 Saturday, July 20 at 1 o'clock, Darrell Buffaloe will give a presentation on old bank notes. The museum recently receive one as a donation and the subject of how and why banks printed their own money was of great interest. Admission is free and the presentation will last about an hour.
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The museum will be closed, but watch for the fire truck in the Buhl Sagebrush Days parade!
July 15, 2019 - The Westphal family drove the fire truck in the Filer Fun Days Parade. Many thanks to Levi and Jarred for doing this. The next parade will be July 4th in Buhl for Sagebrush Days. We are signed up and hope to be there too!
 Beautiful weather, good company and great speakers on the trip to Balanced Rock. Many thanks to Terry Kramer, Kelly Murphy and Mark Guerry for providing information and to Patti Hurley for getting things together. There was room on the bus, but we met several folks at the park.
Check out the video on our channel that shows bean harvesting in the Twin Falls area. (Video courtesy Sharon and Larry Koldewey) - https://youtu.be/ASZ5ssGl8pc. Paste the link in your browser.
Don't miss out on the free bus ride and field trip out to Balanced Rock on June 1. We will meet at museum at 10 am and go to Balanced Rock park. We have the Pavilion reserved for the speakers and later will hike up to the rock. You don't have to do the hike and you are welcome to follow in your own vehicle. Learn about the Castleford area, Toana Road, and other interesting facts about the community.
Volunteers are working on getting things ready for Saturday "history day". We will have to see what the weather looks like and may have to adjust our schedule, but will still have plenty going on.
Admission is free so you can't beat that!  Ruth Hume sent some pretty cool pictures to the museum. This one is from 1923 and features her parents, an aunt and uncle and some of their friends at a place labeled "Hot Town" near Murtaugh. Possibly Artesian City as the "well" is similar to a Bisbee photo of that area.
Often people come to visit the museum and expect that things have not changed in the 50 years that it has been operated by the Twin Falls County Historical Society. In the beginning, interested individuals donated items and volunteered their time to open the doors. After finding old scrapbooks, it was found that the Historical Society was very active, putting up signs, hosting field trips and events, and Gus Kelker wrote a column for the newspaper that appeared nearly every week. Mr. Kelker was on the board and heavily involved with the historical society so his column was a great asset to the museum. As time went on, many members grew old, moved away or passed on and interest in the museum grew a little stagnant.
About 20 years ago, Chris and Tama Bolton were the administrators at the museum. The Bolton's undertook a number of projects that greatly improved not only the museum, but the reputation of the Historical Society. Chris published several spiral bound books on many subjects that are still pertinent today. Apparently Chris moved on due to health reasons and in the following years administrators and directors came and went. The Historical Society board of directors currently consists of six members, but there have been as many as ten to twelve at a time. Directors are chosen by the membership at the annual meeting in the fall. Memberships are purchased for as little as $15 annually for individuals. You must be a member in good standing for at least one year and volunteer at the museum for that length of time, (and, no, volunteering to be on the board doesn't count.) How many former directors and administrators are there? A lot. Who is responsible for the museum's success? Depends on who you ask. How have things changed recently? Glad you asked! The current board and administration is dedicated to keeping the museum a viable part of the community. By cooperating with the county commissioners and parks department, the grounds have been vastly improved and curb appeal has increased. We are open year around and keep regularly scheduled hours. Each board member has a specific role and the administrator is responsible to the board of directors. Ego's and agenda's are left at the door. We have projects, events and field trips that take place throughout the year and a newsletter for members, informing them of upcoming events. Former Union School students are still interested in their alma mater and are supportive of keeping the building and grounds as a museum. How can I help? Contact the museum at (208) 736-4675 if you have questions. To volunteer, you have to appear in person and fill out an application. You are able to choose what projects you'd like to help with and the amount of time you are able to commit. You can help out for one day, one project or a number of hours per week for a specific duty. Hopefully this has answered a few of your questions and feel free to make suggestions or comments on the post. Watch our you tube video at https://youtu.be/Y3b_eqrZsiw   |