Hats Off To Coulterville!
The Museum will celebrate this year’s reopening with its popular annual Gala event, this year themed “HATS OFF TO COULTERVILLE”.  It will take place from 2 - 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 7.  In addition to the wine and traditional tea services, Indigeny Reserve will be pouring their hand-crafted hard cider and apple brandy, plus a variety of tasty finger foods and pastries will be on hand.  A raffle and auction are also planned, with a 32” “smart” TV just one of the items being auctioned that afternoon.  Tickets for this fund-raising event are $15.  Tickets are still available, just call 209-878-3750 or email info@coultervillemuseum.org.

One of the interesting new displays will focus on the Music of Coulterville.  Given this year’s theme, hats of all varieties with ties to Coulterville will be woven into the various displays. And this year the showcase focusing on a pioneer family will be filled with items on loan from the Erickson/Carlon family.  This family, which has run cattle since the 1890’s in the area continues to have a large ranching presence in the region; their spring and fall cattle drives, moving their herd from the Sierras to the Don Pedro area have been held annually although the Rim Fire trimmed down available grazing in the Sierras considerably.
Docents Ready To Welcome Visitors

Resumption of Regular Hours

The museum will resume its regular 5 day a week schedule, open each Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Wednesday, February 11.   The day prior to this, Tuesday, February 10, the Docents will do a final walk-through of the museum to make sure they know all the historic tidbits associated with the new displays and are fully armed with interesting information to share with visitors.  This will be followed by an Appreciation Luncheon.

Then on Tuesday, March 17, the NMCHC docents journey north for a special tour of the Calaveras County Museum in San Andreas, another popular museum located along the Highway 49 Gold Chain Route. 

Anyone interested in becoming a docent can contact the museum @209.878.3015 or Helen Bauman @209.878.3483.  The commitment is for only 3 hours a month and in addition to that great feeling you get from knowing you are contributing to the community, you will get to know a great group of interesting fellow volunteers at the various gatherings scheduled throughout the year.

History Center Breakfast

Enjoy a great breakfast at the Old Schoolhouse on Sunday, February 8.  Great “all you-can-eat” pancakes, eggs cooked to order, ham or sausage and fresh fruit is served from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.  Adults are $5.00, children $3.00 and a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) is just $15.00.  Come early before we run out!  The Old Schoolhouse is located at the corner of Broadway and Cemetery Sts.

CoyoteFest Planning Begins

While the year has just gotten underway and September seems far, far in the future, planning for this year’s CoyoteFest, which includes the 30^th anniversary of the Coyote Howl, gets started this month!  The first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the Old Schoolhouse.  All community organizations are encouraged to send at least one representative.  The success of the recent events is largely due to the expanded roles several local groups have taken on and with more involvement, the CoyoteFest can continue to grow even larger and more fun!

Future Events

These and many other important dates can be found online on the museum’s website: www.coultervillehistorycenter.org in the 2015 Calendar section.  You might want to pencil in your own calendars the first Saturday afternoon of the next 4 months (beginning in March) for the NMCHC Spring Lecture Series.  On Saturday, March 7 at 3 p.m., Ron Loya will talk about the Origins of the CA Gravitational Stamp Mill.  The location of this presentation as well as topics and speakers for the subsequent presentations are being finalized as this edition is put to bed.