October 2020 Stage Lines
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VOLUME 2020 ISSUE 8 October 2020 President’s Message Pam Pond Fall is here dedication to the inn is already notewor- and while it seems a thy. Coming Events in 2020 return to normal life While it is no surprise that we have is far away, there is lost a lot of planned, yearly revenue due Currently: hope around the cor- to the pandemic, we have put into motion The museum has reo- ner. The Stagecoach several things to help us recoup our loss- pened and our outdoor Inn Museum’s soft es. We have applied for several grants, areas are open from 1 PM to 4 PM Saturdays only. opening has proved to continue to work with the insurance com- be very successful and pany on projected losses, are currently Suffrage: A Centennial safe at the same time. We have had organizing a virtual fundraiser and auc- Celebration exhibit many visitors and thanks to all our tion and have an outdoor Christmas event Viewable through our open doors. faithful and amazing docents it has all planned with safety always at the fore- been possible. We could never do it front. Watch for information on these without you! Until we move back in- events coming soon. side, we need to consider when we Due to COVID-19, the nominations for should close due to inclement weather. I CVHS executive officers, and the Board of have outlined specific conditions that Trustees next year look very similar to precipitate closing the museum for the last year because we are living in an ex- Sept.15th - Oct. 15th safety of everyone. I will present it to traordinary time. We need a stable and Hispanic Heritage Month the board at the next opportunity. consistent board to see us through this Our new exhibit, celebrating 100 crisis during this unprecedented time. years of a women’s right to vote in Please see the list on page 7. America, is an extraordinary exhibit Though we are still in the middle of a from the National Archives. It is a must pandemic, which means weddings and Visit our adobe and learn -see step into the past. Please come by school tours are on hold until further no- about early Spanish land and see the marvelous handiwork of tice, an example of the hope around the grants and ranching, later, Jana and Blanca. More kudos go out to corner I mentioned above is that young during the Mexican era. Jana for bringing us into 2020 with an couples have started booking weddings Instagram account. Visit Instagram again for next year. As of this writing, we December today to see the breathtaking picture of have six weddings reserved for next year! Unwrap The the Stagecoach Inn joined with other We are all looking forward to the day Conejo museums from around America cele- when we can return to normal and kiss Valley 2020 brating Women’s Suffrage. It is spectac- COVID-19 good-bye. Until then I look for- ular! ward to seeing each of you again very Special evening events are being planned for December September brought us our first ever soon (with mask and appropriate social 4th and December 11th COVID-19 compliant docent training distancing of course). It is always great to led by Nellie and a team of docent- see you at our beloved museum. Decorations will be on dis- experts. It was an excellent training play during our regular Saturday hours, 1-4 PM, with some exciting and fresh new vol- Stay safe and healthy. December 5th through the unteers joining our team. We are 20th. blessed to have them with us. Their PAGE 2 VOLUME 2020 ISSUE 8 Director Jana Goldsworthy Come and celebrate with us! and more about women’s suffrage. We are thrilled we can get our Other happenings at the museum have includ- volunteers together again and ed our volunteer orientation training, which took welcome guests back to the mu- place September 5, welcoming a talented and en- seum every Saturday from 1 thusiastic group of new volunteers. We’ve also re- PM to 4 PM. There is a lot to ceived some wonderful new donations, including see and do and we’ve gotten an intricately-crafted, lighted/moving diorama of a very creative with how to safely stagecoach, made by the late Reynold Sandbom, share our exhibits while only soon to be on display in the Emporium, and a gor- outdoor areas can be open. geous set of Limoges China with large pink blos- Soaring temperatures and poor soms adorning a white background, donated by air quality made attracting people to the property Mickie Grimaldi. We are starting to see more cou- challenging, but since mid-September we have had a ples eager to move forward with their plans to “tie fairly steady flow of socially distanced visitors. Every- the knot”, and have recently booked six weddings one seems to be enjoying our ongoing Centennial Cel- for 