Home

General Information

Museum Events

Living History

Membership

Collections / Exhibits

Museum Store

Education

Press Room

Volunteer

Links

Support Us

Press Room 2008

Many of Fort Walla Walla Museum's events, exhibits, and projects have earned
regional and national recognition.

News from Fort Walla Walla Museum

Fort Walla Walla Museum (FWWM) has recently earned a string of statewide awards for its Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection: Positive Interaction between Cultures in Southeast Washington exhibit, its most recent book, Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People, and its on-going collaboration with Tamástslikt Cultural Institute (TCI) and The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). Now, the Museum has garnered national recognition.

FWWM was notified by the American Association of State & Local History (AASLH) that it has received a 2008 Award of Merit from the Leadership in History Awards for its Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection: Positive Interaction between Cultures in Southeast Washington exhibit. The letter of congratulations from Terry L. Davis, President and CEO of AASLH, noted that the Leadership in History Awards is “the nation’s most prestigious competition for recognition of achievement in state and local history.” The award will be presented September 12 at AASLH’s annual meeting in Rochester, New York.

The Museum stands among just 57 organizations and individuals from across the country to receive a 2008 Award of Merit. AASLH is a not-for-profit professional organization working to preserve and promote history. It provides leadership, service, and support to its members in order to make the past more meaningful in American society. Now in its 63 rd year, the AASLH founded the awards program in 1945 to “establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.”

“We are deeply honored to be recognized for our work by such a prominent organization,” said FWWM Director James Payne. “The AASLH Award of Merit is among the highest honors we can receive in our field and it is immensely gratifying to be seen as worthy of it. Walla Walla has received plenty of national recognition in recent years, and we feel that contributing a heritage aspect to our local panache broadens the community’s appeal to local families as well as our more distant visitors.”

The AASLH 2008 Award of Merit comes in the wake of FWWM’s Washington Historical Society (WHS) “Peace and Friendship Award,” shared with TCI. The award is based on a decade of collaborative effort in areas involving staff participation in one another’s programs and events, consulting, research, and artifact loans, as well as multi-faceted cross-promotional and financial development efforts. These efforts culminated in 2007 with a reciprocal visitation agreement created between FWWM, CTUIR, and TCI. The Peace and Friendship Award was presented to FWWM Director Payne and TCI Director Roberta Conner at the WHS annual meeting June 21.

The visitation agreement states that it was made “in acknowledgement of the relationship between the people now known as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the people of the Walla Walla Valley and Fort Walla Walla, and in recognition of the Treaty negotiations that took place in the Walla Walla Valley in June of 1855” and “codifies an affiliation between Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Fort Walla Walla Museum. The Institute and Museum are linked by a shared past and our futures will be connected through histories yet to come. The Institute and Museum will provide reciprocal admission fee waivers to members of the other” and all enrolled CTUIR members.

In May, FWWM won the 2008 Award of Excellence for Publication from the Washington Museum Association (WMA) for Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People. The book chronicles multi-generational mutual respect and genuine fondness between the pioneer Lloyd family of Waitsburg and their friends among the Homeland Tribes. The book, authored by Payne along with FWWM Collections Manager Laura Schulz and Communications Manager Paul Franzmann, was accomplished with consultation and assistance from Conner and her staff. The Museum has provided Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People free of charge to schools, museums, and libraries throughout the region.

The Museum also earned a WMA 2008 Award of Excellence for Project based on the 10 years of work accomplished together between the two museums. Both FWWM and TCI were presented with the awards at the 2008 WMA Annual Conference on June 19. The theme of the conference in Vancouver, Washington, was "Tear Down that Wall! - Breaking Down Barriers." Payne and TCI Development Officer John Chess presented a session at the conference focused on developing relationships between Tribal and non-Indian museums, exploring misconceptions preventing such relationships, and the benefits resulting from these collaborations. The ongoing work between Conner, Payne, and their organizations serves to promote community building and increase public awareness of the shared history between their two cultures.

Through the years, Payne and Conner have overseen cooperation on many ventures. Fully half the speakers at the FWWM-hosted 2005 Pacific Northwest Historians Guild conference were people from the Homeland Tribes, including Conner and CTUIR Chairman Antone Minthorn. TCI staff has assisted the Museum in many annual events including Lewis & Clark Days and Fort Walla Walla Days, plus Lewis & Clark Kids Camps and River Trails and Friendship Kids Camp. FWWM staff participated in TCI’s Lewis & Clark events. Payne has donated multiple gifts to TCI’s collection and library, and he arranged for a horse-drawn wagon for tribal use in the Pendleton Round-Up. Artifact and prop loans between the two institutions have become common.

Conner, who is on the Board of the American Association of Museums and was runner-up for the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian directorship, served as an advisor and reviewer for the Museum’s recent Lewis & Clark in Wallah Wallah Country exhibit that illuminated the importance of gifting in creating personal, social, and cultural bonds. She provided consultation in the development of the Museum’s Lewis & Clark in Walla Walla County map and was the featured speaker at a Museum Quarterly meeting on the history and relationships of our respective peoples.

