After 49 years of being called the Monkton Museum and Historical Society, on Monday, July 21st, the new Monkton History Museum opened its doors! We began in the Community Room at the New Town Hall with over 50 attendees. Kristen Farrell, President, gave an overview of the project and invited people to think of the museum as a place of community as we both honor our past and look to our future. The museum will remain vibrant with input from local citizens.
Kristen thanked people who helped us: the Selectboard and taxpayers for the annual support, to Paul Low for creating our first display box at a moment’s notice, to Nina Badger and Bob Wahl, owners of the 1859 Town Hall for use of the vault as a display area, to Nate Guilmette from Fiddleback Woodworks for listening to our ideas and creating the perfect display case, and to Steve Parren for many jobs from hanging the picture display system to hauling a Victrola.
Teri Fitz-Gerald demonstrated our rich web site and ran a slide show of images celebrating Monkton’s past residents and buildings. People were invited to add questions and ideas for future museum displays on the flag of Monkton display, and to sign up for volunteering at one of our many “opportunities.”
A cake featuring our theme: Ordinary People doing Extraordinary Things was enjoyed while folks socialized.
People toured the museum on their own, with guidance from the three creators of the exhibits: Candace Layn Polzella, Bob Turcott, and Lauren Parren. Exhibits on Stores in Monkton, One-Room Schools in Monkton, and WWII service members from Monkton who were in the Grange filled the new cabinets, carefully inspected by small groups of people. It was too busy for anyone to focus on the in-depth writeups found in notebooks. Some saved the QR Codes found on the longer pieces for later reading.
The museum is open during Russell Memorial Library Hours: Tues and Thurs from 3:00 – 7:00 PM, Friday and Sat. 9:00AM – 1:00PM, or by appointment. Please email monktonmhs@gmail.com to arrange a visit. We are thrilled by the possibilities ahead.
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