OCTOBER 2017 Garden of Gods dedicated on October 3, 1912 Photo from the CSPM Collections
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT By: Lance James, Development Director Bill Nelson, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (CSPM) Board President, enthusiastically welcomed more than 525 people to the Antlers Hotel ball room on Wednesday, August 23rd for the Gift of History breakfast – a crowd that equaled last year’s record attendance. Before breakfast was served, those in attendance watched Mayor John Suthers welcome everyone in a video and congratulate the museum on another successful year. Following breakfast, Jill Gaebler, Colorado Springs City Council President Pro-tem, took the stage for the second consecutive year. Gaebler acknowledged that CSPM is the keeper of the collective memory of our community and explained, as an elected leader, she treasures the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum for its responsibility in helping us remember yesterday, understand how that impacts today and where we may go tomorrow. Dirk Draper, Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC CEO, Dave Munger, Council of Neighbors and Organizations Executive Director and Leah Davis Witherow, CSPM’s Curator of History were featured in a video discussing the impact and potential applications of The Story of Us exhibit both within and beyond the museum’s walls. Draper commented, “It (The Story of Us) is important for us to understand the historic roots of our community. For example, the industries we focus on today – military, aviation and specialty manufacturing, professional technical and financial services, healthcare and sports medicine all have historical roots in Colorado Springs.” Building community connections is an essential piece of CSPM’s mission. Witherow explained the many ways people connect to the museum and how the museum connects people – connections through history, exhibits, storytelling and objects. Witherow introduced the League of Wives exhibit, which opens in 2018. It will include the story of Helene Knapp who received a standing ovation for her advocacy for POW/MIAs and their families. She then introduced members of Sankofa to announce a partnership to preserve and promote cultural awareness of the African diaspora in the Rocky Mountain region. Finally, the letter “Y” = You in The Story of Us was introduced through the story of Enzo and his friends who learned they could become a part of The Story of Us by uploading their own content through the online portal www.cspmstoryofus.com. Please enjoy the exploring the portal by clicking the link! Matt Mayberry, Museum Director, highlighted the museum’s upward trajectory. Since 2010, the museum has opened major exhibits, boosted youth program offerings, increased attendance by 62%, made more than $287,000 in strategic investments towards collections management, launched the Clock Tower Society and continues planning towards the city’s 150th anniversary in 2021. As much as CSPM is proud of its accomplishments during the past few years, there is much that the museum still hopes to achieve. Carrie Kelly concluded by sharing the experiences of Annelise, her daughter, in CSPM’s summer long Junior Docent program. Kelly talked of how her family has been a “museum family” since her mother served as a docent at Denver’s Museum of Nature & Science, and they were treated to tours of the “dead zoo.” She marveled as she watched Annelise grow professionally and personally as she showed up to work throughout the summer. Kelly concluded by saying, “I love museum culture. I love that Annelise has, in a very personal way, taken ownership of her little piece of adult world and museum culture.” Many thanks to all who attended the 7th annual Gift of History breakfast and to those who could only be there in spirit. Special recognition for our generous corporate partners Ent Credit Union, Merrill Lynch, the Tiemens Foundation, Wells Fargo Private Bank and the 365 Grand Club, as well as Barbara Bates and the Alpha Delta Pi alumni sorority for providing the beautiful centerpieces. As the museum’s largest annual fundraising event, CSPM relies on the support of our generous donors, volunteers, members and stakeholders. If you were unable to attend the breakfast but would like to contribute, visit www.cspm.org/support/waystogive to learn more. THANK YOU! MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 2
C o a lo n e aro e u n od r s p S M nri FREE Admission u s e o gs FAMILY-FRIENDLY DIG DAY! u m SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 10 am to 2 pm Celebrating Archaeology, Geology, Mining, and Paleontology! FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITY BOOTHS & DEMOS Colorado Archaeological Society • UCCS Anthropology Department Western Interior Paleontological Society • Western Museum of Mining & Industry “DIG” THEMED CARNIVAL GAMES LECTURE (2-3 pm) Mining for the Real Spencer Penrose Presented by author Joyce Lohse • GEARED TOWARDS AN ADULT AUDIENCE To RSVP visit cspm.org or call 719.385.5990 Downtown Colorado Springs - 215 S. Tejon Street $1 All Day Parking in the City Administration Parking Garage (130 South Nevada Street) y d P C i i ? g i t
OCTOBER 2017 EVENTS DIG DAY Saturday, October 14th (10:00 am – 2:00 pm) Can you DIG it? Dig Day is a hands-on opportunity for families to learn about archaeology, mining, geology and paleontology. Local organizations and universities present educational booths throughout the museum. Drop-in to learn something new! PIKES PEAK REGIONAL HISTORY LECTURE SERIES: MINING FOR THE REAL SPENCER PENROSE Presented by Joyce Lohse Saturday, October 14th (2:00 pm – 3:00 pm) Biographer Joyce Lohse shares stories about Spencer Penrose, a flamboyant and important historical character from Pikes Peak regional history, who achieved fabulous wealth through mining investments. His ventures, adventures and generous gifts to the Colorado Springs community will be highlighted. The program “digs” through the legends to present the facts on Penrose to history buffs at Dig Day. CHILDREN’S HISTORY HOUR – DIGGING THE PAST (AGES 4-8) Wednesday, October 18th (10:30 am – 11:30 am) What happens when you dig a hole? Will you find a spectacular treasure? We will read “Sam and Dave Dig a Hole” by Mac Barnett and learn about the archaeologists that dig to explore the past. We will also search for objects in museum exhibits and pass around unique artifacts to try to figure out the stories they tell! After exploring the museum, we will create a sand art craft that helps us learn how different layers of dirt form underground. HALLOWEEN HISTORY HUNT Saturday, October 28th (10:00 am – 2:00 pm) October would not be complete without Halloween festivities! Stop by the museum for a spooktacular Halloween History Hunt. Pick up a history hunt guide at the Front Desk, explore the exhibits, enjoy stories and make a creepy crawly craft! Be sure to wear your costume and pick up a treat on your way out! This is an open house style program – stop by anytime before 1 pm to join the fun! Partner Spotlight The Children’s Gallery is temporarily closed for refurbishment and will reopen in November 2017. Check back for opening date and exhibit details! FREE EVENTS-DONATIONS WELCOME Please register for these events at: http://www.cspm.org/rsvp-for-an-event MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 4