June 24: Fort Walla Walla Museum Hosts TINCAN History Film Premier

Fort Walla Walla Museum received Elisha Durant and Hannah Whitmore of the Inland Northwest Memories Project, which is part of TINCAN ( The Inland Northwest Community Access Network), headquartered in Spokane. Durant and Whitmore were touring museums throughout the region east of the Cascade Mountains for an online project at history.tincan.org . The effort is funded in part by The National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for their current project, "Small Town Museums: Reflections on Community Life" comes from Humanities Washington. The idea behind the work is to make the history of the Inland Northwest, defined as eastern Washington, northeast Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana, available online. The information can be accessed free of charge and is particularly useful for classrooms.

A new video documentary focusing on the importance of small museums in community life will debut July 2, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Fort Walla Walla Museum’s Headquarters. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors should use the staff parking area on the upper level near the sign for the ‘Museum Complex’ and proceed to the Headquarters building.

Small Town Museums: Reflection on Community Life focuses on the uniqueness of small town museums in eastern Washington. A project of TINCAN’s Inland Northwest Memories Project (INMP), the video features museums from Pend Oreille County Historical Museum to the north, south to Fort Walla Wall Museum, as far west as Ritzville’s Railroad Depot Museum and as far east as Fairfield Museum, with many more in-between.

Funded by a grant from Humanities Washington, INMP staff spent the last year traveling to small town museums in eastern Washington to teach volunteers how to digitize their collections by utilizing INMP’s online archive www.history.tincan.org. Along the way INMP filmed each museum visited to highlight their value to their communities and the region as a whole.

“ Fort Walla Walla Museum feels that making heritage information available to more people is a great idea,” said Paul Franzmann, the Museum’s Communications Manager. “As our own educational outreach expands, we see this as another opportunity to fulfill our mission to preserve and share the heritage of the Walla Walla region. We’ve included TINCAN as a link on our Education page, www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/education.”

June 11: Awards Piling Up for Fort Walla Walla Museum

Recently, Fort Walla Walla Museum was notified as being a co-winner, along with Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, the museum of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), for the Washington Historical Society’s “Peace and Friendship Award.” The award is based on a decade’s worth of collaborative effort in areas involving staff participation in one another’s programs and events, consulting, research, and artifact loans, as well as multi-faceted cross-promotional and financial development efforts. These efforts culminated in 2007 with a reciprocal visitation agreement created between Fort Walla Walla Museum, CTUIR, and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute. The Peace and Friendship Award will be presented to Fort Walla Walla Museum’s Director James Payne and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute’s Director Roberta Conner on June 21 at the annual meeting of the Washington State Historical Society.

The visitation agreement states that it was made “in acknowledgement of the relationship between the people now known as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the people of the Walla Walla Valley and Fort Walla Walla, and in recognition of the Treaty negotiations that took place in the Walla Walla Valley in June of 1855” and “codifies an affiliation between Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Fort Walla Walla Museum. The Institute and Museum are linked by a shared past and our futures will be connected through histories yet to come.” The Institute and Museum will provide reciprocal admission fee waivers to members of the other” and all enrolled CTUIR members.

(l-r) TCI Director Roberta Conner, FWWM Board president thor Bakland, CTUIR Executive Director Don Sampson, and FWWM Director James Payne sign the historic reciprocal vititation agreement in July, 2007.

In May, Fort Walla Walla Museum received notice of winning the 2008 Award of Excellence for Publication from the Washington Museum Association (WMA) for its most recent book, Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People. The book, which chronicles multi-generational mutual respect and genuine fondness between the pioneer Lloyd family of Waitsburg and their friends among the Homeland Tribes, was accomplished with consultation and assistance from Conner and her staff. The Museum has provided Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People free of charge to schools, museums, and libraries throughout the region. The Museum also earned a WMA 2008 Award of Excellence for Project based on the 10 years of work accomplished together between the two museums. Both Fort Walla Walla Museum and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute will be presented with the awards at the 2008 WMA’s Annual Conference on June 19.

Through the years, Payne and Conner have overseen cooperation on many ventures. Fully half the speakers at the 2005 Pacific Northwest Historians Guild conference hosted by Fort Walla Walla Museum were people from the Homeland Tribes, including Conner and CTUIR chairman Antone Minthorn. Tamástslikt staff has assisted the Museum in many annual events including Lewis & Clark Days and Fort Walla Walla Days, plus Lewis & Clark Kids Camps and River Trails and Friendship Kids Camp. Fort Walla Walla Museum staff participated in Tamástslikt’s Lewis & Clark events. Payne has donated multiple gifts to Tamástslikt’s collection and library, and he arranged for a horse-drawn wagon for tribal use in the Pendleton Round-Up. Artifact and prop loans between the two institutions have become common.

Conner served as an advisor and reviewer for the Museum’s recent Lewis & Clark in Wallah Wallah Country exhibit that illuminated the importance of gifting in creating personal, social, and cultural bonds. She provided consultation on the development of the Museum’s Lewis & Clark in Walla Walla County map, and was the featured speaker at a Museum Quarterly meeting on the history and relationships of our respective peoples.

