Newaygo
County Society of History & Genealogy Newaygo
County Society of History & Genealogy
| Board of Directors |
Newaygo County
Museum The Newaygo County Museum 2011 Summer Hours are: Fridays and Saturdays - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located at the corner of M-37 & Quarterline, downtown Newaygo
Museum Volunteer Meetings are held the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the museum in Newaygo. Meeting dates: Sept. 6 (Tuesday), Oct. 3
May
2011 Museum artifact displays are assembled and open to the public beginning May 27 at the corner of M-37 & Quarterline in Newaygo. Initial hours that the museum will be open will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturdays throughout June, July, August & September. April
2011 Your
Newaygo County Museum Volunteers have been working hard to find a store-front museum
building for display of some of the over 11,000 artifacts in the collection. Those
valuable heirlooms have been carefully preserved for several years waiting for the
opportunity to bask once more in the light of day. And that day is getting near! A
temporary home for these items has been found in Newaygo at 12 Quarterline, across from
the Newaygo City Park. As they now have a beautiful new church building to use, the
Newaygo Baptist Church’s congregation has graciously allowed us to lease their
Fellowship Building. Being close to the Muskegon River made this location a naturally
desirable one because of the Museum’s numerous logging artifacts and the river’s
prominent roll in the logging industry. Our
first event at the new site will be during this coming Memorial Day weekend. A logging
display will be set up and a “Taste of History” has been planned. Patrons will
be able to sample a bit of old-fashioned, homemade cake with a cup of coffee or milk.
Homemade pies are also going to be available for purchase. We will have books and other
items from the Newaygo County Society for History and Genealogy (NCSHG) committee for sale
during that weekend, too. The
moving crew will soon be busy bringing the artifacts over to their new home, setting up
the displays and getting the space ready for visitors. Items in our collection come from
every corner of Newaygo County so the Museum is truly representative of each of our towns
and the surrounding areas. Please stop by during the Memorial Day weekend – you may
see an old logging tool that once belonged to your great-great grandfather! If
you are interested in helping preserve the Museum, please attend our next Museum
Volunteers meeting on Monday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at the NCSHG Building next to the post
office in White Cloud. You may also call Luanne Nelson at 231-260-7701 if you have
questions. A
new Facebook page has been initiated and can be found using a Facebook search for Newaygo
County Museum Volunteers. Donations may be sent to NCSHG Museum Fund at PO Box 68, White
Cloud, MI 49349. March
2010 YOUR
CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY (MORE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE)! Where
we are:
In addition to developing ways to make some of the artifacts available to the public
(themed-artifact boxes for schools and small traveling displays), the Committee has worked
to identify what needs to be done next in the work to reestablish a Museum. The conclusion
of the Committee was that awareness of and support for the Museum project must be greatly
increased. The Committee also concluded that this could best be done in two ways: Thanks
to a grant from the Fremont Area Community Foundation, the Society now has some financial
resources with which to find and rent a suitable space. Through this grant, the Foundation
is also underwriting a paid part-time position for a person to coordinate both aspects of
these next steps: finding and opening a facility and expanding the volunteer base. Having
this coordinator will allow us to enlist your skills, creativity, energy, talents and
community spirit in an organized and effective way. And
so, volunteers are meeting on the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. to develop ideas
and organize committees. Collection
Maintenance:
Work would include the care of (cleaning and packing) artifacts as well as updating the
computerized inventory system to reflect any additions to and subtractions from the
collection. Any of the following would be of help in this work: a strong back, a ready
supply of “elbow grease,” organizational and typing skills. Fundraising:
Work would include membership dries, fundraising events, and grant seeking. With a wide
range of historical themes and artifacts at their disposal, volunteers in this area would
have many opportunities to be creative in building support for the Museum. Education:
Work in this area would include developing and distributing traveling artifact boxes for
use in classrooms and small traveling exhibits that can be displayed at the county’s
libraries and other public venues. The Committee has already put together artifact boxes
for the Lumbering Era, Pioneer Life, and Michigan Native Americans and two traveling
exhibits of toasters and irons. Both of these programs will help raise the public’s
awareness of this area’s rich history and the wonderful treasures we have to
illustrate it. Publicity:
work would include developing publications, advertising, events, and staffing displays and
information booths at community events. Volunteers working in this area would work closely
with the volunteers in fundraising. The
Invaluable Other:
In our ongoing efforts to reestablish a Museum, volunteers will be needed for many
different types of work that don’t necessarily fit under one of the categories above:
woodworking, moving, cleaning, etc. If you are able and willing, there will be ways for
you to contribute, so please don’t stay away if you feel your interests or skill set
haven’t been mentioned. December 2009 UPDATE - Phase I for the reconstruction of the Museum - A. Appoint a Museum Committee Appointed members are: Joyce Pearson, Joyce Carpenter, Lynne Robinson and Vivian Sorden. Secondary to these appointments were for the Fremont Area Community Foundation and the Society to agree to work as partners in this endeavor. B. Design Traveling Artifact Boxes The Committee is meeting regularly and will lay out a plan for traveling boxes with museum themes that schools can borrow to educate students. Each box will have items of a theme that students can touch and use along with an educational binder on the subject. The Committee is working with the Lakeshore Museum for ideas. As this project takes wings, updates will be listed at this website. C. Develop Acquisition Forms The Fremont Area Community Foundation legal
aid will review documents written by the museum committee on acquiring donations to the
museum. Anyone who has donations is encouraged to contact the Society at our email
address and our committee will contact you. D. Gather Input from the Community The Museum Committee would appreciate input
from the community. Please take a moment to complete the E. Museum Volunteers Committee The Museum Committee and local volunteers have formed 4 committees to work on re-establishing a Newaygo County Museum. The committees include: Artifacts/Collection Maintenance, Education, Publicity and Fund-raising. A building has been rented in Newaygo for use during the summer of 2011. It is located near the intersection of M-37 and Quarterline in downtown Newaygo (the former Baptist Church AWANA Building). The next volunteers meeting will be held on May 2, at 7 p.m. at the Awana Building. Anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to attend. The goal is to have the front part of the building open on weekends for people to view displays during the summer of 2011. The group will also have a presence at area festivals this summer.
|