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Food Truck Tuesdays CSPM West Lawn Tuesdays, October 3rd, 10th & 17th (11:00 am to 2:30 pm) Farm & Art Market CSPM East Lawn Wednesdays, October 4th &11th (3:00 pm to 7:00 pm) THIS SEASON... Make Holiday History! BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY PARTIES NOW! For information about hosting your holiday party at CSPM, contact: Haley Davis, Events Coordinator 719-385-5653 or hdavis@springsgov.com MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 5
Conserving History: The Hayes Family Carriage By: Leah Davis Witherow, Curator of History Members of the CSPM staff who work in collections are responsible for continuously monitoring the condition of approximately 65,000 objects, 80,000 photographs and more than 6,000 cubic feet of archival material. When problems arise, CSPM works with professionally trained conservators to clean, repair and stabilize a wide variety of artifacts. One of the largest conservation projects to date involved the Hayes Family Rockaway carriage. During the past one hundred plus years, fluctuations in temperature and humidity created vertical cracks on each of the carriage doors. As temperature and humidity levels rise, the doors swell; as those levels drop, the doors contract. Over time, this damaging cycle caused the wooden doors to split. Additionally, the carriage’s speaking tube, which hangs above the driver’s seat and was used for communication between the passengers and driver, was missing its cover and needed to be stabilized. Through the generous support of Bertram Hayes-Davis, descendant of the Jefferson Davis family, CSPM was able to conserve this important piece of history. Mark Minor completing conservation work on the Hayes Family Carriage in 2015 The conservation work was conducted by Mark Minor, who since 1993 has operated a private conservation practice outside of Salida, Colorado. With a background in furniture making, Minor received his training from the Furniture Conservation Program at the Smithsonian Institution. In 1986 he began his career as a conservator at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has worked with wood furnishings and objects in museums and historic sites around the world, including the Denver Art Museum, History Colorado, Museums of New Mexico, Koutoubiya Minbar in Marrakech, Morocco and the 17th C. Jesuit mission of Santa Ana de la Hoya in Chihuahua, Mexico. To adequately address the vertical cracks he removed the carriage doors and took them to his studio for the conservation work. The splits were repaired by first inserting 3 mm wood cleats and then filling the splits with colored wax. Finally, a varnish coating was used to blend and protect the applied wax. Minor reinstalled the doors and stabilized the speaking tube with thin strips of woven polyester and attached a new cover. Mark Minor’s painstaking attention to detail and dedication to his work has resulted in a beautiful piece of our community’s history preserved for current and future generations. You can view the Rockaway carriage and learn more about the HayesDavis family by visiting the museum’s third floor lobby. Historic photo of the Hayes Family Rockaway carriage MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 6
MUSEUM SPOTLIGHT! Survey Volunteers Judi Arndt, Tanja Britton, Patrick Casey, Sharon Dixon, Susan Hinsdale, Alica Lewis, Kevin Mulligan, John Orsborn, Linda Rhoads, Jim Sciegel and Darryl Thatcher CSPM is participating in the Visitors Count! program by the American Association for State and Local History to gain better insight into visitors’ expectations, desires and experiences. Visitors Count! provides essential visitor feedback that helps history organizations thrive and grow. CSPM enrolled in this program in 2008 to great success. The 2008 results will provide a benchmark for the results of the 2017 surveys. A team of survey volunteers is doing invaluable work helping to collect responses. During the course of five months, survey volunteers will collect a total of 200 visitor surveys. The volunteers have done a stellar job of encouraging guest participation. Asking visitors to stop and fill out a survey is no easy task, but these volunteers have risen to the challenge! The museum would like to thank all of the survey volunteers for their incredible efforts! MUSEUM STORE “Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State” by William Wei, $40.00 This Colorado Authors League Award finalist is the perfect read for those who want to delve deeper into this topic after attending Professor Wei’s September lecture. The store carries beautiful crafts from local artists including one of a kind, hand painted ties by artisan Jenna Isabel Rose. We also offer a new collection of pottery with a beautiful poppy motif created by potter Karen Sucharski. Store Hours Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4:45 pm (Open year round) 10% discount at the museum store for CSPM members! MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 7 Gifts Artisans Jewelry Books
CSPM HAPPENINGS Colorado Springs Downtown Rotary Club’s field of butterflies installation on the museum lawn Bertram Hayes Davis Addresses Guests at Carriage Reception Creating leaf-shaped suncatchers at Children’s History Hour Karen Palus, Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (top) and Lyda Hill (bottom) speak at the Garden of the Gods Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon MUSELETTER OCTOBER 2017 | PG 8
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