The theme of the 2008 WMA Annual Conference June 18-20 in Vancouver, WA, will be "Tear Down that Wall! - Breaking Down Barriers." Payne and Tamástslikt’s Development Officer John Chess will present a session focusing on developing relationships between Tribal and non-Indian museums, exploring misconceptions preventing such relationships, and the benefits resulting from these collaborations. The ongoing work between Conner, Payne, and their organizations serves to promote community building and increase public awareness of the shared history between their two cultures.

June 6: A Hero for all Seasons

Bill Lake is the Tour Coordinator at Fort Walla Walla Museum and in his more than 30 years of service to the Museum and community, he’s done just about everything there is to do there, and seen his fair share of school kids. He must be pretty good at the job, because he gets lots of fan mail.
Bill Lake

A group of students who recently visited the Museum from approximately an hour away wrote to Bill thanking him for the tour. Among the notes he received was one signed “Love, Odessa,” who most enjoyed the “doll house” (Kennedy Playhouse). Another from “Sincerely, Eric” noted that he had a “great time” and has high hopes that “I can come back again someother [sic] time.”

Some schools come to the Museum almost every year. Mrs. Tamar Lunsden is a 5 th grade teacher in Othello. This is just her second year touring with her class, but she notes the school as been coming “for as long as anyone can remember.” Othello students are learning American History, especially noting conflict and resolution between Euro-American settlers and people of the Homeland Tribes. Lunsden wants her students to see “real life artifacts” and learn more about Indian groups. For many of her students involved in English as a Second Language programs, it’s important for them to see the objects as well as hear about them. For all her students, the tour is “definitely worthwhile.”
Volunteer Docent Vi Jones with teacher
Tamar Lunsden and kids from Othello, Washington's Hiawatha Elementary School

The admission-free school tour program at the Museum is possible because of the generosity of Boise's Wallula Mill, Blue Mountain Area Foundation, J.L. Stubblefield Trust, Bonnie Braden Trust, and Pacific Power Foundation. Year by year, most of the 5,000 participants in the program are in the third or fourth grade, hailing from all over Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The Museum has also received pre-school kids, adult ESL classes, college students, private schools, home schools, and a variety of other groups who qualify. Interested individuals should contact visit the Museum’s Web site at www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/education or call (509) 525-7703 to book a tour.

June 4: Fort Walla Walla Days!
and Western Art Show

Fort Walla Walla Museum ’s annual Fort Walla Walla Days and Western Art Show is scheduled for the weekend of June 14-15. The two-day event portrays life as it was in the region’s past, commemorating historic military and Indian heritage of the region. The event is special this year, as it marks the sesquicentennial of the establishment of Fort Walla Walla at its final site, now the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center.

The Lewis and Clark expedition began United States’ military ventures into the region. They were followed by the Fur Trade Era and subsequent army postings at Fort Walla Walla into World War I. Through the 19th century, Euro-American encounters with regional Indian people increased. Hostilities occurred in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1870s. Fort Walla Walla Days recalls those events, commemorates all those involved, and points visitors toward a future where mistrust gives way to cooperation and friendship.

Military camps will bivouac on the field beyond the Museum’s pioneer settlement, as well as on the upper level, and may include 50 - 100 Civil War re-enactors. Realistic portrayals of Civil War skirmishes are planned for each day’s activities. Encampments from the fur trade era, Mexican War, Spanish-American War, and World War I are also planned. A number of programs are scheduled involving the re-enactors, including small arms and artillery demonstrations. Visitors are encouraged to question the all participants about their lives and times from long ago. One of the community’s two World War I artillery field pieces currently being restored will also be on the grounds, awaiting its final placement within Fort Walla Walla Park.
Andy Robinson rides through the Confederate encampment at Fort Walla Walla Days, 2007.

Members of the Homeland Tribes will tell their stories of the past and portray their living cultural vitality. Visitors are also encouraged to see the Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection display in Exhibit Hall 1. The exhibit has been a component of three separate awards the Museum has earned: The 2008 Peace & Friendship Award from the Washington State Historical Society; the 2008 Award of Excellence for Publication from the Washington Museum Association, and most recently national recognition through the 2008 Award of Merit from the American Association of State & Local History. Scores of dazzling Indian artifacts, regalia, and photos help tell a story of more than eight decades of positive cultural interaction between three generations of a pioneer family and their Indian neighbors.
Destiny Dick of the Wanapum people dances at Fort Walla Walla Days, 2007.

Also returning is the popular Western Art Show. Celebrated artist Norman Adams coordinates a showing of western-themed art created by regional artists. It will be viewable in the Toner Schoolhouse in the Museum’s pioneer village. Food from Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream and Mr. Ed’s BBQ will be available each day. The Blacksmith Shop’s forge will be fired up, a quilting demonstration will be available (with the opportunity to view the Museum’s 2008 raffle quilt), and the Walla Walla Wood Carvers will be on hand, too.

