Newsletter

Summer 2012 Newsletter

SUMMER IN SPADES---It’s doubtful that any of us will soon forget those last couple of weeks in June 2012!  Triple digit heat, high winds, and no rain made for a miserable early summer.  And then. . .well, it’s Kansas, and it’s SUMMER. Thank goodness for Air Conditioning.  Many of our long-time members can well remember the “good old days” when the most important thing you held in your hand in the summertime was a cardboard fan fastened to a flat wooden stick!

June was a stellar month here at the museum and the Jerry Thomas Gallery.  The first ever June Jaunt, originated to celebrate Highway 96, brought in an overflow crowd to hear Keen Brantley tell the story of the Fleagle Gang.  Nearly 200 people enjoyed the two presentations on Saturday afternoon.  In addition, a busload of 20 or more folks enjoyed the historic park bus tour and the Duff buffalo pasture tour on Sunday afternoon.  Scott City offered great activities for the June Jaunt and something fun was planned for every age.  We’ll do it again next year!

Before we could get our feet back on the ground, the group known as Grandmother’s Horses were in town.  We partnered with Travel and Tourism, the Chamber of Commerce, and several interested individuals to host their activities here.  We learned about “Indian Time,” which was sometimes hard on those of us who live by the clock, but we found our guests to be warm, friendly and appreciative of every thing that was provided for them.  The public reception held on Friday evening brought in another 60 people.  Some of our local riders accompanied the group on the ride from town to Battle Canyon, where healing ceremonies for the battlefield were led by Grandmother Margaret Behan, the Cheyenne/Araphoe leader of this year’s tour group.  A handmade, beaded headdress and medallion given to us by Thomas Smittle, is on display in the museum gallery.  A special thanks to Rod and Kathy Haxton for the excellent newspaper coverage of this historic event.

In spite of the triple digit heat wave and the high gas prices we have had visitors nearly every day.  It’s interesting that except for local visitors, most of those who sign our guest book are from out-of-state, and even out-of-country, with recent guests from Canada, South Korea, Brazil and Mongolia.

Once again we teamed up with the Scott County Library summer reading program.  A book was placed in each of the galleries and many kids came out to look for them.  Most of them got hung up on the fossil dig and played happily in the sand until their moms tugged them away.

The temporary gallery is once again featuring the Roy Browning collection of hand-carved buildings, farm machinery and animals. This large collection fills all five of our display cases and is a truly remarkable example of folk art.  We are so grateful to Mr. Browning’s family for donating his work to the museum.  Come out and enjoy this unique display.

By the way – we’re always looking for local collections to display in the temporary gallery and would welcome hearing from you if you have something you would like to share with the public for a period of about three months.

It’s always exciting to receive historic items for the museum collection, but we have recently been given several one-of-a-kind treasures.  Some of these are so rare, we’ve had to do extensive research to identify them.  Thank goodness for Google!  Some of the more interesting items are now in the display case in the foyer of the museum, including a vintage Magic Lantern, an early electric negative print box, a wicked looking hair clip to create those luscious waves associated with the Flappers of the 30’s - well, you get the idea.  Come on out and see.

New paintings and many more artifacts have been added to the outstanding collection in the Jerry Thomas Gallery. If you haven’t been out in the past few months, you have some catching up to do.   Our young visitors often describe our galleries as really “cool” – so if you’re looking for a place to spend a comfortable afternoon, we can guarantee that you’ll find it to be ‘cool’ out here in more ways than one, and you’re always welcome.

Our summer hours are from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.  We know it’s hard for those of you who hold regular office hours to visit us, but maybe you can come by on a Saturday afternoon between now and September 1st.  We’ll return to weekday afternoons at that time.  Off-hour tours may be arranged is staff is available.  Call 872-5912 (museum) or Dennie 874 1559

Regarding payment of dues:  Dues reminders are sent annually on the month your dues were paid.  Example: August 2011 members will be notified by mail in August 2012.  Some dues have not been paid up for a couple of years or more.  If you’re not sure about your membership status, just give us a call at the museum.  Dues remain modest at $10 per member, $20 for a family membership, and $50 for a corporate membership.  Granted, you don’t get much for your money, but you can take pride in being a member of a local organization that is alive and well at 80 years, and still growing!  The Scott County Historical Society is a member of the Scott City Area Chamber of Commerce and works closely with Scott City Travel and Tourism to promote Scott City as a tourist destination.

BE SURE TO VOTE - TUESDAY, AUGUST 7TH – PRIMARY ELECTION

WM. CARPENTER BUILDING – FAIRGROUNDS – PHOTO ID

      

 

Page 34 of 38

Go to top