we first heard it from our parents' knees. It's the idea that helps us take personal ownership of an ongoing process. It gives us a way to give back to something that has benefitted us (or others) and permits us to belong to something larger than ourselves. It takes the emphasis off 'me' and puts it on 'we.'

Membership in Fort Walla Walla Museum is like that, too. Portraying the heritage we all share is what we do at the Museum, but the larger point is that we do it for you, our collective audience. You get quite a bit with your membership. Besides daily access to the Museum, all its gardens, displays, and exhibits, as well as special events and Living History presentations, you get to connect with a wider world.

When you are a member of Fort Walla Walla Museum, you get concurrent membership in 'Time Travelers.' With this, you get a variety of varying discounts at more than 170 museums and historical societies nationwide ... free or discounted admission and parking, gift shop discounts ... sometimes a collection of several reduced-fee offerings. Vistors to FWWM from other museums in the program are entitled to an admissions discount and 10% waiver in the Museum Store. This works out well, as many of us who are happy to be members of our local museum tend to be happy visiting other museums along our travels.

You are also entitled to our newsletter, The Dispatch, which offeres interesting stories and loads of pictures. If you're reading this, you can sign up for the electronic version of The Dispatch, saving the Museum a nickel on paper/priniting/postage, as well as seeing all the photos and layout in color (the way its designed). The upcoming issue has a page full of our building progress photos.

Fort Walla Walla Museum members are entitled to a daily 10% discount in the Museum Store and a 20% discount as we close-out for the season in late October ... it's a great opportunity to stock up on some truly uniques gifts with Christmas just around the corner.

A couple of years ago, the Museum negotiated with The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, the tribal museum, to grant cost-free admission to both museums for all our respective members. That's right ... two museums for the price of one.

We also offer occasional perks. Of late has been the ability to purchase passage aboard the Lady Washington or her sister ship, the Hawiian Chieftan, at a 20% discount in conjunction with the Lady W's 20th anniversary sail up the Columbia River. My wife and I went yesterday and it was incredible. I couldn't help but think of the many pioneers who came up the Columbia into the Northwest Interior. Hard not to think of the Black Pearl from "Pirates of the Caribbean," too; the Lady Washington played the part of the 'Pearl' in that fun movie.

Today's photos are from yesterday's "Adventure Sail." Enjoy (we sure did!). You can see the two ships at the dock (Lady Washington on the left, Hawaiian Chieftan on the right), my wife Celia aboard the Chieftan, 'pirates' on their way to boarding, a crew member (engineer) who did a gunnery demonstration, Bos'un Jim's anchor tattoo, and some young folk helping the crew haul away on a halyard. There's also one of the Lady Washington as she passed us and 'opened' fire' on our starboard beam.

Below, you can watch a little clip of the Lady Washington sailing past us.

Below, a clip of Bos'un Jim tying a knot.

And, below, the gunnery demonstration. Don't you just love things that go KABOOM?!