M U S E U M N E W S 1611 Riverside Avenue, Hoquiam, WA 98550 (360) 533-5862 Fall 1998 Doll Show at Museum Archiving Project October 10 - 18 — Involves Hoquiam Bring Your Favorites High School Students The Polson hosts a community-wide doll show opening Saturday and Sunday, October 10th and 11th, The Polson Museum joins HHS and continuing the following week, October 14th to Washington State History students this fall to 18th, Wednesday to Sunday. The show will be open begin an archiving project to document Grays from noon to four each day. Harbor’s businesses at the turn-of-the- Local doll collector Betty Bellis, whose dolls millennium. will be on display, will present a short talk, Saturday HHS students will be collecting from area the 10th, highlighting her collecting career. Her businesses and organizations printed materials presentation begins at 2:00 p.m. such as advertising brochures, informational Following Mrs. Bellis’ presentation, the pamphlets, business cards, and company Museum hosts an afternoon tea and invites all letterheads. The students will then file and index members and visitors to judge not only her dolls but the materials, archiving them into the Museum’s others on display. collection. For, in addition to Mrs. Bellis’ dolls, the In addition to working on this archiving Museum invites you to bring for display your favorite project, HHS students have the option of dolls—vintage, ethnic, and handmade ones especially, compiling oral histories of local individuals who or those with special personal stories. have played important roles on Grays Harbor. We will be accepting dolls for loan from Whether by interviewing grandparents, parents, Wednesday to Friday, October 7th , 8th, and 9th. If or family friends, students will focus on you are unable to bring your dolls during regular hours, recording people’s memories of important from noon to four, call Director John Larson at 533- persons, places, events, and traditions. 5862 to arrange a more convenient time. Although these projects serve as part of Admission to the doll show and tea is free to students’ present community-service Museum Members. Regular admission charges ($2 requirements, they also serve our community adults, $1 students, $.50 children, $5 families) apply to long into the future. non-Members. Posey Exhibit Continues The Polson’s latest exhibit, Posey: The Singing Voice of the Piano, continues through the remainder of 1998 and all of 1999. The exhibit chronicles the history of Grays Harbor’s oldest woodworking company with a triple emphasis: on the company’s Los Angeles-area beginnings, on its move to Hoquiam in 1909, and on the variety of its quality Sitka Spruce products. Page 2 Polson Museum News Museum in the Community Museum’s Loggers Playday Entry Earns 2nd Place This year’s Parade entry earned the Museum second place honors in the Classic Car division. Driven by Museum volunteers Alta Reay, Katherine Vining, and Hilary Dorsch, Director John Larson’s 1963 Oldsmobile Holiday 88 Coupe Alta Reay waves to the crowd at the Loggers Playday Parade again took the 2nd place honors. Baked Goods Needed Thanks For Garage Sale Donations For YMCA Bazaar, Museum Creates Thanks go to all members November 7 Loggers Playday and friends who donated items for Although November may the Museum’s garage sale June be a long way off, plan now to Display at Hoquiam 27. Despite selling many items bake goodies to benefit the Library cheaply—for as little as $.25 to Museum for the YMCA’s annual In conjunction with $1.00—we did well to make over bazaar. If you can contribute, Hoquiam’s annual Loggers $400. Thanks again to all of you please bring items to the bazaar Playday, the Polson Museum who helped. or call Pat Lanning at 532-9083, featured a small display at the or John Larson at 533-5862. We Hoquiam Library on the event’s River-Festival Open can arrange to pick them up. history. In addition to a variety of House Well Attended G.H. Fair Display A old photographs, programs, and In conjunction with the buttons, the display included Hoquiam Park Department’s Success artifacts from other local festivals River Festival, the Polson Visitors to this year’s as well. Mementos from the Museum freely opened its doors Grays Harbor County Fair got a Splash festival in Aberdeen and to the public during the one-day good glimpse of what the Polson 4th of July contests on the event. has to offer—at least in the way of Hoquiam River provided examples The turnout proved saws. of predecessors to today’s Loggers encouraging, with over 100 This year’s theme—“Say Playday. people attending July 17. You ‘Saw’ the Polson”—featured, The display also featured Though more sparsely among other saws, a Vaughn log rolling shoes and trick chair attended, the evening outdoor dragsaw, a two-man