For the Reporter
The White River Valley Museum and the Mary Olson Farm received $86,550 in grants and gifts over the past few months.
The funds will be applied toward award-winning educational programs, purchase of equipment to care for the Mary Olson Farm, a new museum roof and care of the City of Auburn’s historic treasures.
• $43,000 – D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable Trust, to fully replace the Museum roof
• $18,000 – 4Culture, operating support for 2015 and again in 2016
• $16,000 – 4Culture, to create hands on exhibits for permanent displays
• $4,000 – 4Culture, to digitize the City’s oldest newspapers
• $3,150 – 4Culture, to update the collections data base to enable indexing by search engines
• $2,000 – City of Auburn Arts Commission, to sponsor Small Works Big Presents the Gift of Art
• $400 – Auburn Garden Club, to purchase trees and shrubs for the Farm
In addition, local businesses have given $2,050 in support of the museum’s Free Day program. Big Fish Construction, David Radcliffe of the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse, and Scarff Motors donated $400 each to support two free days apiece. The Auburn Sons of Italy, Crain Eye Clinic, Rhodes & Associates CPAs and Drs. Woloshyn & Clements, DDS, have each supported one free day.
An exceptional number of donations of skills, time and professional services have also been made over the past few months. Auburn architect Allen Keimig is donating his time to design proposed renovations to the museum building. Fields Roofing Services reduced its fee by $6,000, so that an available grant covered the full cost of replacing the museum roof.
Auburn Eagle Scout Dominic Nelson and his peers completed an Eagle Scout project at the farm building and mounting 15 bird boxes and one bat box, each designed to attract specific beneficial species.
A team of beekeepers donated 11 hive boxes, bees and queens to the farm as part of an extended educational project. Green River College professor Danny Najera oversaw the installation and is using the site for educational programs and studies. Novice beekeeper and Museum board member Scott Gibbons and owner of Bees in the Burbs Norm Holcomb donated equipment and time making this environmental education project possible.
About the museum
The White River Valley Museum, at 918 H St. SE, Auburn, creates an exciting and educational experience for visitors through a series of award-winning exhibits and programs on regional cultures, arts and history. The museum’s artifact collections focus on Puget Sound history, Northwest Native culture, Japanese immigration and the Northern Pacific Railway.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. On the first Thursday of each month the hours are extended from 6 to 8 p.m. Regular admission is $5 adults, $2 seniors and children, children 2 years of age or younger are always free. Admission is free for everyone all day on the first Thursday and the third Sunday of every month.
Call 253-288-7433 or visit www.wrvmuseum.org for event information.