Additionally, a book signing will be available. Greg Hodgen, author of The Rocks are Ringing: Bannock-Paiute War, Oregon, 1878 and the soon to be released Army Scalpel, will be on hand to sign books. Hodgen, with his Army Scalpel co-authors Larry Purchase and Nancy Egan, will also participate in a presentation. Egan is Chairwoman of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Oregon-Nevada border. Her ancestors are from both the Shoshone and Paiute Tribes and she is a descendant of Chief Egan of the 1878 Paiute-Bannock War.

The Civil War battle re-enactments will feature a skirmish between two smaller regiments that would have been common thousands of times during the war. Scheduled participants from the Washington Civil War Association will include the 7 th Tennessee Confederate Army, 3rd Michigan Union Infantry, 1st Michigan Union Artillery, and 14th Virginia Confederate Cavalry. According to the 14th Virginia’s commander, they “will be there if they return in time from their ride around McClellan’s flank.” According to Museum Operations Manager Don Locati, “We hope to have the Union forces and the Confederates march through the pioneer settlement, with their ladies cheering them on before the battle. I think it will be both very colorful and a good look at what the war was about. You know, most of the soldiers at Fort Walla Walla were called back East to fight in the war, but those left behind, as well as people of the community, would have been starved for information about the conflict and the fates of their friends and loved ones.”

Sponsors of the event include: Andy's Foods, Bank of Whitman, Best Western Walla Walla Suites Inn Doyle Electric, Inc., Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center, Opp & Seibold General Construction, Inc., Pacific Power, Walla Walla Electric, Walla Walla General Hospital, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, and YellowBook.

June 2: Fort Walla Walla Museum Garners Award

Fort Walla Walla Museum was recently notified that it won the Washington Museum Association’s (WMA) prestigious 2008 award for publication of its most recent book, Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People. The book chronicles stories of mutual respect and friendship between the Waitsburg area pioneer Lloyd family and their friends among the people of the Homeland Tribes. This beautifully illustrated book was produced in conjunction with the Museum’s major exhibit, The Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection: Positive Interaction between Cultures in Southeast Washington.

Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People

Fort Walla Walla Museum is a private, not-for-profit organization [501 (c) 3]. Competing against larger and often publicly-funded organizations across the state, the Museum’s awards were hailed by the WMA as an “unprecedented standard of accomplishment.” The book is authored by the Museum’s Collections Manager Laura Schulz, Communications Manager Paul Franzmann, and Executive Director James Payne, with consultation from Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, the museum of The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon. “Recognition for our efforts is extremely gratifying,” said Payne. “When an award comes from our peers throughout the state, that makes this an especially exciting honor.”

Soldiers, Pioneers & Indian People begins with Albert Lloyd’s service in the Oregon Volunteer Militia, which came to area to fight Indian people in the 1850s. Scouting along the Touchet River, Lloyd thought he’d found a piece of heaven. After completing his military service, Lloyd decided to settle in the region. Before he and his young bride could take up farming, he made a treaty with Big Thunder, a leader of the Palouse people, to acquire land for a farm in an area near today’s Waitsburg, Washington. Lloyd’s action was not required by anything more than his conscience, though it remained in effect throughout the Lloyd families’ stewardship of their farm. That treaty led to more than eight decades of positive interaction between people from different cultures, even during and shortly after periods of intense conflict.

Support for the project came from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Clara & Art Bald Trust, George T. Welch Trust, Kenneth B. Wells Charitable Trust, Tallman’s Camera Shop, Rick Tuttle of Impax Inc., Esther Dixon, Bettie Lloyd Chase, Raymond & JoEtta Lane, Bonny Struthers, Marthann Hall, Fred Mitchell, and James & Jane Robison. The book is available at Book and Game; Earthlight Books; Hastings Books, Music, & Video; and Whitman College Bookstore in Walla Walla, as well as Fort Walla Walla Museum Store, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

May 20: Famous Walla Wallans Donate to Future Generations through Fort Walla Walla Museum

Fourth generation Walla Wallan Norman Adams recently joined his long-time friend Bill Gulick, in bequeathing items to Fort Walla Walla Museum. These items serve as the foundation of a special collection to support a proposed exhibit called "The Great and Near Great". This exhibit will feature individuals from Walla Walla who became famous at the regional or national level.

Bill Gulick

Well-known for writing dozens of western novels, as well as scripts for classic movies like Bend of the River starring Jimmy Stewart and Rock Hudson, Gulick has donated dozens of artifacts associated with his long, prolific carrier. The Museum has already received from Gulick art and artifacts from his home that helped inspire his creativity.

A Victorian marble-topped table and antique gilded-frame mirror belonging to famous 19th century Walla Walla Madame Josephine "Dutch Jo" Wolfe were included in the donation. Museum Collection Manager Laura Schulz, stated, “We are also pleased to receive his old typewriter, desk lamp, and other items from his home office. These were the tools of his trade."