2021. ebration of Women’s Suffrage Exhibit. Docents have We are also up and running with the donned “Votes for Women” experimental stage of our sashes and buttons, and are QR signage, now ready to share the suffragist available at the Chumash story. Vignettes depicting a Ap and Timber School, parlor meeting in progress and coming soon at the and other scenes represent- Blacksmith’s Shop. ing the history of the suf- Visitors can simply point frage movement, are viewa- their smart phone at the ble through the open doors of sign with the camera multiple buildings, and our feature on, and access a kiosks, generously provided “Virtual Tour” video of by the National Archives and the exhibit and additional “Rightfully Hers”, provide a data on the website. Our wealth of information. wonderful docents are, of Photos and drawings post- course, still on hand to ed in the windows of the Inn share their knowledge and Pioneer House complete the exhibit, including and stories. This “no- those from the first official women’s rights convention touch”, COVID-safe addition, adds an interesting held in the US, in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, attract- multi-media feature to our tour, to help offset the ing 300 participants. Other photos feature our earli- limited access to building interiors. We are also est female voters in Ventura County. There is also a modifying our school tours for social-distancing so colorful display from the #ForwardIntoLight cam- we are prepared when 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade paign shared on Instagram, which took place August classes or homeschool groups are ready to return 26, 2020 to celebrate the date the 19th Amendment to the museum for everyone’s favorite field trip. was certified. It includes actual and virtual building It’s all part of the many adaptations our volun- illuminations across the country in purple and yel- teers are busy making to continue bringing histo- low, the official colors of the American suffrage move- ry alive for the community. ment. The Stagecoach Inn Museum looks resplendent We have put together a great way for you to with violet sky and golden lights, nestled between the experience yesteryear in the Conejo Valley, by illuminated White House and colorful cathedral. heading out on the open road with our Historical Many thanks to The Acorn newspaper for promoting Driving Tour (see final page for accessing driving our exhibit which will be up through November 28. instructions), highlighting 16 Historic Landmarks, Be sure to look for the Acorn Magazine’s Beyond No- commencing at Thousand Oaks #1 Landmark, the vember issue, to be published online. It will feature a Stagecoach Inn Museum. See you soon! Stay safe historical timeline of prominent women of our region and keep smiling beneath those masks. We are! VOLUME 2020 ISSUE 8 Historical Happenings Carol Anderson, Curator of History quizzically, and the artist decided to paint the scene. Art at the Stagecoach Inn Museum Named “His Master’s Voice,” this painting became a well- known trademark for the Victor Talking Machine Co. in 1899. This beautiful room and its collection of Gramo- The Stagecoach Inn Museum is not known as an phones and Victrolas was donated by collector and muse- art museum, but there are many interesting, excel- um volunteer Ken Kilbourne. lent paintings on the property. Some are originals, Timber School has prints of well-known artists show- some prints, and sometimes the artist is known. I ing President George Washington by Gilbert Stuart and want to highlight some of the paintings, prints and President Abraham Lincoln by Cyrus Cobb. A small photos at the SIM: print of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is Entering the lobby, one sees Presidents George shown on the bookcase, this one by John Trumbull. Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In the entry These were purchased to furnish the schoolhouse in 1995, near the stairs are two local water color paintings but funding was from donations. You can also see a small showing the first Hunt family home and the road print of President Benjamin Harrison so that school chil- leading into their ranch by Jane Francis Hunt in dren can see just who was the president when the origi- 1908. nal school was built in 1889. Passing through the dining room you’ll see a still In the Carriage House there are four paintings, circa life painting of pomegranates on a mat. It was from 1870, three by Edward Vischer and one by Herman Han- the home of Walter and Martha Lowsley Hunt as sen. The Vischer paintings are particularly of this area. was the painting of a watermelon and grapes in Lastly, take a look at the fine woman in a green dress Emily’s Kitchen.