Sign Here, Please

Construction continues at a torrid pace, even in the torrid weather. We now have the final layer of roof application (we used to call them 'shingles'), siding is up in many places, frames are around the exterior windows, duct work is being fitted, electrical and plumbing are trying to keep from bumping into one another.

It's cool, to be sure. One of the features that will not be readily observable when all is completed is that the women's restroom is both larger than the men's and has more stalls. We heard you loud and clear on that front! Another interesting feature is a concrete 'pit,' perhaps 12 feet long by 3 feet wide. Several years ago while digging a utility trench in the area behind the Saturno Farmstead in our pioneer settlement, we came across and unearthed a handful of tombstones. As it turned out, we had found the 'midden pile' of an early-19th century re-alignment of the Fort's cemetery ... the stones we found were those that had been replaced with new, more uniform markers. As the unearthed stones represent a variety of sizes and shapes, the parts needing to be below the surface also vary. In order for a new display to showcase these items, they will be 'planted' according to the necessary depth, so all will appear to be 'even' at the surface.

In the recent past, we've enjoyed taking some of our many volunteers and supporters for a brief tour of the interior as it works itself into recognizable shape. We are just kids at heart, I do believe, in that signing the studs is way too much fun. Once the buidling is finished, these pearls will remain hidden for perhaps a hundred years, when some future Museum operation decides the building is in need of replacement. We get to have a mark on the future!

From the top: today's pictures show Sonja Biggs' signature, volunteer Jacque Brock signing an upright, the frame around a west-facing window, an elevated electrician, and a view of the siding and new roof covering south of the blockhouse. Stop by if you'd like an opportunity to see things up close and personal, but be prepared: as this is a construction site, there is a fair amount of noise and dust.

What a Great Bunch o' Folks!

Some of our 2008 Volunteer Award winners. Left to right are Bob Bonstead, Lenora Hermann, Barb Keniston, Carroll Adams, 'Steve' Stevenson, and Museum Director James Payne.

We had a great time Tuesday night ... good food, good company (nearly 80 of us in attendance) ... as we honored our outstanding volunteers from 2008. We had 12 categories of volunteers this year, plus our two "big" awards. Those honored are:

Building Maintenance: Bob Bonstead

Building Attendant: Millie Friday

Gardener: Joann Johnson

Collections: Esther Dixon & 'Steve' Stevenson (tie)

Office Support: Fran Chase

Museum Store: Sally Wood

Intern/College Level: Lindsey Hill

Intern/High School Level: Adana Escobar

Docent: Toss Benefiel

Living History: Rich Monacelli

Buildings & Grounds: Carroll Adams

Morris Ganguet Outstanding Volunteer of the Year: Lenora Hermann

Gerwyn A. Jones Service Award: Barbara Keniston

The Morris Ganguet Award goes to a recent volunteer who exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism. Known affectionately as "The Mustard Lady" (one of the Museum Store's biggest-selling items to our Columbia River cruise tourists), Lenora has worked in the Store, out of the Store, and at numerous special events the past couple of years. On top of that, she hasn't missed more than a couple of shifts in the entire time she's been with us.

The Gerwyn A. Jones Award is our "lifetime achievement" acknowledgement. We like to honor someone who's done it all and Barb Keniston has certainly laid claim to that over the years. She participates in special events, Kids camps, works tirelessly in the collections/exhibits department, has been on our Board of Directors and even served a term as the Board's secretary. Barb looks especially good in the '57 Chevy she and hubby Ken own.

To all our volunteers, especially those listed here, Salute!

Salute to the Volunteers!

Tomorrow is our Annual Banquet and Volunteer Awards. Each year we invite all the members, volunteers, and the public to participate in our salute to the previous season's outstanding volunteers. These wonderful folks logged more than 8,700 hours of service to to Museum doing all sorts of things to make a vistor's experience memorable. We have tour docents, store clerks, Living History portrayers, office support, collections & exhibits helpers, gardeners, building & maintenance help, and a whole host of event participants. Let's not overlook our Board members, who all serve on their own time. In all, it represents more than $150,000 savings to payroll.

We also feature a guest speaker each year and they have been memorable~Darby Stapp, a Tri-Cities archaeologist; Roberta Conner, Director of Tamastslikt Cultural Istitute; and David Nicandri, Director of the Washington State Historical Society are just a few who've graced our meeting. This year we've invited the leader of a sovereign nation: Antone Minthorn, Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Mr. Minthorn will be speaking about the challenges of putting our youth in contact with their heritage and possible joint efforts that the Museum and Tribes may pursue in that regard. We also have special awards for last year's outstanding first-year volunteer and a 'life-time achievment' award.

