Cambridge Commercial Club Hosts Museum Open House
The Cambridge Commercial Club hosted its monthly meeting at the Museum last week on Tuesday March 12. There was an open house and grand opening to present the idea of adding a visitor’s center to the museum. The event was very well attended by the citizens of Cambridge with more than fifty names added to the guest book. Refreshments were provided by the museum staff and everyone had a good time looking at the exhibits and talking about ways to make the museum more viable.
Commercial Club Director Brandie Lincoln and her 14 year old daughter Kyra discussed ways in which the museum could better serve the community. Brandie proposed the idea of including a visitor center in the museum and Kyra decided to make it her FCCLA project at Midvale high school. She’s already presented her project at the district level and will soon present it at the state level. Her goal is to have a fully staffed visitor center in the future to provide information and maps for local recreation and points of interests. This would benefit the museum by increasing the number of people who come in for information who would then take in the exhibits. Brandie added, “I would love to see the museum be successful.”
Several people over the years have shared that opinion and want to help preserve our heritage so others can enjoy learning about our past.
There are four individuals in Cambridge who have volunteered at the museum for a combined 160 years. Sandra Hansen, Gary Franklin, Bo Thorsen and Thel Pearson have each volunteered for the past 40 years. During that time they have organized exhibits, assisted with research, given tours and done whatever else was needed to promote the museum and they have met visitors from around the world from places like China, France and Japan, to name a few. Several other volunteers also help keep the museum functioning.
The Commercial club concluded the evening with a brief business meeting, giving those present an update on the Hells Canyon Jam event coming up in June and encouraging people to attend Sundays Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner on Saint Patrick’s Day at the Exhibit Hall. Also included was a sign-up sheet for those who would like to volunteer for numerous jobs at the museum from landscaping to building maintenance and working with the artifacts. The jobs are too numerous to list here. There was literally something for everyone on that list and Brandie stressed the point that the museum always needs more volunteers.
So, let’s all pitch in and help those who have been there for decades or those who are just getting started with their volunteer service. If the museum is to be successful, it’s going to take all of us helping out where we can. If you would like to help but don’t know how the museum can use you, call Brandie Lincoln at (208) 957-0020.