While his recent books were composed on a computer, he accomplished most of his work prior to this technology. "I can picture him working on a story, lamp illuminating the typewriter, and a waste basket filled with crumpled, discarded drafts as he sought the perfect phrase," said Schulz.

The Museum now owns some of the many trophies and awards received by Gulick over the years. Included in the Museum collection are awards from 1958 and 1960 for best short story from the Western Writers of America, two Spur awards for distinguished writing about the American West, and the award for the Outstanding Western Novel of 1966 by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center.

Museum Executive Director James Payne is extremely excited about the Gulick collection. "The paperback Western is as American as mom’s apple pie," Payne said. "Bill brought the romance of the Old West to life for me in those paperbacks. He’s one of my heroes," he added.Gulick modified his will to pass along the original artwork used for his articles and book covers to the Museum. Several of these illustrations were done by his long-time friend Norman Adams.

Norman Adams

Adams serves on Fort Walla Walla Museum’s Board of Directors at. He is an internationally renowned illustrator whose art has been featured throughout American culture. Adams’ work has appeared in books, magazines, packaging, and postage stamps. Having authored a book on animal illustrations that has been printed in numerous languages, he became well-known for his drawings and paintings of wildlife.

Adams already donated many paintings and family photos dating back to the early days of Walla Walla to the Museum, he recently updated his will to include his art-related materials. This collection includes paint brushes, color slides of animals, sketches and original paintings, book and magazine covers, can labels, signed art prints, Avon boxes, collector plates, and postage stamps released by the United Nations.

Adams' art is classic Americana, with his work appearing in many magazines including Saturday Evening Post and Field and Stream. Of immense national significance is the July 19 - 26, 1969 TV Guide cover. Adams’ painting of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren during the first lunar landing is recognizable by millions of Americans.

Payne has a personal connection with Adams' work, as well, as Adams donated all his work created for Boy's Life magazine. "When I first saw Norman's paintings, I was overcome by a rush of pleasant memories," Payne said. "I remember many of these pictures from the subscription to Boy's Life I won for selling light bulbs as a fund-raiser for my Cub Scout troop in the 1960s. It was my first magazine and I read every issue cover-to-cover many times over."

Examples of Adams's art are featured in Fort Walla Walla Museum's Headquarters Art Gallery. A good selection of his art prints are available at the Museum Store.

"These men are American icons," Payne noted. "It is an honor and pleasure to know these great Walla Wallans and I couldn't be more pleased to help preserve their treasures and share stories about them with our visitors."

"The Great and Near Great" exhibit is planned for future new space at Fort Walla Walla Museum. The Museum seeks additional donations of artifacts associated with famous Walla Wallans to become part of the rotation for this exhibit. Financial support is also necessary to process and preserve these items, prepare the displays, and create the new gallery to showcase these stories. Interested parties should contact Payne at (509)525-7703 or through the Museum’s Web site at www.fortwallawallamsueum.org.

May 19: International Visitors

Fort Walla Walla Museum proudly receives tourists from across the country and around the world. Visitation to the Museum provides a strong, stable component to the regional economy. With an average of 25,000 visitors, this contributes millions of dollars every year. The Museum receives people from all 50 states every year, as well as about 25 foreign countries, but rarely does it record visitors from Africa.

Recently, the Museum welcomed a group of educators from Ghana and Sierra Leone in West Africa. They were part of a Rotary exchange group led by their Walla Walla guide, Karl Eckhardt. Eckardt brought his the Museum to show them a sample of life from the real ‘old west.’ According to Eckhardt, “It’s difficult for groups like this to get an accurate portrayal of the West, other than in the movies.” To balance the perspective, the group also took in Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, the museum of The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Karl Eckhardt (3rd from right) and educatiors from Ghana & Sierra Leone

One of the featured exhibits at Fort Walla Walla Museum is the Union Schoolhouse in the pioneer settlement. The structure may be the oldest existing school building in the state. The exhibit features slate chalkboards, connected chairs and desks with inkwells, and other artifacts of a bygone era. Members of the Rotary group noted that their classrooms at home bear a strong resemblance to the Museum’s exhibit. They explained that their students are taught in English, in classes holding 65-75 students. Others noted that the Pioneer Cabin reminded them of housing their grandparents occupy, with many of the same implements and items as are displayed. Of greatest interest to the group during their stay in the region were the huge pivot irrigation systems, because their homelands experience a long dry season with no irrigation.

Rotary has an international program designed to bring groups like this to the United States. Participants must be reasonably young, between the ages of 25 and 35, and at lease three years into their chosen profession. While teachers are the most common participants, the program is not exclusively for education

April 24: Banner Bank Boosts Fort Walla Walla Museum Plans

Fort Walla Walla Museum was recently the recipient of Banner Bank’s public spirited generosity. Through Banner Bank’s Vice-President/Director of Marketing Doug Bayne, the Museum received $25,000 toward its capital campaign for its Expanded Services and Related Facilities Project. “We at Banner Bank are pleased to support the Museum’s efforts to preserve and share the heritage of this region” said Bayne. “We’re proud to be part of the community and see the value in continuing to develop its infrastructure. We encourage everyone to support this wonderful family destination.”