The food is outstanding, too. Carissa Bossini's Walla Walla Catering is serving up an Italian buffet. If you ever dined at Caravaggio's at the Airport, then you'll know the quality of Carissa's fare. We'll have a social time beginning at 5:30 pm tomorrow with dinner to follow at 6:00 pm. The event takes place in the Blue Mountain/Mill Creek Room at Walla Walla Regional Airport. Tickets are $20 per person and if you'd like to attend, please call today: 505.525.7703.

Serious progress to report today regarding Fort Walla Walla Museum's 'Services & Facilities Enhancement Project.' According to Jim, our groundsman, the construction gang began pouring the slab of our new Entrance Building at 6:00 am this morning. At 8:00 am they were halfway done.

Today's photos show the sign announcing our project that was posted Friday; ongoing concrete construction; last year's Morris Ganguet Outastanding (new) Volunteer of the Year award winner Sally Wood; and the three co-winners of the Gerwyn A. Jones (lifetime) Service Award, Joe & Helene Eaves and Myra Addlington.

Meet Me at the Museum!

It is clear as a bell this morning at Fort Walla Walla Museum and this looks like it will be a great day, perhaps to be followed by a glorious weekend. Finally! Sunny and warm, just classic Walla Walla weather.

The weekend also brings a couple of Museum events. Today we open the first of our "A Special Season" of six temporary exhibits. Because of construction, we felt a need to keep value high for our visitors. We did not raise rates this year as we might have (due to construction; still the same for a third straight year), but as the building going up is replacing one that held most of our changing exhibits, we thought we should provide something 'extra' this year.

Collections Manager Laura and her mini-army of volunteers have put together four 'permanent' exhibits in the Headquarters foyer and today we unveil When Grandma & Grandpa Were Kids: Children's Clothing from 1875-194. It's pretty cool to see ... one section features a variety of underwear, including a small-scale set of back-flap long-handles. Elsewhere are christening gowns and ... yep ... a boy's dress. I'm told in the long ago, young boys wore such things before their first pair of short pants. Who knew? There's some children's toys that are of interest, too, including a miniature washing machine of the hand-powered variety and a pair of spring shoes, sort of like a pogo stick without the stick for each foot. Seeing is believing. There is also a parasol-covered wicker pram that is a must see!

On Sunday you can chat up Walla Walla's first mayor, E.B. Whitman, as portrayed by local attorney Dan Clark. The Living History performance is preceeded by 19th century popular music played by the Museum's own Oregon Trail Band. The OTB recently acquired themselves a pump organ, though I'm not sure know they have anyone to play it yet ... are YOU interested?

The Museum is open 10 am - 5 pm daily, including weekends and holidays. The Oregon Trail Band plays at 1:30 pm and ol' E.B Whitman strides through almost 150 years of history in a return to the community over which he once presided. Be sure to ask him what he thinks of all the changes in that time!

Today's photos include Dan as E.B Whitman at the Museum's Union Schoolhouse, the back-flap long-handles and wicker pram in When Grandma & Grandpa Were Kids, and the the 2008 edition of the Oregon Trail Band. This weekend, call your friends and tell 'em "Meet me at the Museum!"

Fruit of the Vine

Some of our favorite volunteers visited us yesterday, at the same time marking what surely, finally must be the onset of spring. These are the Oenology & Viticulture students at Walla Walla Community College.

For the past several years, they've come out a few times each year to prune our Black Prince/Cinseault grapes planted back in the 1990s by winemaker of note Berle 'Rusty' Figgins. Rusty comes by his talent honestly: his maternal grandfather was Francesco Leonetti, whose name adorns one of the appellation's finest wineries. Our vineyard is an interesting project for the kids in that we do not trellis our vines, like you see all across the valley these days. Instead, we manage them the way an earlier age did it, known as 'stake trained' or 'bush trained.' The center is pruned out, allowing sunlight to reach all the remaining branches and grapes. In the 'old days,' this was by far the least expensive way of producing a crop.

In today's photos you can see our groundsman Jim (in his ever-present ball cap) speaking with Billo who heads up the viticulture program, as well as a number of the students participating in the spring tune-up for the vineyard. It's a great piece of work they do on our behalf, much appreciated and really makes for an interesting experience for our visitors. By the way, the grapes are delicious!

