On January 11, at 11 am, the doors to the Applegate Museum opened in downtown Applegate, and the fun began. There was a raffle for a beautiful bike, which will continue at the museum until we have sold 30 tickets. There was an endless supply of cookies, cakes, and treats to purchase for small donations. There was also hot chili and chicken soup for lunch, and a
variety of hot drinks to warm ourselves from the chill of the day.
There was also a hat contest, with a supply of hats on hand in case you didn’t have one of your own and plenty of decorations to make your own. The children’s table had a coloring sheet of the pictured museum. Copies will be available for a donation when the museum is open.
But the highlight of the day was a circle of people for storytelling. Many “old-timers” were there, folks who have lived in the Applegate for over 50 years, and even some people who came for the open house from as far away as Trail. Larry Smith, from Jacksonville, talked about Robbie Collins, who saved the atmosphere of Jacksonville by purchasing many of the buildings and restoring them so that the town became a tourist attraction as well as an old-time mining town.
Ken Chapman told the story of the Elmore family saving his trailer home from a fire before he even knew them. Other people told stories about incidents from the 1970s and ‘80s. All in all, it was a wonderful community event, and everyone went away hoping for more opportunities for storytelling.
The Applegate Valley Historical Society’s (AVHS) open house ended at 3 pm, but many people stayed around, eating the treats that were on hand to buy and just visiting and looking through the artifacts in the museum. In the future, AVHS will have an ongoing fundraiser at the museum with a few antiques and yesteryear’s collectibles available for purchase.
We will soon have open hours on weekends and during the Applegate Evening Market when it resumes in the spring. Presently, if individuals or a small group want to see the museum, tours are available by contacting Barbara Niedermeyer at 541-659-3984, Janis Mohr-Tipton at 541-846-7501, or Maryanna Reynolds at 541-941-0000.
There was some discussion about saving the museum from a lawsuit that could take away the property that the museum rests on. Look for notices about a court case in the near future. Try to come to the courthouse to give your support for our community’s AVHS museum and land when a date is set for the hearing.
Joan Peterson
joanpete5317@gmail.com
541-846-6988
