Museum
News Items:
The Annual Meeting of the Bear Lake Area Historical Society was held on Tuesday evening, October 8, 2019. The slate of Corporate officers who will continue their duties on January 1, 2020, are as follows: President, Joyce Valentine; Vice-President/Secretary, Katherine Schafer; and, Treasurer, Thomas Mallison.
A new Director was elected at the Annual Meeting! Kathryn Mathieu will be joining us and is excited about becoming a working member of the Society! She is a local business woman, Bear Lake Insurance Agency, Inc. She has a natural love of history and all things about Bear Lake. Welcome Kathryn!
We will be very busy over the winter months working on creating new display pods for our growing collection and adding new bricks to the Memory Garden. We also hope to have two more flower boxes so that we can have them at the main entrance as well as in the Garden. Some shrubbery to soften the look of the Garden was planted this year and it has really made such a difference.
Our Past:
The Bear Lake Area Historical Society was formed in December 2013 by an energetic forward looking group of individuals who wanted to preserve and share the unique history of the Bear Lake area. It was important that it should include the history of Bear Lake Township, Pleasanton Township, and the Village of Bear Lake.
The group set its sights on the empty Baptist Church and was successful in acquiring a lease for the sanctuary portion of the church for a museum. This hundred year old was the perfect spot for a museum—close to downtown and US 31—on the corner of Virginia and Main Streets and directly across from the Bear Lake Post Office! However, the building needed many upgrades in order to make it ADA compliant. Fundraising began and through memberships, memorials, grants, and gifts the Bear Lake Area Historical Museum was able to open its doors to the public in August 2016. The necessary renovations totaled over $40,000 which nearly depleted our treasury! Your contributions helped us accomplish our goal--now our eyes are focused on the future or the Museum and keeping it alive, fresh, and financially healthy!
This Year 2019:
Visitors to the Museum were, once again, pleased with all of the new historical acquisitions on display. Each week more and more individuals and families came forward with artifacts to add to the collection. The Board is placing its focus this fall and winter on keeping the displays fresh, adding additional displays, paying our bills, and making minor improvements. We need your help in order to accomplish this.
As the holdings of the Bear Lake Museum continue to grow it has become an exciting challenge to put together displays which are meaningful to our visitors and credit the many families who have so graciously bestowed artifacts. The Museum continues to grow with each passing week.
The Annual Meeting of the Bear Lake Area Historical Society was held on Tuesday evening, October 8, 2019. The slate of Corporate officers who will continue their duties on January 1, 2020, are as follows: President, Joyce Valentine; Vice-President/Secretary, Katherine Schafer; and, Treasurer, Thomas Mallison.
A new Director was elected at the Annual Meeting! Kathryn Mathieu will be joining us and is excited about becoming a working member of the Society! She is a local business woman, Bear Lake Insurance Agency, Inc. She has a natural love of history and all things about Bear Lake. Welcome Kathryn!
We will be very busy over the winter months working on creating new display pods for our growing collection and adding new bricks to the Memory Garden. We also hope to have two more flower boxes so that we can have them at the main entrance as well as in the Garden. Some shrubbery to soften the look of the Garden was planted this year and it has really made such a difference.
Our Past:
The Bear Lake Area Historical Society was formed in December 2013 by an energetic forward looking group of individuals who wanted to preserve and share the unique history of the Bear Lake area. It was important that it should include the history of Bear Lake Township, Pleasanton Township, and the Village of Bear Lake.
The group set its sights on the empty Baptist Church and was successful in acquiring a lease for the sanctuary portion of the church for a museum. This hundred year old was the perfect spot for a museum—close to downtown and US 31—on the corner of Virginia and Main Streets and directly across from the Bear Lake Post Office! However, the building needed many upgrades in order to make it ADA compliant. Fundraising began and through memberships, memorials, grants, and gifts the Bear Lake Area Historical Museum was able to open its doors to the public in August 2016. The necessary renovations totaled over $40,000 which nearly depleted our treasury! Your contributions helped us accomplish our goal--now our eyes are focused on the future or the Museum and keeping it alive, fresh, and financially healthy!
This Year 2019:
Visitors to the Museum were, once again, pleased with all of the new historical acquisitions on display. Each week more and more individuals and families came forward with artifacts to add to the collection. The Board is placing its focus this fall and winter on keeping the displays fresh, adding additional displays, paying our bills, and making minor improvements. We need your help in order to accomplish this.
As the holdings of the Bear Lake Museum continue to grow it has become an exciting challenge to put together displays which are meaningful to our visitors and credit the many families who have so graciously bestowed artifacts. The Museum continues to grow with each passing week.