THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who made the recent “Heritage Night at the Museum” a great success. Thank you to the event committee who planned the event and to the businesses and individuals who donated items for the auction. A special thanks to our sponsors: Next Adventure, Timberline/Mt Hood Brewing and Mt. Hood Skibowl’s group of companies. Thank you to the volunteers for staffing the event and to the members who attended and were generous with their bidding. Event attendance and income exceeded all previous records and a good time was had by all.
We shared with readers of this column, over the past two months, much about the items in the Museum’s collection. We explained that history museums collect historical photographs, books, documents, and objects. Each collection is used primarily for research and exhibits. Currently there are over 300 pairs of snow skis, 450 books, 5000 photographs, 50 ski sweaters, 12 scrapbooks, 640 ski pins and one black bear in ours. These items are just a small sample of what has been assembled over the past twenty-three years.
It is rather amazing that the entire collection was donated by people that love Mount Hood and have an interest in preserving local history. The Museum is proud of the fact that it was not necessary to purchase anything in the collection. The fact that over 800 individuals have donated historical items to the Mt. Hood Museum is proof that people appreciate local history and want to preserve and share same.
It is quite expensive to process and store museum collections; every museum establishes their own focus. The Mt. Hood Museum’s areas of interest include the entire Mt. Hood National Forest and the mountain communities from Alder Creek to the west and Parkdale to the northeast. The period of interest begins with the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804. The four categories of contribution to the collection are: the Barlow Road, winter and mountain sports, local history and natural history. The Museum seeks photographs, paper documents, books, art, and other objects relative to our scope. Photographs (including prints, negatives, slides, movies and videos) are desirable contributions. Paper documents such as letters, reports, diaries, maps, brochures, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings are welcomed. Published books relating to these areas of interest are enthusiastically received. Works of art by local artists are prized. Objects related to these subjects/areas of interest include everything from axes to a zither.
Donating items to the Museum Collection is easy: simply bring the item to the Museum. You will be asked to fill out a form stating what the item is and what you know about it. Your signature indicates you are donating the item. We do not take items on loan. The Collections Team will catalog the item, place it in storage or on exhibit and send the donor a receipt. If you have questions about items suitable for donation, simply call the Museum and discuss before heading out.
The Museum will accept some items, such as snow skis, regardless of condition or history, as skis can be repurposed as art objects by museum volunteers. Photographs and photo albums can be shared. The Museum can make digital scans of important photographs and return the original to the donor. The same can be done with photo albums and scrapbooks. Please do not remove items from albums or scrapbooks as important information is lost by taking them out of context.
Once donated items are cataloged and processed, the donor will be sent a receipt. Families should keep the receipt with important family papers. It is not unusual for someone to visit the Museum in search of something that belonged to a relative several generations ago. The item they seek can be easily located if there is a receipt for the donation.
We look forward to collaborating with you!
Lloyd Musser is the volunteer curator at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum. The Museum is located at 88900 E. US 26, Government Camp, Oregon. Open everyday, 9-5 www.mthoodmuseum.org ph. 503-272-3301.