The Museum, following extensive surveys of community members, is planning to construct new facilities to house expanded services. As initial design plans did not fill pressing needs, causing the completion price to be as much as 50% more than original estimates, we turned to architect Jim Stenkamp. Stenkamp foresaw that retro-fitting existing structures for earthquakes and snow-load specifications was cost-prohibitive. Designing new, energy-efficient structures saved approximately $2 million in overall costs. Further, he incorporated existing slope problems to help promote Museum exhibits like the 33-mule team and Harris combine that are best viewed from multiple perspectives.

From the proposed parking lot, the new visitor Entrance building will offer a clear, welcoming entry point for visitors to the Museum. The character of the Entrance building will convey a sense of connection to the history of the region. The overall design will emulate a classic, 19 th century western fort with log blockhouses surrounding interior parade grounds. All the exterior traits originate from early images of the various fur trade and military Forts Walla Walla. In general layout, the completed project will resemble the modern Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in a scaled down form.

As people enter into the Grand Hall, the connection to regional heritage will be immediate. The earth-colored concrete floor will show subtle human and horse tracks, as would a typical street from pioneer days. They will find a livery stable next to the Museum’s original Walla Walla to Lewiston stagecoach and a replica of Schwabacher’s Store, one of the earliest retail establishments in the region, near the Museum’s own Store. An adjacent orientation theater will offer Museum guests a brief orientation video. Visitors will find the Grand Hall is the social hub of the Museum. This large, open space will be suitable for all sorts of functions. Included will be ample space for art shows, special traveling exhibits, public performances, and more.

Because imparting a sense of the past to the region’s children and grandchildren is essential to the mission of the Museum, there will be a ‘Kid’s Museum’ interwoven within the larger Museum. Children who can connect with the region’s past will feel a sense of belonging to their communities, develop healthy self-esteem, and become involved in something greater than themselves. Engaging, interactive, fun yet educational hands-on stations will be identified by children by a friendly, cartoon graphic “Maury the Mule,” clad in overalls, red neckerchief, and straw hat signaling where cans get involved with the past. In the parade grounds behind the Entrance building, a children’s play ‘ Fort Walla,’ modeled after an early 19 th-century fur trade fort, will offer safe climbing and recreation. It’s ‘kids only’ size will be apparent with its small-scale doorway. The approximately 20-foot-square structure features a vertical log palisade with blockhouses at each corner. Children can explore interactive stations and travel the upper walkway in this miniaturized fort.

The new parking area will be much closer to the Museum’s entrance than at present. The potentially dangerous situation of school-age children walking in traffic areas will be eliminated and access for handicapped individuals will be significantly improved. The parking lot is designed to incorporate the turning radius of large buses and will include adequate parking space for the many school and tour buses visiting the Museum each year.

“The Museum is indeed grateful to the good folks at Banner Bank for their generosity,” said Museum Director James Payne. “We hope to double or triple our already substantial impact on the local economy through tourism, and gifts of this kind are critical to the success of our project. Banner Bank’s concern for the future of the community and our children is gratifying.”

April 19: NFL Great Donates to Fort Walla Walla Museum

Dean & Shari Derby, owners of Spring Valley Winery in Walla Walla, recently toured Fort Walla Walla Museum to learn about the Museum's services and facility expansion plans. During the visit, Dean, a former star of the National Football League, graciously signed some of his old bubblegum trading cards for the Museum's collection. He played cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings from 1957 to 1962 and co-led the NFL in 1959 with seven interceptions. He was also voted to the Pro Bowl and selected as a first-team All-Pro that year. Dean once intercepted three passes in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Dean Derby as a Pittsburgh Steeler

Dean will be one of the featured individuals of the upcoming "Great and Near Great" exhibit planned for future space. According to Museum Director James Payne, “This exhibit will feature Walla Walla area folks who are well known at the regional or national level. Anyone having information, photos, memorabilia or artifacts associated with Dean Derby or any other famous people who live or lived in our area, are encouraged to contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at (509)525-7703 or through our Web site at www.fortwallawallamuseum.org.” The Museum is open daily, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, through October 31.

April 12: Fort Walla Walla Museum Awarded Kids Camp Funding

Fort Walla Walla Museum has been awarded $3,950.00 for its Summer Kids Camp Program by the Yancey P. Winans Testamentary Trust. The Winans Trust, administered and managed by Baker Boyer Bank, has assisted the Museum with many education programs for many years. “The Trust is pleased to help connect the community’s children with our region’s heritage,” said John I. Mathwich, Baker Boyer Bank Vice-President of Investment.

Each summer the Museum offers a pair of hands-on day camps for children ages 9-11 under the leadership of an experienced teacher and numerous adult assistants. As part of a larger Museum Education Program, the camps enable children to explore different aspects of life as it was in the past for people of the region. Explorers Kids Camp, scheduled for June 17, involves kids in numerous small-group experiential learning situations where they participate in activities that may include exploring the cultures of the region’s Homeland Tribes, making ‘possibles’ bags, black powder rifle demonstrations, and more. On July 15, Pioneer Kids Camp engages young people in replicating pioneer life. Activities may include Dutch oven cooking, gold panning, butter churning and other skills important to the people who arrived via the Oregon Trail. Each camp participant receives an official camp T-shirt, lunch, and a certificate of achievement.

