Summer is here and everything is open! The new campus map below shows the breadth of experiences available to visitors. Not shown are museum services also available to community members: research library and archive, ice cream parlor, meeting rooms, program spaces, and individual exhibits.  

The museum campus is alive with activity inside and out.

Wisconsin Logging Museum and Chippewa Valley Museum

1860s Vintage Base Ball Games

Saturday, June 10, 1:00-5:00 pm, Doubleheader

Gelein Field, Carson Park

Spend an hour or an afternoon seeing how base ball (as it was originally spelled) was once played. The teams play by 1860s rules and equipment. For starters, this means no gloves, underhand pitching, and no strike zone. Stop by for some family-friendly entertainment.

Sponsored by Dunn County Historical Society

Flag Day Program:

WWII Vet Cliff Omtvedt's Story

Tuesday, June 13, 6:30-7:30 pm

Following an overview of the Bataan Death March and WWII Japanese POW camps with Todd Johnson, Cliff Omtvedt's daughters will discuss their father's and other POW experiences with accompanying photos and memorabilia.

This is a free, hybrid program. Use the buttons below to attend in-person or virtually. Pre-register to secure a seat. Walk-ins welcome if room is available.

American Red Cross Blood Drive

Monday, June 26, 10:00am - 4:00 pm

Please join us for a blood drive at Chippewa Valley Museum on Monday, June 26, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visit RedCrossBlood.org and use "Chippewa Valley Museum" to find appointments. Contact Tim Hirsch (715-834-7871) for scheduling assistance. 

Museum exhibits will be open exclusively to blood donors on June 26. Donors will also receive a $10 egift card to a merchant of their choice, provided by American Red Cross.

Coming in July

Music on the Lawn Concert Series

Keep your lawn chairs ready for three music-filled afternoons with the Hey Joe Band, Peter Phippen’s trio, and Naalia. Refreshments available for purchase through the museum’s ice cream parlor on all dates, with Batter’s Box food truck serving food on the 16th and 30th.

Tickets now on Sale!

US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship, Aug. 10-13

The four-day event includes live chainsaw carving, quick auctions, silent auction, food and drink, admission to all museum exhibits and buildings, music on Friday night, and family activities on Saturday. Details continue to be added to the schedule. Follow the US Open Chainsaw Facebook page for more information.

Check out the video below for a glimpse at the skill and artistry involved in chainsaw carving.

Proceeds benefit Wisconsin Logging Museum and Chippewa Valley Museum.

I hope you all had a meaningful Memorial Day holiday and are ready to take on all that summer has to offer.

Peace,
Carrie Ronnander
Chippewa Valley Museum Executive Director

PS -- Baseball is front and center at the Chippewa Valley Museum this summer. Museum Editor Diana Peterson started a new weekly social media series focused on baseball history and culture. #CVMBaseball posts on Tuesdays and runs through the end of the year.

The hashtag #CVMBaseball is being used for all-things baseball coming out of the Chippewa Valley Museum. The upcoming Menomonie Blue Caps vs. Afton Red Socks 1860s base ball doubleheader prompted a social media post on the Durand Tigers, copied below. 

Durand Tigers, early 1900s. Chippewa Valley Museum collections

The Durand Tigers baseball team dotted the sports pages of Chippewa Valley newspapers throughout the first half of the 20th Century. They're first mentioned in the Dunn County News in September 1900 in a matchup against the Menomonie Blue Caps, one of their great rivals. Judging by a scan of the headlines, the Blue Caps came out on top most of the time. Then again, maybe that's because we were only able to access a Menomonie newspaper for research.

You can't see the Tigers play this year because they disbanded sometime in the 1950s. However, you can witness what a game was like in earlier times when the Blue Caps play in Carson Park on June 10. No, they haven't been playing ball continuously for a century and a half. A group of baseball history enthusiasts resurrected the Menomonie team in 2012, seven decades after the originals played their last season. They'll be playing a double-header with 1860s rules against the Afton (MN) Red Socks, sponsored by CVM and the Dunn County Historical Society.-- Jodi, CVM Archivist, with research assistance by volunteer Nikki J.

Menomonie Blue Caps, 1883. Courtesy Dunn County Historical Society

Durand had baseball teams long before the Durand Tigers. In fact, the Durand Base Ball Club was founded in 1865, three years before the Eau Claire Lone Stars and West Eau Claire Crocodiles. That's not to say baseball wasn't being played in Eau Claire. It was, but it took a little longer for Eau Claire to organize a competitive team of nine "artists" (19th century slang for proficient ball players).

Baseball clubs came and went and it's not known how long the original Durand Base Ball Club lasted. Although Durand does not currently have a team in the amateur Chippewa River Baseball League, Durand youth baseball is alive and well. 

Eau Claire Lone Stars vs/ Duranders box score from game played August 6, 1868. A rain delay after the third inning stretched the game into two days.