Preparations are in full swing for the museums' annual Volunteer Dinner taking place this Monday. There's lots to celebrate, and we're expecting a full house. Thank you to everybody who gives time to the museum. We appreciate you every day.

And now, Museum Happenings....

Chalkboard in the museum's staff lounge. 

Ice Cream Parlor Re-Opening May 25

Hand-scooped ice cream and ice cream sundaes are coming back this summer thanks to improvements made possible by a P.E.O grant, Trust Point sponsorship, and gifts from members. (The back story -- the parlor's freezer expired in 2022 and it was too costly to repair. Last summer we sold ice cream novelties out of a countertop freezer.)

Volunteer help is needed to really make this re-opening a success. The Ice Cream Parlor will be open Fridays and Saturdays throughout summer (we're starting with limited days to make sure we can staff the parlor). Just think about how much fun it will be to serve sweet treats and talk with visitors who love the charm of our 1950s parlor.

Use the button below if you're interested in being part of the Ice Cream Parlor crew.

THANK YOU P.E.O., Trust Point, Hoban family, and all the members who made this possible.

and speaking of volunteering....

Teen Guide Applications Due Saturday

April 20 is the deadline!

The Teen Guide program is open to students entering grades 8-12. Students will

• Meet interesting people

• Develop valuable workforce and relationship skills

• Go behind the scenes at the museums

• Immerse themselves in local history and culture

This is a tremendous experience and often the first opportunity for many teens to try out the world of work. The program also provides much needed support for the museums during our busy summer tourist season.

Tomorrow is the deadline. Contact Angela Allred if you (or your teen) wants to apply but may not have all of the application materials together. 

We're excited to meet this year's Teen Guides who provide so much energy all summer long!

Museum Thrift and Surplus Sale

Friday-Saturday, April 19-21

There's an exhibit gallery full of surplus items (no artifacts) and books, and an auditorium full of past exhibit photos that could be yours. 

Sale Hours: 

• Friday - Saturday, April 20-21, 10am - 4pm

• Sunday, April 22, 10am - 1pm. Everything-must-go day. Fill a bag of books for $4 and find price reductions on many other items. 

Museum admission not required to attend sale

Tall Tales Exhibit Member and Contributor Opening

Wednesday, May 8

4:30-6:30 pm at Wisconsin Logging Museum

Celebrate the reopening of the logging museum’s beloved children’s Tall Tales exhibit. Try out favorite activities such as skating on Paul Bunyan’s griddle and sorting logs into the sawmill. Discover tales of the northwoods, from the hodag to the cougar fish, and crawl through Paul Bunyan's boot. A short presentation will take place at 5:30 pm.

The event includes light refreshments.

RSVP by May 3 by using the button below or by contacting Dustyn Dubuque, 715-834-7871

A ribbon cutting will take place at 8:30am on May 8th. Join us for the morning ribbon cutting if you cannot make the late afternoon opening. 

Coffee Tasting in the Cook Shanty

Saturday, May 5

10:30 - 11:00 am

This member-exclusive event is a great way to experience life in the logging camp. Have a bit of old-brew coffee that lumbermen gulped down before heading to the woods. Learn how to brew your own coffee at home. Taste a variety of coffees. Guests can spend some time with the presenters for more information after the formal program.

Capacity: 30 seats. Cost: $10 per member. Register using the button below. You can also register by contacting Dustyn Dubuque, 715-834-7871. 

Books for Spring

available in the museum store and online

Now that spring is in full fling, we have some great books to get your kids outside learning about nature: Insects and Bugs for Kids, Backyard Birding for Kids, Animal Tracks, and Wildflowers of Wisconsin. These titles are available in our gift shop and in our online store as well.

Save These Dates

Funny thing. I thought this newsletter was just going to be a few reminders with little new material. That was wrong. Your museum is a very active place.

Peace,

Carrie Ronnander
Executive Director, Chippewa Valley Museums

P.S.  The City of Eau Claire quietly passed its 152nd birthday on March 19th. There was no grand celebration this year, not like in 2022. Still, it was a birthday of sorts. 

Below is a  mash-up of two social media posts on early Eau Claire history from the weekly #CVMThenandNow series. Reminder -- follow the museum's social media accounts for your weekly dose of local history and to keep up-to-date on museum news and happenings.

Then and Now: South Barstow & Seaver Streets, about 1860 and 2024. The earliest Eau Claire residents arrived in the summer of 1845. Three years later, in 1848, surveyors completed the federal public land survey for this area. People could then claim and purchase land through the General Land Office. In other words, the earliest arrivals were squatters. Regardless of who legally owned the land, people trickled in and by 1850 there were 100 people living in the Eau Claire area. By 1858, 800. By 1870, 5169 people lived in the three villages that became the City of Eau Claire on March 19, 1872.

The earliest structures were just shacks and cabins. Then came wood frame buildings like the ones shown above. None of the earliest structures survive today. This includes all the buildings in this photo. They either burned down or were replaced by sturdier and grander buildings.

Brick-faced and stone-quarried commercial structures began appearing in the late 1870s. Two clues date this photo – the Jackson Brothers signage on the building to the left and the church which sits a little off-center in the photo.

Brothers Martin and Oscar Jackson arrived in 1857 and opened the first general store in Eau Claire. By 1860 it was located on the southeast corner of Barstow and Seaver streets. It may have been there a little earlier but there aren’t records from the late 1850s to show if it was or wasn’t. 

The First Presbyterian Church was built in 1857 and was the first church constructed in Eau Claire. That’s the church you see in the photo above and shown below.

The first wooden church held the congregation for a few decades. Fundraising began in the late 1880s for its replacement. At 8:00 am on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1892, 6,000 people gathered in Wilson Park to watch the laying of the cornerstone for the new church building. The congregation had raised $10,000 ($344,500 in 2023) to construct a magnificent new edifice structure out of Dunnville stone. 

Despite the fundraising efforts, the congregation was still $3,800 ($130,900) in debt when the church opened in December 1892. This probably explains why the steeple wasn’t added until 1911, almost twenty years later. Below is a postcard showing the church with a steeple. Go to the April 12 Facebook post to see a photo before the steeple.

The new church served the First Presbyterians for 75 years (the Second Presbyterians were up on the North Hill). In 1965, the First Presbyterians built a new place of worship on Rudolph Road and sold their lot and building. Developers replaced the stone church with a 12,000 square foot, one-story office building and that one-story building was replaced by the gray and white apartment complex showing in the building below.

Below: Looking east down S. Barstow from Seaver street, 28 March 2024.