Fall school tour season wrapped up on October 27 with a Medford Homeschool group. A Fall Creek School District shared their school visit on social media. Their post is a reminder of all the good you do as a museum supporter.

You can learn more about Chippewa Valley Museum's education program at our Annual Member Meeting on Monday, November 6. All members are invited to a social hour starting at 4:30 and meeting at 5:30. Online registration has closed but if you'd like to come, please give us a call at 715-834-7871.

And now for more Museum Happenings.

Who What When Podcast

available whenever you are ready to listen

Big news -- Chippewa Valley Museums has a podcast! The bi-weekly podcast is co-hosted by museum staff Olaf Lind and Jodi Kiffmeyer and produced by Eau Claire Hometown Media. Every other week Jodi and Olaf sit down with a guest to present a fresh take on local lore, view past events from a new perspective, and explore anecdotes and facts unknown to most locals. 

The podcast launched September 23 and new episodes drop every other Thursday. Find episodes at cvmuseum.com and on the Eau Claire Hometown Media podcast site at Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn. 

Current episodes of Who, What, When include

• Planned Town of Ojibwa and Life in Eau Claire in the 1930s with Margaret Becher

• Area’s Indigenous Population History with Frank Smoot

• Native American Heritage with Marge Hebbring

• Eau Claire’s Cave Lady with Jane Glenz

• Eau Claire's Aviation History with Guy Wood

Is there a topic you'd like to learn more about (or discuss), or an interview you'd like to hear? Send Jodi Kiffmeyer a note. 

Book Talk

From Binghamton to the Battlefield: Civil War Letters of Rollin B. Truesdel

Tuesday, November 7, 6:30

Author Amy Truesdell uses the 100+ letters penned by her great-great-grandfather to trace the experiences of a Union soldier during the American Civil War. Discover how Rollin Truesdel transformed from an eager raw recruit to a war-weary, battle-tested veteran disillusioned by the unseemly political machinations of war, yet steadfast in his commitment to victory for the North.

Amy will sign copies of the book after her presentation.

In-person participation is included with museum admission ($12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for students or included with museum membership.) Use the button below to pre-register.

Movie Showing

The War to End All Wars

Saturday, November 11, 3:00 (SOLD OUT) and 6:00 pm

Chippewa Valley Museum will be screening two showings of The War To End All Wars – The Movie by Swedish metal band Sabaton on November 11th, 2023 at 3pm and 6pm. The band put together an initiative called "History Rocks" that aims to raise awareness about the importance of history and encourage people to visit their local museums. 

Developed in partnership with Yarnhub Animation Studios, The War To End All Wars – The Movie features songs from Sabaton’s 10th studio album, The War To End All Wars, released on March 4, 2022. The film tells stories of World War I, granting viewers a better understanding of what the songs on the album are about. It is a musical and historical adventure telling epic tales of various heroes.

Chippewa Valley Museums will show the film on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11 at 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Zymurgy Brewing, located in Menomonie, will be serving specialty craft brews at the event and Eau Claire’s newest record store, Abraxas Wax Records, will also be donating Sabaton and other heavy metal records to the event as prize giveaways.

The 3:00 showing is sold out and fewer than two dozen seats remain for the 6:00 showing. Get your ticket through the link below.   Learn more.

Tickets 

$12.00 per Adult
$10.00 per Senior (62+)
$5.00 per Student

Kiwanis-N-Cops-N-Kids

Tuesday, November 14, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Join Eau Claire Police Officer Ben Hundt and the Kiwanis Club of Eau Claire on Tuesday, November 14 for a night of reading fun. Kids have a chance to meet Officer Hundt, listen to stories, participate in a craft activity, and take home a free book. Members of Kiwanis K-Kids, a 4th & 5th grade service club hosted by the Chippewa Valley Museum, will engage with youth visitors throughout the evening.

This is a drop-in program and FREE to all attendees.

Baseball Night at the Museum

with Jason Hagedorn

Tuesday, November 21, 6:30-7:30 pm

Join Jordan Hagedorn for this fun-filled presentation on baseball cards and baseball players in Eau Claire. Bonus -- Jordan’s Hank Aaron card collection will be on display for this program only.

Jordan's love of baseball card collecting instilled a passion in him to elevate the hobby and connect with like-minded card collectors. In 2021 he started his card shop, For the Hobby Sports, in Eau Claire.

This hybrid program builds upon the baseball stories and artifacts featured in Chippewa Valley Museum’s current Play Ball! exhibit. Zoom-based participants can register at no cost. In-person participation is included with museum admission ($12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for students or included with museum membership). 

For registration assistance contact Program Manager Angela Allred, 715-834-7871. 

Save the Date

Watch for details in upcoming issues of Museum Happenings 

Remember to "fall back" and reset your clocks on Sunday. Goodbye late afternoon sun. See you in March.

Peace,

Carrie Ronnander
Chippewa Valley Museums Executive Director

P.S. "If you always thought museums were boring and quiet, you are in for a heavy awakening...." That's the opening sentence in a Volume One article covering a program at the Chippewa Valley Museums. "Boring" is the last word I ever want applied to the museum yet I'm fully aware many hold this perception.

While the Chippewa Valley Museums can't be everything to everybody, it can reach more interests by being more than a place to visit. Social media, virtual exhibits, the new podcast, hybrid programs, and outreach events allow audiences to interact with the museum from where they are. 

The Chippewa Valley Museums, or some parts of the museum, will always be less exciting to some. But, one of our goals is to push "fun" higher than "boring" when anybody thinks about the Chippewa Valley Museums.

I'll leave you with two "fun" things -- one is a social media post about indoor baseball, the other a music video that has absolutely nothing to do with history or the Chippewa Valley but was filmed inside the Schlegelmilch House. The Chippewa Valley Museums is a community resource to be shared, used, and enjoyed all while preserving the artifacts, ideas, and places entrusted to our care.

[Facebook, 24 October 2023 #CVMBaseball] 

Indoor baseball, known as kittenball, was played for decades in the Chippewa Valley. The game was played in a variety of venues including armories, YMCAs, and school gyms. One of the most unusual spots for a game was the opera house. In 1900, a game was scheduled at the Chippewa Falls Opera House. There were a lot of injuries to fans and players including an umpire who was punched when he got in the middle of a player fight. The game was played so poorly that no one even knew what the score was at the end of the game. The Opera House had to hire carpenters to repair windows, staging, lights, and walls. The Opera House then banned the sport from their facility.-- Diana Peterson, Assistant Curator

Below: Eau Claire Leader, 8 July 1922

Music video by Good Morning Bedlam. No artifacts were damaged during the production of this video