History Comes Alive!

We take history seriously at Fort Walla Walla Museum, but we're also aware that not everyone else wants a lecture on the subject. One of the most interesting and entertaining ways of learning a little about regional heritage is through our Living History program, the first of whose presentations occurs this Sunday at 2:00 pm.

It's important to learn from our past. As philospher George Santayana once wrote, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The Museum's Living History Company, through its more than 40 weekend presentations through the season, tells the stories of real people in their 'own voice' who helped create the community we have today. I get first nod of the season as I portray Lewis & Clark Expedition member John Colter. Next week, Charles Saranto portrays one of the best stories anywhere as pioneer blacksmith & hotelier Fred Stine.

Through the season, which features performance every Sunday, plus Saturday June through August, you can enjoy Captain Mullan from Mullan Trail fame, Madame Josephine 'Dutch Jo' Wolf, early brewmasters John & Catherine Stahl, Hudson's Bay Company trader William McBean, Suzanne Cayuse Dauphin who was one of the first Indian women to own property in this region, and many, many others. Included in the bunch are special presentations during Ice Cream Social, Women's History Celebration, Frenchtown Rendezvous, and a '19th Century Party' to conclude the season. The season has been described as "a 42-week course in Walla Walla history." Maybe so, but it sure is fun!

Today's photos, top to bottom, include Rich Monacelli as William McBean, Judith Fortney as Suzanne Cayuse Dauphin, Lois Hahn as 'Dutch Jo,' Charles Saranto as Fred Stine, and me, Paul Franzmann as John Colter.

From Near and Far

After our first day of operations this year, we are pleased to report that attendance is up 10% from last year! That's a trend we hope continues throughout the season. We had several visitors from Seattle and Tacoma arrive yestreday, as well as folks from La Grande, Oregon. Our first visitors of the day were from Vancouver, WA and timed their visit to April 1 for our opening.

That's two states down, 48 to go. In my memory, we have never missed our unofficial goal of all 50 states; that might go back a dozen years or more at this point. A couple of years ago, we hit that goal in mid-June, though it's usually September, even October, before we log the final state. The toughest one to record is Rhode Island, a low-population state nearly as far from here as possible.

I also had email yesterday from Jørn in Denmark who'd visited us last year, purchased a quilt-raffle ticket and wondered who won the draw (Rosemary Kenney of Portland, OR was our winner; that's her with the prize). We typically receive visitors from more than 30 foreign countries in a season, though last year that number was 42. Amazing! Imagine traveling halfway across the world to take in the heritage we have right in our own backyard. Pictured here are Marc-Thomas and Urte with their son Nicholas (a family from Germany) at the Jacky play cabin and a group of visiting highschool kids from our sister city, Sasayama, Japan.

Most of our visitors come from 'the neighborhood,' Washington, Oregon, and Idaho followed by California and Montana. We receive many of the rest of the states courtesy of the "boat people," those Columbia River cruise tourists who get bussed here from the docks in the Tri-Cities. They tend to be active retirees who are intensely interested in all facets of life. Like all of us, they love to share the interesting things about their home towns, what they've done along life's road, and what they are doing sailing up the Columbia River. You can see the bus they arrive on ... that looks like a pretty comfortable ride!

It's one of the best things about museum life ... we get to meet the neatest people! I also think that's one of the biggest draws for those who volunteer here, the chance to share our wonderful community with so many people, an average of about 25,000 annually over the past decade.

Volunteer Day

Tomorrow is the day Fort Walla Walla Museum hosts its annual volunteer orientation meeting. The Museum survives (really) because of the efforts of more than 400 volunteers ... we truly could not do all that we do without their many, varied and wonderful talents. A number of those volunteers are once-a-year participants in our special events. Last year we had nearly 100 historical re-enactors at Fort Walla Walla Days. Day to day in the season, we use the services of a smaller but tremendously dedcated group of about 90 folks.

Esther, Barb, & Sally help with the textile collection, both in terms of curation and maintenance, but also in developing and creating exhibits. Helen helps us with exhibits, particularly in posterboard-mounting the text and images visitors see. Vi heps with the gardening, as a Store Assistant, Tour Docent, and keeping my paper files from devouring my office. Millie is a mainstay among the Building Attendants. Steve, like Vi, is a jack-of-many-trades helping with collections and exhibits and as a Tour Docent. A Touchet-area family has helped us garden in recent years, all four showing up to lend a hand. The list is a long one and no one is left out who wishes to participate.

