January 2, 2020 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! The board, docents and other Northern Mariposa County History Center volunteers hope it is a great year for everyone! The museum is closed all January for its annual refurbishing with some terrific new displays in the works. The Gala Reopening event will take place on Saturday, February 1st, and the museum reopens to the public on Thursday, February 6th, 2020.
Gala Reopening Party
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD is the theme for this year’s Gala. Scheduled for Saturday, February 1st, from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the museum, on the corner of Hwys. 49 & 132, this important fundraising event will boast a silent auction as well as a raffle of over a dozen gift baskets filled with all sorts of wonderful items. The monies raised will kick-off this year’s efforts to raise the remaining funds needed to reach our $45,000 Phase 1 goal for the Barrett property donated several years ago, the restoration of the Frank and Ila Barrett room and opening it to the public.
New displays that will be unveiled at the event include a showcase tied to the theme, featuring a timeline of major events that impacted the area, as well as some important future goals for the new decade; a display about fire safety and the history of local fires; a display focusing on Clara Pope Shilling, a true individualist who broke a number of glass ceilings before that phrase was invented. This year the Pioneer Family exhibit, which is changed every year, will feature the Mentzer family, and a few of the other exhibits throughout the museum will be enhanced. 
Tickets are $20.00 each. To obtain some, you can stop by the Coulterville Visitor Center, which is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. or call and leave your name and address on the NMCHC phone at (209) 878-3015.
The museum reopens to the public on Thursday, February 6th, with the same schedule as in 2019: Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M., plus additional special holidays. Several very interesting lecture programs are in the works for the first Saturdays of March and April and the Heritage Rose Walk & Plant Sale will take place on the first Saturday in May. Our monthly fundraising breakfasts continue on the second Sunday of every month at the Coulterville old Schoolhouse. We hope to see you all at the Gala and at some of these other events.
Be sure and check out what’s happening at the museum on the Northern Mariposa County History Center Facebook page.
Source: NMCHC
