SALIDA MUSEUM
Heart of the Rockies History
January, 2020
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Winter Hours
The Salida Museum is currently open for winter hours, Saturday and Sunday, 1pm – 5pm. This schedule will be in effect until the Memorial Day weekend, 2020. However, we are always available to open the museum for a special event, or maybe an out-of-town visitor looking for family information. Contact us, and we will make arrangements. Occasionally a docent is unable to open or complete a shift, and then the museum is temporarily closed. We apologize if you come to visit us and we are not open.
December 2019 Book-Signings
The museum hosted two book-signings last December. The first was for author Steve Chapman and his new book Blood, Booze, and Whores, The History of Salida,Colorado, Volume 1, 1880-1881. This book is the first in an ongoing series, and has proven to be very popular. The series chronicles the early days of Salida in the form of an old miner’s diary. Salida Sam gives you descriptions of events as he saw them, in his own special dialect, giving the reader a feel for life in a new railroad town rather than just a lot of names and dates. The event was well attended, lots of autographed copies were sold, and we are looking forward to the continuation of this exciting historical series. You can purchase this book at the museum for $21.00
The second book-signing celebrated the second printing of Focus on Salida, by Wallace K. Ewing and James P. Barnett. This book features text and photos describing historical places in Salida, mostly downtown. The book is small and easy to carry as you walk around to see the historical buildings. This signing was also well attended, and the presentation gave a good overview of the ongoing efforts to preserve Salida’s history. You can purchase this book at the museum for $17.00.
Salida Heritage Days 2020
The second annual Salida Heritage Days will take place October 2-4, 2020, celebrating 140 years of Salida history. The festival will feature live music, speakers and events, with Salida Walking Tours giving guided tours around the downtown Salida historic district. More information will be available as the year progresses and plans are finalized. Updated information can be viewed at www.salidaheritagedays.com.
Discover Magazine
The 2020 edition of Discover Magazine, from Arkansas Valley Publishing Co., has hit the streets. There is a wonderful article by Lynda LaRocca titled “Railroads met the valley’s challenges”, detailing the history of railroads in the Arkansas Valley and the local efforts to preserve that history. Museums in Leadville, Buena Vista, and Salida have exhibits displaying local railroad artifacts and information. There is also a brief bio of Forrest Whitman, our own favorite railroad historian. The Discover Magazine is free and available at many locations around Salida, including the Salida Museum.
Recent Donations
The museum is continually receiving donations of historical artifacts from generous folks who believe in the preservation of local history. Our policy is to accept items that are relevant to local Salida history and will help tell the stories that make our history come alive for museum visitors. 2019 was a good year for museum donations, with many people donating items that allowed us to broaden the scope of our exhibits. Recent donors include Julie Reuther, Linda Erickson, Nancy Reeves, Arlene Shovald, Ginger and Alan Jones, Richard Blake, Barbara Allender, and George W. Blake. Thanks to everyone who has donated family items to the museum; we appreciate your willingness to contact us before you make a trip to the landfill.
Last summer Salidan John Walsh saved an old sign in a pile of lumber being hauled away and called us about it. We investigated and found that it was a large plain wood sign that used to hang at the Longfellow School building on G and 7th Streets. A long-time resident told us he thought it used to hang over the front door of the original 1-story school building when it was built about 1960 after the old 3-story school was torn down. The sign made a great addition to our Schoolroom Exhibit.
Reeves Odd Fellows Photos
Members of the Odd Fellows and Rebekah lodges, once active participants in the social and cultural life of Salida well into the 20th Century, are quietly fading into history. But family pictures recently donated to the museum bring those early days to light—uniformed men in plumed hats and white gloves; refined women in long, high-sleeved dresses; young girls classically posed with hoops and class pictures of grade school students, some in bare feet. These are among some 30 images transmitted electronically to the museum in high resolution from Nancy and George Reeves of Raleigh, North Carolina. Nancy Reeves said in her email that she was making the gift in memory of Alice Crosley Reeves, daughter of Ben and Etta Lines.
Thanks to Roy Kelly, one of the last members of Odd Fellows Lodge #54 in Salida, we are able to say when some of those depicted were initiated into the lodge and in what noble and grand offices they served. Mr. Kelly made a membership search of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah lodges back to the earliest days in Canon City before they arrived up the river to Salida in 1883.
We heartily thank Mr. Kelly for his research. Now we plan to write extensive captions to the images and post the whole collection to the museum website so others can see and comment. The photo above captures Ben and James Crosley as they were admitted to the Antero Encampment in 1900.
[by Earle Kittleman]
Salida Museum Annual Open House
The Salida Museum will host the annual Open House on Saturday, May 16, 2020, 11:00am – 4:00pm. Details are not yet finalized, but there will be refreshments, museum tours, and admission will be free. At this time we are working on scheduling speakers for presentations on local historical topics
2019 Visitor Totals
We had a good year for visitors at the museum, with a total of 1054 visitors signed in from January 1 to December 31. 395 visitors were from Salida, 442 from Chaffee County, 748 from Colorado, and the rest from other states. There were 14 visitors from other countries. We’re pleased with the number of people who come to the museum; we enjoy interacting with them and presenting the history of our area. Many people now come to the museum after reading a review somewhere on the internet or reading our website or searching us on Facebook. And lots of our visitors are veteran museum-goers with their own stories to tell, which can make the interaction very interesting.
Museum Board of Directors
The current museum board of directors is comprised of the following:
President, Bob Campbell
Secretary, Earle Kittleman, 719-539-6153
Treasurer, Larry Kovacic, 505-280-4831
Board Member, Judith Kinzie, 719-539-9439
Board Member, Arlene Shovald, 719-539-3139
Board Member, Bonnie Konopka, 505-270-6523
Welcome to our newest board member, Bonnie Konopka. We appreciate her energy, enthusiasm and willingness to make the tough decisions.
If you are interested in becoming a board member and coming to one meeting a month (minimal commitment, no summer meetings), let us know. We would be very happy to talk to you about joining our team. Our board meetings are open to the public, so if you want to attend one and find out if you’re interested, the meetings are the third Wednesday of the month, 11:00am, at the museum.
Support the Salida Museum
The Salida Museum Association is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that relies on donations, memberships, admissions and limited fundraising to remain operational. You can help support the museum by making a donation or becoming a member.
Donation – any amount appreciated
Annual Membership – $15, includes 5 free visits
Lifetime Membership – $100, includes unlimited free visits
Memberships and donations are tax deductible. Send your payment to the address listed below, use our website to remit with PayPal, or join when you come in to see the museum. You will receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes. (make sure we have your address)
Salida Museum Association
406 1/2 W. Hwy 50, Salida, Colorado 81201
salidamuseum@gmail.com
719-539-7483
For more museum information, see our website or Facebook page.