“The Museum is grateful for the Winans Trust interest in helping us to preserve and share the region’s heritage,” said James Payne, Executive Director of Fort Walla Walla Museum. “Children who are disconnected from the history and heritage of our region are less likely to become involved in the community’s future. Funding from the Winans Trust helps ensure that another generation of kids grows up knowing as much as possible about the world that existed before they arrived.”

Funding helps to purchase food and supplies, fund the Camp Director’s position, and assist in the support of financial aid for children whose families’ economic situations might otherwise preclude them from attending. For more information or to enroll children in the camps, call Fort Walla Walla Museum at (509)525-7703 or online at www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/kids_camp.

April 10: Museum Film Project Reaches Walla Walla Fort Walla Walla Museum recently hosted Elisha Durant and Hannah Whitmore of the Inland Northwest Memories Project, which is part of TINCAN (The Inland Northwest Community Access Network) headquartered in Spokane. Durant and Whitmore are touring museums throughout the region east of the Cascade Mountains for an online project at history.tincan.org. The effort is funded in part by The National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for the current project, "Small Town Museums: Reflections on Community Life" comes from Humanities Washington. The idea behind the work is to make the history of the Inland Northwest, defined as eastern Washington, northeast Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana, available online. The information can be accessed free of charge and is particularly useful for classrooms.

Hannah Whitmore shoots images at Fort Walla Walla Museum

Durant and Whitmore are recording images for three-to-five minute inclusions of regional museums in a 45-minute production when completed. According to Durant, Fort Walla Walla Museum is “by far the largest” organization included in the program. Others include Pend d’Oreille Museum in Newport, North Spokane Farm Museum, Cheney Historical Museum, Ritzville Volunteer Museums, Fairfield Museum, Rosalia Battle Days Museum, Roy Chatter Printing and Newspaper Museum in Palouse, Garfield County Museum in Pomeroy, Bruce Memorial Museum in Waitsburg, and Kirkman House Museum in Walla Walla. “Making heritage information available to more people is a great idea,” said Fort Walla Walla Museum Communications Manager Paul Franzmann. “As our own educational outreach expands, we see this as another opportunity to fulfill our mission to preserve and share the heritage of the Walla Walla region and we were pleased to assist the project.”

Durant anticipates the project’s completion in June. At that time there will be three public showings of the documentary in Newport, Spokane, and Walla Walla. The documentary will also be available online through Inland Northwest Memories Project 's website. Fort Walla Walla Museum has included that site as a link on its Education page.

March 31, 2008: Annual Awards Banquet Fort Walla Walla Museum ’s Annual Awards Banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15. Each year the Museum honors those among its 400 volunteers whose contributions of the previous year merit special recognition. This year’s event will be held in the Mill Creek/Blue Mountain Conference Room at Walla Walla Regional Airport.

CTUIR Chairman Antone Minthorn

Antone Minthorn, Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will be the evening’s Keynote speaker. In summer 2007, representatives from the Confederated Tribes, Fort Walla Walla Museum, and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute reached an agreement allowing reciprocal admission-free visitation to the two museums by members all three organizations. Chairman Minthorn will speak about the growing relationship between different cultures in a shared ‘neighborhood.’ The Walla Walla region is considered part of the Confederated Tribes Homelands.

Tickets are priced at $20/person. Food will be catered by Caravaggio/Walla Walla Catering and features a menu of chicken parmesan, vegetarian lasagna, garlic smashed baby red potatoes, alfredo penne pasta, classic Caesar salad, and garlic bread. A no-host social time begins at 5:30 pm, with dinner at 6:00 pm.

The event is open to the public. Those interested in tickets should contact Don Locati at the Museum, (509)525-7703 or info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.

Feb. 26: Board elects new officers
At its recent meeting the Board of Directors of Fort Walla Walla Museum elected officers for 2008. While Board positions run for three years, the officers’ terms are determined annually. “We have an outstanding Board this year,” said Museum Executive Director James Payne. “The Museum is extremely fortunate to have this group of dedicated, community-minded people representing such experiential diversity. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished already and look forward to a truly memorable year.”

The new Board President is Rod Hahn. A lifelong resident of Eastern Washington, Rod spent 31 years involved in education, ranging from service as a Vocational-Agriculture teacher through duty as Superintendent of Schools. Rod and his wife, Lois, have been active volunteers at Fort Walla Walla Museum. He operates the blacksmith shop for the summer Kids Camps and portrays early pioneer stage coach operator John Abbott in Living History Company performances.

The Hahns raised three children and are proud of eight grandchildren. Rod continues to serve as a Board member of Bailie Memorial Youth Ranch and is a member of Kennewick Kiwanis. Rod and Lois enjoy gardening, travel, and time spent with family and friends.