On Friday we hosted a group of 20 or so young people from AmeriCorps. Each of them is required to come up with a service project and Patrick chose the Museum as a place to assist (his gal-pal Emily is the young woman, also a volunteer, you can see signing the Pledge of Allegiance through the Volunteer page on our web site: www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/volunteer.htm ). These folks helped primarily with the myriad chores of cleaning the pioneer village in preparation for visitation season, now just 8 days away. Their sheer numbers make light work of an otherwise immense project for Laura, our already heavily taxed Collections Manager.

If you're interested in giving back to the community, sharing oour wonderful community with vistors from across the country and around the world, or if you just like hanging out with like-minded folks having a good time, then come on over at 10 am Wednesday morning. The coffee pot will be on and somebody always brings cookies!

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch ...

An off-campus meeting today about diversity training, then a long weekend. The work continues back at Fort Walla Walla Museum, where a new season is just 19 days away. Just yesterday, Operations Manager Don landed our food vendor for the season, no small trick in a shaky economy. Collections Manager Laura continues work on the new Headquarters displays for 2009, Ops Assistant Anne continues to re-stock the Museum Store, and Building & Grounds Manager Jim gears up for the final steps in sprucing up the appearance of the place. Even Tour Coordinator Bill is busy, as we already have a number of school tours booked, a string of Columbia River cruise tours headed our way, and even a pre-season special booking by an auto-enthusiast group from Boise. Bookkeeper Carolyn keeps us on the straight and narrow ... her work has ensured seven consecutive years of finishing 'in the black' (before depreciation).

I sent off a news release to the MSM yesterday about how so much about this season is NEW. New exhibits, new Living History characters, a new building in progress, new food vendor ... it's amazing! There's never been a better year to get involved at Fort Walla Walla Museum!

If you'd like to volunteer, there's lots of great opportunities. Call Don at 509.525.7703 and join the fun!

No blog on Monday, so see y'all Tuesday. -Paul (that's me doing an interview at the Museum with CNNMoney when it named Walla Walla as the best place to retire)

Laura's Sense of Sunshine

Everyone, I think, is pretty happy that the gloomy days of winter are getting to be fewer and farther between. As I look out my office window, the sun is shining even if it is just 20F out there ... even that beats the heck out of dreary gray fog and drizzle.

At Fort Walla Walla Museum, sunshine presents a bit of a problem for Laura, our Collections Manager, however. As we are in a construction season, we will have a number of exhibits in our Headquarters Conference Room this year. The wall of south-facing windows have nice blinds, but even when closed the amount of light that 'leaks' in will cause damage to fragile artifacts. One of the exhibits planned for spring is a selection of our wedding dress collection (pictured), some dating to the mid-1800s. Other textile exhibits will also be displayed in the room this year, including our Annual Heritage Quilt Show in autumn(2008 show pictured).

What to do? When the going gets tough, the tough get busy. This week, Laura and her volunteers ... Esther, Sally, Sis, Helen ... are cutting poster board to fit over the windows. There will also be a drape covering the entire wall, so between the two, sunlight will be effectively blocked. Our mission is to "preserve and share" the heritage of the Walla Walla region. We can't share what we don't preserve, so we take that pretty seriously. "Preserve" means forever, and while current technologies don't let us guarantee that, we do look to get things about 200 years into the future. Our successors can then figure out how to take care of the next several centuiries, so that the fabulous story of the people of the Walla Walla valley can continue to be told for future generations.

Coffee Day a Little Different Today

It sometimes feels like the whole world runs on coffee, doesn't it? Just think about all the various places even in a small town like Walla Walla where you can get a cuppajoe, from the many drive-throughs to the restaurants, from the coffee shops to the grocery stores, and so many folks at home. It's easier to count up my non-'evil brown brew*'-swilling friends than those who do imbibe.

Wednesday at the Museum is coffee day, it seems, as several of our stalwart volunteers (Rod, clad in his Living History gear above, and Steve, the '2nd story man' working on a new display in our Headquarters) arrive to share a moment or two with us before we get on with the day. The staff is rolling in, too: Don's back, Jim's here early, as ever, and Anne is here, too. Laura will be in soon, herself. The coffee's the same today, at least no worse than usual, but the conversation is a little more animated. We got the last approval we needed yesterday to begin the demolition of Exhibit Hall 1, the first step in constructing our new Entrance Building!