crosscut, and from Diane and Russ Ellison. movie, The Golden Twenties, was a Titan chainsaw, and (Due to size limitations, their log likewise successful. We plan photographs of burly, early-day and rolling block stayed at the similar events next year. loggers. Museum.) Polson Museum News Page 3 At the Museum H World War Two CAR I G Display Planned for H Veterans’ Day SHOW L This November, the I Museum will feature a small G display honoring Harborites who H served our country during World T War II. The display will include Craig & Diane Smith’s 1937 Lafayette artifacts from both the Museum’s at the Museum collection as well as from individuals in the community. Pioneer of the Year? Historic Photo Who do you think should Reproductions Now be our 1998 Pioneer of the Year? We’d love to receive your Available Polson Web Page suggestions. Call or write soon. Have you ever been to the Museum and really wanted a copy Under Construction of a photograph that caught your The Polson Museum will eye? soon have a home in the Dolge-Posey T h a n k s t o C e c i l cyberworld of the internet. Inventory Under Herrington who donated a copy Museum volunteer Chuck stand to the Museum earlier this Sundberg is constructing a web Way year, we now have the capability page that, he claims, will provide With the recent opening of to reproduce and sell high-quality potential visitors with essential our new Posey exhibit, we’ve prints. information about the museum: been busy cataloging the Please call Director John our mission, collections, location, numerous artifacts, documents Larson at 533-5862 for details. hours, admission, and current and photographs donated to us exhibits. We’ll fill you in more from Posey Manufacturing. From the Collection: about locating our address when Of everything received, The Hoquiam River at the 8th Street the page is finished. the collection of papers from the Bridge, July 4, 1914. Long before Loggers Playday, Hoquiamites Dolge-Posey Company in Los congregated along the river to watch Angeles (1902 -1909) has proved logging competitions. Doll Collection the most labor intensive. Inventoried Aberdeen High School Museum volunteer Alta student Hilary Dorsch has taken Reay has been busy taking the cataloging project on and has inventory of the Museum’s doll now nearly completed preliminary collection. Stored in the sorting. She will next file all Children’s Room in preparation holdings into cabinets and access for the upcoming doll show, the them into our new computer collection, Alta says, has some database. dandies! Page 4 Polson Museum News From the Past Loggers Playday Programs Sought Loggers Playday Begun in 1965 The Museum is missing nearly Founded in conjunction with Hoquiam’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration, all of the Loggers Playday programs. Loggers Playday has become a part of our community’s shared heritage. Aside from the 1967, 1968, 1974, 1997, At the first Playday, the lumberjack competition was held at Emerson field. and 1998 programs, we have quite a void The second annual featured the first Elks-sponsored Parade and Lions-sponsored to fill. Can you help us complete our salmon barbecue—both considered mainstays among today’s Playdaygoers. collection? With attendance numbers well above 3,000 for the evening show in 1966, Playday officials finally moved the competition to its now well-known location at Changes on the Board Olympic Stadium for the third annual in 1967. Although more conventional Playday events such as axe throwing, log of Directors chopping, speed climbing, choker setting, tree topping, and double hand bucking have With his recent move to Elma, remained standard competition events, others have found their way into the evening Museum Board Member Dave show. In the early 1970s, the “Rainier Beer Keg Put Contest” featured big men McDougal has been succeeded by throwing beer kegs in a glorified shot put contest at distances up to 40 feet. In the past Sherry Drake as Treasurer. We thank two shows, the “belly flop” contest has proved a favorite among the locals. Dave for all of his hard work managing the books. In light of his long-term Membership "Corporate................$200 admission to a rest home, Arne Salonen The Museum derives a significant portion of its "Sustaining......….......$30+ has been replaced after over ten years on operating budget from Membership dues. If you have "Family.............….....$20 the Board. friends who are interested in preserving our local "Couple...........….......$15 We welcome Dave Seymour as history, please pass this newsletter along and "Individual.....….........$10 our newest Board Member and look encourage them to join. Thanks to all of you for your forward to working with him in continuing support. furthering the Museum’s mission.