Margaret Buchan has been re-elected as the Vice-President. Margaret has served on the Museum’s Board several times in more than 30 years of service as a Museum volunteer. She has chaired numerous committees and served in every officer’s position. Margaret is the f ormer owner of Green Gables Inn and is a member of Rotary and the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Margaret is a Walla Walla native; her parents, Frank and Miriam Edwards LeRoux, were from Walla Walla pioneer families. She and her husband, Jim, who is the Sports Editor of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, raised seven children. They are enjoying their new home, family and friends, and a welcome retirement from the lodging industry.

Gale Kimball, the new Board Secretary, has been a Walla Walla resident for 50 years. She and her husband, Fred, raised four children and have 11 grandchildren, all in the Walla Walla Valley. The grandchildren are the seventh generation of Kimballs to live here. Gale is the financial manager of their farm, though she and Fred now leave the farm’s operation to one of their sons and his family.

Gale’s involvement in community activities includes past terms as president of Walla Walla Community College’s Board of Governors and the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days Board. She has also been a member of Junior Club, the YWCA Board, PEO Chapter CN, appointment by the County Commissioners to serve on the Board of Equalization. Gale received the 2006 Award of Merit from the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce. Her hobbies include sewing, gardening, travel, time with her grandchildren, and an interest in Walla Walla and family history.

The Board’s Treasurer is Barbara Stubblefield. Barbara came to Walla Walla as a Whitman College student 45 years ago and has been here ever since. Her marriage into a Walla Walla farming family and has two children and three grandchildren. Barbara is recently retired from Whitman College as the Annual Fund Director.

In recent years, Barbara has served as the president of the American Association of University Women, Vice-President of the board of the Walla Walla Symphony, a board member of the YWCA, and with Delta Delta Delta sorority as an advisor to the Whitman College chapter. In 2000, she received the Whitman College Town/Gown Award. Her hobbies include traveling, bridge, movies, music, and hiking.

Also important to local history is the story of Richard and America Bogle. Mr. Bogle was born into slavery in Jamaica in 1835. At the age of 12, he stowed away on a ship to New York during an anti-slavery campaign and traveled with a wagon train to the Oregon Country when he was 16. By the time he was 22, Bogle had opened a restaurant and barber shop in Deadwood, California and also became involved in gold mining there.

Daphne Wells Griffin portrays America Bogle in the Fort Walla Walla Museum Living History Company

On January 1, 1863, the day Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Bogle married America Waldo and the couple moved to Walla Walla, where Bogle opened a fashionable barber shop at 3 Second Street. The Bogles had eight children and owned a successful 200-acre ranch near Dixie, as well as a home at 122 E. Poplar Street. Through his profits, Richard became one of the founders of the Walla Walla Savings and Loan Association, providing it with start-up capital and supporting it with his good name. Bogle was also a witness to the murder of a man seated in Bogle’s barber chair.

The community they lived in was like others of its day, segregated in many ways. Black people were not permitted to get a hotel room or eat in public dining rooms. Mr. Bogle often let his black acquaintances stay in the rear of his shop where they could stay warm and cook an occasional meal. Charitable deeds were a hallmark of the Bogles; Mrs. Bogle was said to be “a lady of estimable character, noted for her deeds of charity to the poor and suffering.” The Bogles had eight children together, two of whom became barbers in Portland. The Bogle’s descendants are still prominent members of Portland society.

A special Living History performance at Wheatland Village’s open house on March 16 will feature former Portland, Oregon KATU-TV anchorman Dick Bogle portraying his ancestor. America Bogle will be portrayed by Walla Walla’s Daphne Wells Griffin. The program will include several other Living History performers in a ‘kick-off’ to the Museum’s visitation season on April 1.

The Living History Company offers more than 40 performances each season at the Museum, portraying a wide variety of the famous and infamous people who make up Walla Walla’s past. In addition to Museum performances, some members of the Company are available for off-campus events at a nominal fee. Income from these performances allows the Company to purchase period clothing and props for presentations. Those interested should contact Dick Phillips through the Museum at (509)525-7703 or info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.

A photo of Richard & America Bogle can be found at http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/blakbios.html;

January 22: Daltoso Interns at Museum
Museum intern Christina Daltoso

Fort Walla Walla Museum is pleased to announce an association with its most recent intern, Christina Daltoso. Christina is a 2004 Whitman College graduate with a major in history focusing on the ancient world. Currently she is enrolled at Walla Walla University working on her second Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical/Ancient Languages, including classical Arabic, biblical Hebrew, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Greek, and Latin.

Christina will enroll in graduate school year and also plans to be involved in an archaeological dig in Jordan next summer. Her internship at the Museum has her involved in nearly all phases of museum work, including preservation, exhibits, collections management, and fund-raising. “I love interning at Fort Walla Walla Museum because every day I learn something new about where we as a society came from, and through that, where we are going,” says Christina.  “That's what fascinates me about history; the more you learn about where we came from, the more you understand yourself and where you are heading.”