Alex Kunkel spoke to visitors at the museum today about what can be considered art in common items of the past. He talked about the workmanship in cast metals like branding irons and door latches as well as patent dates and how a blacksmith from the east differed from those in the west. It was very well attended and we look forward to doing more lectures soon. The next will be February 2 and February 9 with Brian Olmstead and Jim Gentry.
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This photo from the early 1930's shows a hay derrick with slips and slings. Horses pulled the load off the field to the stackyard where the derrick was used to lift the load off and swung over to the stack. Duane Ramseyer brought in the picture and his father is standing on the far left.

Since the heat is still working, we will be open from noon to five, Tuesday through Saturdays. You will be able to access the metal auxiliary building, but it is pretty cold out there! The smaller outbuildings with wooden doors will remain closed most of the time as the doors swell and are difficult to open and close. 
The museum will be closed when the sidewalks or parking lot are icy or snow covered. 
You are still able to call and schedule a tour for schools or other groups and we will do our best to fit to your schedule. 
The number for the museum is 208 736-4675 or the new cell number is 208 751-1165.

Still snowing today so it looks as though the museum will be closed at least December 26, possibly for the next couple of days. If the feather flag is flying out along the roadside, we are open!

A much needed improvement allows the museum to be open more hours during the winter months. The propane heating units are now up and running again after necessary repairs. We might be closed for a few days after Christmas if it snows, but will resume our noon to five, Tuesday through Saturday hours January 2. 

The museum will close during the winter due to inclement weather, but if the sidewalk is clear and our banner is out, we will be open. 

For those of you that call to schedule a tour, we will do our best to be here as planned.

We are working on lectures, the first will be January 12, followed by February 2 and 9. Check with us to see what is going on!

Things have been coming along for the Historical Society and Museum in the past few years and 2018 has been very successful. Much of the credit goes to the volunteers that have spent hour after hour on projects or museum tours and information. We can't thank them enough for all they do.

We hosted field trips again this year, going to Milner Dam and Recreation Area, Hagerman Fossil Beds, Murtaugh Lake, Clarr Tunnel, and the Stricker area. 2019 field trips are currently being arranged.

The newspapers - Hollister Herald, Kimberly Advertiser, and Filer Record have been taken to Boise for scanning to be made available to the public as part of the services offered by the Historical Society. Many thanks to the Seagraves Family Foundation and others that donated to this project. 

There is finally a source of heat working at the museum. For the past several years the roof tops units went usused, but now the propane tank is back and the building is can be open longer through the winter.

In April there was a history day at the museum and we will be doing this again in 2019 as well as more lectures and other events. 

Thanks to everyone that donated, participated or visited the museum in 2018.

Ron Yates has been working on the digital newspaper project for the past several months and the following is his report.
​Our newspaper scanning project is on track. Over 2000 pages of 4 different titles will be scanned. We are exited about The Hollister Herald, it is our link to the past for the Salmon Tract. You may know Hollister was the first Salmon Tract town site, particularly interesting are the reports of the next town sites as they were developed.  Rogerson, Amsterdam, Berger, Clover, (not on Salmon Tract irrigation). Reports from Jarbidge and Contact, Nevada tell us about stockmen and miners. The Hollister Herald issues were  4, 8 10 12 or 16 pages, usually 8 and during difficult economic times 4 pages. The lack of water behind Salmon Falls Dam was most often a headline. 
 
The Hollister Herald was the newspaper of record for the area. A “newspaper of record” is given all public notices, these city, county, state and federal notices were printed at the expensive open rate and were a sizable portion of the Heralds income. The publisher / editor must have angered many people because a second newspaper, “Hollister New Era” was published, it had more initial subscribers than the Hollister Herald and it was awarded the public notices. Wow!  Hollister had two newspapers.
 
Twin Falls, for your historic reference, at one time endured four simultaneous newspaper publications. The TF News, TF Times, TF Chronicle and TF Citizen.

December 1 was a work day at the museum and while things didn't go quite as planned, it was a fairly productive day. A ton of stuff was moved and I was going to rearrange this week, but instead, had a nice bout of pneumonia so the museum was closed a few days. I found out I need a better plan in case I get sick again. 

The Museum will be closed Thanksgiving Day, but we should be open on Friday, unless we have an accumulation of snow. If we do close for snow, you may call and leave a message to schedule a visit. Depending on how the roads and sidewalks are, someone may came to open the museum within a half an hour.

December 1, the Historical Society will have a work day to move items in the basement. Call 208 736-4675 if you are willing and able to haul boxes upstairs.

December 8 - Darrell Buffaloe will present a History of Railroads in Idaho
Most of us love the exotic sound of locomotives working in the distance as they travel with their mysterious cargos to far off places. Many of us have never stopped to wonder why the rails came here and not there and what impact it had on our current existence. Ever wonder why major towns were created nearly every 25 to 50 miles apart? Why would the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints build the first railroads to reach Idaho? The railroads of Southern Idaho have had a major impact on who we are. Learning what railroads are, how they were created and how they impact who we are today is an interesting and fun way to view our past and look at our present.

December 15 - annual decorating of the Christmas Sagebrush tree. This year we have nice, warm propane heat so your fingers won't be cold. Sage smells great and we will have refreshments, and maybe a movie after.