Those are two of the architect's rendering of the new entrance building pictured at the top.

We concluded 2008 with just enough money in our capital campaign to make a really nice start on Phase I construction ... call it 'Phase I-A,' if you will. We're still actively fundraising this year to acquire some items currently unfunded, so if you'd like to help, give us a call at 509.525.7703. If you'd like to use a credit card, go to our website at http://www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/ and look for the DonateNow button in the left margin toolbar. We're carrying the past into the future ... you can help carry the load!

*hat tip to Mike Schultz, Head Librarian at University of Montana-Western

Outreach ... A Great Way to Listen

Community outreach ... we do a lot of that around Fort Walla Walla Museum. It seems like everyday one or the other of us is making a presentation, repesenting the Museum at a meeting, or generally being out and about in the area. It was my turn today as a participant in the local newspaper's, The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, (http://www.union-bulletin.com/) community board.

A dozen or so of us show up at 7:00 in the morning to coffee, donuts, and interesting conversation. While the talk mainly centers around the function of the paper, it spreads effortlessly into the role of the paper in the community. It's an interesting cross section of the community that participates, along with a handful of U-B employees ... this time including about-to-be new publisher Rob Blethen. There's a representative from local tourism interests, the Sweet Onion Festival folks, a school teacher, a retired judge, a retired doctor and others from around the community. A pretty representative group

Others of the Museum staff sit on the local Parks & Rec Advisory Board, the local Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, a nearby county's cemetery board, Tourism Walla Walla, and a host of other heritage-related groups. It's good for us to get out and give back to the community that's been so generous to us. It also keeps us from talking in an 'echo chamber,' that kind of self-referentialism that happens when outside viewpoints fail to enter a discussion. We like to think we provide a service to the community, but if no one takes advantage of that service, it's time to change direction, right? So far, the listening has paid off ... I think we're on the right track.

Kids at the Museum

We love kids at Fort Walla Walla Museum! We have an admission-free School Tour Program that offers kids, their teachers, and schools an opportunity to walk through the past. Walla Walla wasn't always a sleepy little town at the end of the trail, but was something of a big deal, leading to the long-standing claim of 'Cradle of Northwest History.' The program attracts about, 5,000 participants each year and receives some generous corporate sponsorship from Boise, Inc.'s Wallula Mill, Pacific Power Foundation, and others.

We see lots of other young folks in the course of a year, too. From babies in backpacks, to toddlers in strollers, and schools kids all the way through their high school years, as well as some college students. Some of the latter have been among our most vibrant, active volunteers, putting the lie to "What's the matter with today's kids?" Well, not much in our view ... they are active in the community and already giving back of their own time. That makes us feel pretty good about the long-term prospects of preserving our heritage.

Today's blog is a salute to those wonderful young folks whose energy we envy and direction we try to quietly mentor. There may be problems in the world, but 'our' kids aren't among them. We think kids who make contact with their community's heritage are much better equipped to help make the decisions about a community's future.

Carrying the Past into the Future

"Carrying the Past into the Future" has been the byword of the Capital Campaign for our Services and Facilities Enhhancement Project, but this week it's been more like introducing the past to the future. The newness of this blog is testimony to that, but we've also instituted an acount with YouTube. Our "Community at a Crossroads" video can be seen by going to www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/support_us.htm and scrolling down to the bullet points near the bottom of the page. There's another of our volunteer, Emily, using American Sign Language to present 'The Pledge of Allegiance." That one's pretty funny, at least at the end ... and you can see that I need some work in the editing department. For 'Em,' click www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/volunteer.htm, again scroll down to the bullet points, looking for the word "Watch" as a link to 'Watch 'Em sign the Pledge."

That's a picture of Emily ... she may have set the all time record for carmel corn sales at Fall Harvest Festival that day.

We're also gearing up to a season enhanced by our many volunteers. We have a meeting scheduled for 10 am on March 25, so if you're interested, stop in and see where your talents can match our needs. The coffee pot will be on and someone is likely to bring donuts, too. Here's a chance to be productive and useful (we couldn't operate without all our volunteers), meet like-minded people, meet people from all across the country and around the world (we get visitors from all 50 states and at least 30 countries every year!), and a chance to share your accumulated wisdom, strengths, and skills with those of us who very nearly get 'paid to play.' You know, we are never so useful as when we serve others. Volunteering is good for the spirit and actually helps keep you healthier. Call a pal and see what you can do to "help carry the past into the future!"