Museum: High School Memory Room

We have a room downstairs in the basement of the museum that is dedicated to High School Memories.

Last year it ended up on my list.

Before:

It was a mess “stuff” was falling off the walls.  The carpet was dirty and smelly..uffda.  The old cabinet that used to be upstairs in the courthouse held High School Yearbooks and if someone put them in the proper drawers..you were in luck.  There was one light.

During:

We moved everything out of the room and rolled up the carpet.  Found a hole in the floor..back right..so a new cover was made for it..no one knows what it was for..perhaps the water supply years ago.

The walls were repaired, sealed and painted.  The floor was painted with a special concrete floor paint.

One of our members owns an Electrical Business.  One day he came by and asked what projects I had going and where did I need some help.  That afternoon new light fixtures were installed.  What a difference a little light makes!

Over the winter with the proceeds from a grant we purchased 10 display cabinets.  7 of them are huge units..perfect for museum display.  The only problem was..they were pink on the inside.

Gravy spent several days painting for me.  When he was done, he and Dawn spent two days arranging the room and it’s contents.  Every time I turn on the light and welcome people into the room I say a quiet thanks for great volunteers!  It is now a room to be proud of.

After:

The middle cabinet is used for storage of duplicate High School Annuals.  We took the doors over to the High School and one of the art students did the painting for us.

The next thing on this rooms list is painting or wallpapering the inside of the two lower cabinets that we kept open.  The one pictured here holds Obituaries from the newspaper.  They should be moved..so far I have not found another spot for them..maybe soon.

This room holds High School Annuals from the three high schools in the county.  Class reunion memorabilia and photographs.  Photographs of classes and schools through the years.  It also holds an index of Class Lists from 1900 to the present time.  I think the oldest High School Annual is 1909..back then it was called “The Moccasin.” There is a great collection of Homecoming buttons too!  There is also a section that holds all the Miss Park Rapids Pageant Scrapbooks and Video Tapes.  Oh and trophies..lots of trophies.

I am very pleased with the progress made on this room.  The paint was paid for with a grant, as were the display cases and the new lighting fixtures were donated so it was a great improvement that we didn’t have to include in the budget. ***The light fixtures on the cabinets are non working, they would have to be rewired to reach the outlet..of which there is only two in the room.

I will remind all the local people that read my blog to keep one eye open for High School Annuals at Estate and Garage Sales:)