Guest Post

Linda Turner has been a Museum volunteer since 2006.



I love volunteering at the Williamson Museum. It’s great fun to meet so many people from all over that come to the museum and it’s even better to meet the other volunteers - I have made some great new friends! It’s also such a pleasure to work with the museum staff - they are so creative and fun.

I have always loved history because it’s always been personal stories to me - never just events and dates in a book. I think in terms of the people in the events as my relatives, myself, my friends. I think what it must have been like for them while a loved one was away at war or seeing your new frontier home for the first time, seeing the new inventions and all the fashion changes, struggling through the awful times - laughing at the celebrations - being young and in love. One’s grandparents were, after all, young and in love long before you entered the picture!

I’ve learned so much - broadened my own experiences - Pioneer Day, Archaeology Day, cemetery tours, book club (great folks there), and trunk shows. History and working with it through the museum has given me good times, chances to meet good people with similar interests, and gives me the opportunity to make history more interesting to students in our schools.

There’s a place for you at the Museum - when you quit learning, you quit living. It’s almost impossible working in a museum to not learn something you didn’t know before - that’s why it’s so interesting.

Linda Turner

Chuckwagons!

Even though the Up the Chisholm Trail event isn't until September, we're already in the planning stages.

The Chuckwagon Committee has been meeting monthly since February. We're applying for funding for the event (thanks to the City of Georgetown for their generous and continued support). Mickie is working on the event permit. We met with our graphic designer about this year's rack card and poster.

And...

We have our first two chuckwagon team entries for the cook-off competition!

Dove Creek from Copperas Cove
Ellis Cattle Co. from Sinton

Make your plans to join us!

This week at the Museum

Before I start with this week, let's recap last week.

1. Two successful days of Pioneer Day field trips at Old Settlers Association. We had well over 500 students over two days of hands-on fun!

2. Recuerdos exhibit opening on Friday night. We had a full house, and everyone had a great time.

3. Pioneer Day at OSA in Round Rock. This year, we had a couple hundred more guests than last year. You can't beat that!

What's on tap this week, you ask?

Mickie and the education volunteers have field trips at the Museum all this week. Right now, third graders from Village Elementary are here touring the Museum, the downtown and the courthouse. Tomorrow, Mickie and the gang will be at San Gabriel Park for an all-day Civil War-themed field trip. Pickett Elementary third graders will be here on Thursday, Williams Elementary third graders tour the Museum on Friday, and then on Saturday the local Girl Scouts will be here all day for Victorian tea parties.

As for me, I submitted a grant application this morning. I have an advisory group meeting this afternoon in Austin, and a chuckwagon committee meeting this evening. Tomorrow night is The Salon at Wildfire.



Next Tuesday, May 18, is Books for Texans Book Club held at 7pm at the Georgetown Public Library (second floor, Hewlett Room). We hope you can join us, and talk about The Kings of Texas: The 150-Year Saga of an American Ranching Empire by Don Graham.

See you soon!

Recuerdos, part two

Read the nice article published by the Round Rock Leader about the new Recuerdos exhibit at The Williamson Museum

Recuerdos

The Williamson Museum is excited to present images of Hispanic culture and history from its photographic collections in a new exhibit entitled Recuerdos: Images from Williamson County’s Hispanic-American Community.

The Recuerdos exhibit will open to the public on Friday, May 7, at 6:00 pm during the Museum’s monthly First Friday celebration. Many of the images featured in this new exhibit, which is open from May to November 2010, were donated to the Museum as part of the Recuerdos project in October 2009. The Williamson Museum invited members of the county’s Hispanic-American community to donate family photographs documenting life in Williamson County. Images from that effort in the new exhibit include May Fest 2009 celebrations in Round Rock, class photographs from the area’s Mexican schools, and eighteen portraits of Hispanic men who served in all branches of the military from World War II to present day.

In conjunction with the Recuerdos exhibition at The Williamson Museum, the Round Rock Public Library will also exhibit images from the Museum’s collection during the month of May. Join The Williamson Museum on Friday, May 7, at 6:00 pm to view these great new images and celebrate Williamson County’s Hispanic heritage.