This morning, I looked over the hill from where we live and saw in the far distance our dear Entiat Museum, perched on the knoll overlooking the Columbia River. I thought of the long history the little house has witnessed. Built in 1895 by the Entiat Improvement Company, it served as headquarters and a home for the ranch manager. The ranch was a large hay and cattle ranch where p to 800 head of cattle ranged as far upriver as Potato Creek. The Entiat Improvement Company was based in Waterville, which was the major commercial center at that time. The home has been renovated many times through the years but has always been at the present site, even when steamboats ran the rapids and Chilcosahaskt lived at the mouth of the Entiat River. The house was established as the Albert Long Museum in 1980. It is a touchstone and a window to the past; a place where you can imagine how the people lived, what the land was like, and how good and bad fortune entered lives and changed their destinies. There is much work to do to bring the museum up to a standard that we can be confident will last into the future for generations. The Entiat Community Historical Society exists for that purpose. We strive to set and meet goals that pertain to sharing Entiat History, in a full and accessible way. I am excited to share that the Entiat Community Historical Society has been selected as one of eight museums for the inaugural Volunteer Museum Learning Community (VMLC) cohort with the Washington Museum Association (WaMA) and the Washington State Historical Society (WSHS). We have had our first Zoom orientation meeting with our leaders and other museum volunteers from around the state, and we are so happy to have this opportunity to grow and learn from others how best to serve our community. This is a year-long commitment, and we are thankful to have 3 volunteers who will attend and share with other members and interested supporters what we are learning. Our first topic will be regarding our Mission Statement. Currently it begins : "The Entiat Community Historical Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote an understanding of the history of the Entiat area by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting that history and its relationship to the region. Our vision is that the Entiat Museum be a place where people may encounter, explore and learn about the past. "
Yesterday we offered our deepest gratitude to those who have served in the United States military on a solemn Veterans Day, thanking them for the price each has paid to secure the freedom for others, in times and places where innocent citizens are under siege from forces of domination. To the men and women who served, and to the families who shared their lives, we are deeply grateful. May the future hold the promise that our democracy will ever strive to embody freedom and justice for all.
As we enter the cold and dark months of the year, our gatherings and celebrations will surely bring light to our days and bless our nights. This Saturday, November 16th, from 9 AM - 3 PM, the wonderful Entiat Arts Collective is hosting the 34th Annual Holiday Bazaar in the Entiat High School Gym. The Entiat Community Historical Society will have a booth in the gym, selling copies of Under the Guard of Ole Tyee by Albert "Shorty" Long, Last Chief Standing by Wendell George, Nuggets of Entiat Past by Phyllis Griffith, Making Do and Hanging On by Bruce Foxworthy, and Skiing Uphill by Pat West Turner. These books, each in its own way, tell the story of how we are transformed by the land, its inhabitants, and the era.
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