Getting Ready for May 17, Opening Day!

On Saturday, May 17, at 10 AM, you are invited to join us at the North Shelter of the Entiat Park to celebrate the beginning of our Summer 2025 Open Season at the Albert Long Entiat Museum. We will be entertained by the talented and decades long experienced duo, Quail Run Bluegrass which is the wonderful husband and wife team Mike Johnson and LuAnn Price. There will be great music and also brunch offerings of homemade bread, fruit, cheese, and beverages. Bring a side or dessert dish to share, and a chair to sit in! After the music ends around noon, the museum will be open till 3:00 PM. Throughout the summer, we will be open on Saturdays from 10 AM - 3 PM. The Entiat Community Historical Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote an understanding of the history of the Entiat Valley. We eagerly welcome new members to join our group. We need more folks to sign up to host the museum with us this summer. It is really a fun way to spend a summer Saturday. A museum hosting training will happen on Thursday, May 15, at 10 AM. If you can't make that date and time, we can arrange another opportunity. Please send an email to us at entiatmuseum@gmail.com to let us know you are interested. Thank you in advance!

We are also looking forward to hosting Pat West Turner, who is the author of Skiing Uphill: A Story of Strength and Perseverance, available for purchase at the Museum. A heartfelt memoir. Pat West Turner grew up in Entiat, where she graduated in 1965. She survived a near-fatal car accident as a high school senior that resulted in the amputation of her right leg. Pat has never let her disability define her. In this book, she has shared what she went through following the accident and the ways in which she continuously met life with a sense of adventure, personal courage, strength, and perseverance.

Turner, an avid snow skier before the accident, returned to the ski slope with adaptive outriggers and went on to compete nationally and internationally. She later became a ski instructor and also a school teacher. Her missing leg never held her back.

She shares important lessons learned through adversity. At every crossroad, she focused on what she could do rather than what she was unable to do. Turner hopes this book will provide inspiration to others to face their own challenges with courage and resolve.

On Thursday, May 11, we had a group of enthusiastic volunteers arrive early in the morning to begin work on the interior of the Entiat Museum. The exterior paint job turned out so well, we were inspired! Adam, Josh, and Dave from Entiat Fire District 8 efficiently and safely relocated the piano to its new spot in the music room. Janice, Nancy, and Mary handled the cleaning and polishing, while Kathy Jo and Angela concentrated on painting. Chuck planted marigolds, and Mike and Gary assisted us with heavy lifting. Mike has an excellent plan for our future digital listening and viewing station. By the end of the day, there was more order than chaos, and the rooms are beginning to take on their new roles and personalities. I am thrilled that we will soon have a more accessible reading area. Our books, filled with fascinating stories of life in the valley, are our most cherished collection.

A few years ago, the idea of constructing the replica mercantile was conceived to create space in our overflowing museum home. Peggy's aspiration to realize this vision led her to connect with Gary and Loretta, who volunteered to build the mercantile using materials funded by a grant from the NCW Community Foundation. We have now obtained the space we needed and have a charming mercantile filled with memorabilia reminiscent of stores that delivered supplies, tools, food, and much-needed news and connection to this remote valley, serving as a great meeting place for local residents and travelers alike.

Thanks to Mark and the City of Entiat, we now also have a new tool barn showcasing a variety of old tools from an era when hand tool skills were crucial. Hopefully, in the future, we can collaborate with local woodworkers to restore some of the more intriguing and unique woodworking tools.

We are eagerly anticipating our time together at the museum, where we'll exchange ideas about introducing new activities, exhibits, and events to the Albert Long Entiat Museum this summer, as well as develop long-term plans for the future while reflecting on the past. Enjoy these blurry yet fascinating photos shared at a recent gathering of people reminiscing about the charming, though now submerged, second town of Entiat. Change can be challenging, but it is certainly a constant!