The Muse: April 2006From the PresidentIt’s spring again and we are fast approaching our two biggest money makers of the year--our home tour and yard sale. Frances Butler is doing a great job on the home tour, please give her your support if she asks you. Three cheers for all of those who came to Rosemary Dunne’s lecture on the courthouse. She has done a great job of researching and presented all of her information in a great way. Don’t miss the exciting events that will be planned for you for the rest of the year. Your museum needs your support. Mary Frances Olinger, President Jamestown 2007It’s been almost 400 years since English settlers arrived in Virginia and the commonwealth is starting the commemorative anniversary early! See the back page for the first special event the Museum is sponsoring. In 1957 Amherst County’s Jamestown Committee sponsored a historic house tour and the Museum is exhibiting an advertisement from that event. More souvenirs from the 1907 and 1957 anniversaries will be exhibited during this exciting time! What's New in the Library
Thank you to our Volunteers!Many individuals have contributed over 1000 hours to the Museum in a variety of ways--research, typing and data entry, answering phones and greeting visitors and more. There are also many volunteers who have helped with special events--house tours, sales, election day events and open houses. Thank you, volunteers! If you have donated time to the Museum please help us by recording your time in the volunteer log! You are important to us! What Our Volunteers Are DoingSharon Williamson and Valli Ritchie are learning the joys of collections maintenance. Using the collections database they find where something is stored. Of course, it’s never as easy as it sounds! The outfit shown above required an identification tag sewn on it. Getting all the information together, entering it in the database, photographing the artifact and assigning a location can sometimes take a half hour just to put something away!  What’s in the galleries...The History of Mount Olive Baptist Church was the featured article in the last newsletter. Now you can take a peak at what treasures the church is exhibiting in the Singleton-Zinsser Gallery.  This 1962 Bible with linked bookmark of Ten Commandments belonged to P.W. Higginbotham. Also shown here is a 1994 Youth Choir maroon-colored robe with reversible stole featuring a Treble Clef, shown with a 1968 Gospel Choir Robe, gold with a black collar.  Music has always been an integral part of the church. Mrs. Olden Higginbotham’s copy of the popular music book, Gems of Love, 1924, is also on exhibit. Lapel pins and name tags were often used to identify members and church officials. For the history of Mount Olive, see our February 2006 issue.  The Museum and You--Not Just Each Other’s Past, but Also Each Other’s FutureAs the years pass, the age of Amherst County since its separation from Albemarle County will increase and many of our locations and structures will have more historical significance. The museum houses an extensive research library, collections, artifacts and exhibits and even now needs additional space. How can this be accomplished? A few thoughts of how citizens can help to meet present and future capital needs of the museum are as follows:
The museum would benefit greatly by your consideration. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Our Annex project is still in the planning stages. Why are we building this annex? The Museum needs more space to accommodate artifacts that don’t fit in the Kearfott-Wood House. Donations are always welcome. Recent gifts have come from Greif Bros., AREVA and the William and Sherrie McLeRoy Family Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas. Many thanks to all who have contributed!! Welcome to our new members!
What Are They Doing? These children are participating in the Museum’s History Hunt. Above right is a portion of the maze that children can travel gathering answers to a wide variety of questions. Also for children--the Museum is again participating in the TimeTravelers program along with many other museums across Virginia. The program passports generally arrive at the end of March, and we encourage school children to participate. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *The Museum is looking for a millstone that needs a good home! If you know of one, please contact the Museum at 946-9068! Special Joint Program with Colonial Dames XVIIth Century--Jamestown People and PlacesOne of the first events of the upcoming Jamestown Festival will be on Saturday, July 29, 2006, the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society and the West of the Falls chapter of Colonial Dames, XVIIth Century will co-sponsor an informal gathering to present little known but particularly fascinating research about the people of early Jamestown. Meeting at the Florence Elston conference center at Sweetbriar College, the program will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 3 p.m. with a break from noon to 1:30 for lunch. This is your chance to learn those things that makes Jamestown come alive. What were John Rolfe’s thoughts about marrying an Indian princess? What was John Smith like before adventuring off to Virginia? The answers to these and other questions can be learned by participating in this program. You don’t want to miss it!  Museum exhibits Jamestown Anniversary SouvenirsIn addition to supporting the Jamestown 2007 commemoration events, the Museum will also be exhibiting various souvenirs from previous Jamestown anniversaries. The exhibit, located in the front hall of the Museum, includes a broadside of photographs and short histories of historic homes in Amherst County that were shown for the 1957 Jamestown Festival Committee of Amherst County. A souvenir program from the 1957 Jamestown anniversary which was presented to Maryland Governor McKeldin from Virginia Governor Stanley is also on display, along with postcards from the 1907 anniversary. A 1907 Jamestown napkin ring and an undated fan from Jamestown are being shown as well. If you have an interesting item from earlier Jamestown anniversaries that you would like to loan for this occasion, please let the Museum know so that arrangements can be made. We’d love to fill this case with a wide variety of special artifacts for this special occasion! In our April issue we feature the Historic House Tour
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