Welcome to the Carbon County Museum Blog!
Although 2019 is only a little over one month old, I wanted to begin by sharing with you the new spirit of the Carbon County Museum. New Year, new us! The museum has hired new staff, we have brand new carpeting, and we are in the process of creating new exhibits. It will be an exciting year that will include an exhibit featuring “Important Women of Carbon County” to coincide with the celebration of 150 years of Women’s Suffrage in Wyoming. From Dr. Lillian Heath to Linda Fleming, Carbon County women have played a leading role in medicine, government, and civic engagement.
We will celebrate author C.J. Box this year when he returns to the museum on April 11, 2019, from 5PM – 7PM to sign copies of his new novel WOLF PACK. We are thrilled to again welcome him for a wonderful evening to celebrate him and his work. We always appreciate his continued support of the museum.
An important project slated for this year is to mount online exhibitions. For those who cannot come and visit us in person, you will be able to learn about the people, culture, and history of Carbon County and see what makes this area uniquely special. One of the first planned online exhibits will focus on the Latino community of the region. Many Latino families came to the county from either Colorado or New Mexico and they have enriched the area in many ways. We look forward to celebrating their heritage and community involvement.
Another online exhibition will focus on the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad played a vital role in the development of Rawlins and Carbon County. It linked town and country and helped the United States truly become a nation. People, goods, all were able to travel across the country with amazing speed as communities grew along its line. We will celebrate the role the Union Pacific Railroad played in the region with this exhibit later this year.
Our volunteer program for young people, the Youth Ambassadors, is undergoing a makeover that will include learning objectives to better inform students and parents what they are doing as well as a celebration ceremony in August. We are excited to continue the program that engages students with history, museum work, and public relations. In a study of similar programs across the country, it appears that students who perform this type of community service not only graduate in higher percentages than their peers, but they are accepted to and attend college in larger numbers. Volunteering improves a young person’s confidence, builds their self-esteem, and helps them to connect to the community around them. The museum benefits also, as bringing in young people strengthens its ties to the community and gives us a fresh perspective on what we are doing. We are excited to meet with our Youth Ambassadors soon to prepare for a great year together.
I hope you will join us as we celebrate our past and step into our future.
Dr. Dolores Pfeuffer-Scherer