Posts Tagged ‘Valparaiso’
Monday, October 19th, 2009
Family Day at the Museum October 25 10a – 2p
Bring your entire family to tour a less-spooky version of the Porter County Museum during Family Sundays. A Halloween-themed story time will take place at 11a and 1p. Free admission.
Forgotten Images October 21 – October 30 6p – 8p
Explore the jail in an all new way—by black light. Long forgotten historical images have been displayed within the former barred fortress. Your mission: find 20 specific things within the pictures. The catch: you only have 15 minutes to accomplish this scavenging feat.
$10 donation per adult
$5 donation per student, senior, or child
No more than 13 participants allowed per time slot. Guests admitted every twenty minutes.
Three different image scavenger hunts available.
Haunted Museum Tours October 21 – October 24 8p, 9p, & 10p
Ever visit the Porter County Museum and think that it is haunted? Well, you thought correctly. Come learn about the haunted history of the building and its contents during one of our Haunted Museum Tours. You never know when you will have a ghostly encounter of your own in the former jail and Sheriff’s residence.
$15 donation per adult
$10 donation per student, senior, or child
Tours last approximately 45 minutes.
BoooBash Halloween Party for Kids October 24 11a – 1p
This entertaining and educational Halloween party for kids begins directly after the Saturday performance of the Witches Brew Ha! Ha! at the Memorial Opera House. Participants will be able to hear a spooky story, play themed games, decorate gourds, and have a frighteningly good meal inside the former jail and sheriff’s residence. With only room for 30 people, these tickets are going fast. $20/ donation per child.
Demons of the Jail October 27 – October 30 8p – 11p
The restless spirits of the former Porter County jail come to life for revenge during the final week leading to Halloween.
Come attempt to make it through both levels of the jail and the basement—areas normally off-limits to the public. Are you brave enough to escape the demons of the jail?
$10 donation per adult
$5 donation per student, senior, or child
With luck, it takes approximately 15-20 minutes to escape.
Ghoulish & Glam Costume Cocktail Party October 31 6p – 12a
Want to spend Halloween in two of the most haunted buildings in Northwest Indiana? Support the Porter County Museum and Memorial Opera House by attending this extravagant Halloween night fundraiser.
Learn of the haunted stories of the Museum and Opera House while enjoying endless hors d’ouvres, an open bar, and live entertainment all evening. Remember to wear your best costume to this eerie event.
$75 donation per adult
$55 donation per Historical Society members or Opera House season ticket holders.
Reserve your ticket at (219) 548-9137 or by the web at www.mohlive.com.
Tags: (219) 465-3595, (219) 548-9137, booobash, call, celebration, cocktails, demons, donation, event, exhibit, forgotten images, friday, fun, fundraiser, ghost tours, ghosts, ghoulish, glam, halloween, haunted, haunted house, Historical Society, Indiana, jail, kid party, Memorial Opera House, museum, october, october 31, odd, paranormal, party, porter county, saturday, scary, schedule, special events, special hours, spirits, spooks, strange, sunday, Valparaiso, weird
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
The String A Long Quilt Guild is coming back to the Porter County Museum at 1p on Saturday, May 30 to give an interactive presentation on the history of our quilts and other textiles in the Historical Society’s Collection. Visitors are welcome to bring their own quilts to the Museum for assessment by the guild.
Marjorie Herren (of Valparaiso) is loaning two quilts that were made by her grandmother. One of the quilts dates all the way back to the 1841 inauguration of President William Henry Harrison. Besides being in immaculate condition, the quilt is said to have a piece of the dress that was warn by Harrison’s wife to the inauguration.
Marjorie’s family has quite a connection to the Historical Society and Museum. Her father, Joe Robbins (b. 1881- d. 1983), was a former President of the Historical Society. Marjorie’s sister, Ruth Robbins (b. 1908), re-incorporated the Historical Society back on October 6, 1948—saving it from the brink of dissolution. Even more amazing is the fact that Marjorie’s great grandfather was S.P. Robbins—the commissioner who approved the construction of the jail building where the Museum is currently situated.
For more information on this event, please feel free to call the Museum at (219) 465-3595 or email at info@portercountymuseum.org.
Tags: (219) 465-3595, 1841, 1881, 1948, 1983, collection, commissioner, condition, construction, dress, family, grandmother, Historical Society, Historical Society of Porter County, history, inauguration, Indiana, info@portercountymuseum.org, information, jail building, Joe Robbins, loan, Marjorie Herren, may 30, museum, October 6, piece, Portage, Porter County Museum, presentation, President, questions, Quilt Guild, re-incorporated, Robbins, S.P. Robbins, Samuel Putnam Robbins, saturday, second jail in porter county, String A Long, String Along Quilt Guild, textiles, two quilts, Valparaiso, wife, William Henry Harrison
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Friday, March 20th, 2009
Believe it or not, it is Friday already! It seems like my days get shorter and shorter as we continue to improve the Porter County Museum. There is still a lifetime of work to accomplish, but it gets better with every passing moment.
On Tuesday a group of 27 fourth grade students and chaperons visited the Museum from Mrs. Drazier’s class at Hebron Elementary School. The group was visiting several locations throughout the day, including the Memorial Opera House and the Brauer Museum of Art.
I received the estimate from Baumgartner’s Fine Art Restoration in regards to our Henry Cross (fish-man) painting of the Goliath Grouper and Murray Beach. It will cost a total of $9750.00 to fully restore the painting to its original splendor. It should make for a great Historical Society program in the coming months.
Lately, I have been researching a 1909 baseball team from the area known as the Valparaiso Standards. The team played a variety of other minor league teams from the surrounding area—even several from Chicago. The next version of the newsletter is going to have a story about the team that was written by The Stroller (a.k.a. William O. Wallace).
The notion of a good minor league team in the area sparked my interest to learn more. With a little bit of searching I was able to find a box of newspapers—once held by the recorder’s office—from July of 1909. I found several articles and advertisements about the Valpo Standards and their opponents. I currently have my VU intern (Megan Lamboley) searching microfilm in the library to find all we can about the team. It should make for a great spring program when we put everything together.
In the process of looking through the extremely fragile papers, I found one article from August 1909 that details an electrical storm that passed through the area. I thought you might enjoy this century-old story. It even contains a small bit about the building I am sitting in typing this—the old jail and Sheriff’s residence.
Porter County Vidette
August 4, 1909
Electrical Storm Visits Community
(From Friday’s Daily.)
Valparaiso and the surrounding vicinity was visited by a severe electrical storm yesterday afternoon about two o’clock, which left considerable damage in its path. A rainstorm came up from the west and as it continued the wind increased in velocity until it became quite threatening. The storm was accompanied by lightning, of the sharpest kind, and deafening thunder peals rent the air.
Hits Court House Flagstaff.
When the storm was at its height a bolt of lightning struck the flagstaff on the court house. The pole, which is eighteen inches in diameter, was completely shattered from top to bottom. Several large splinters were hurled to the ground, one of them being driven into the earth with such force that it required considerable effort to remove it. If any fire was caused by the lightning’s bolt it was immediately put out by the downpour of rain. The occupants of the court house, especially those in the clerk’s and recorder’s office, could plainly feel the shock, although they escaped all injury.
Stunned by Shock.
Mrs. Mae Wood, wife of Sheriff Wood, was knocked senseless when the lightning struck near. She was standing in an upstairs room at the jail residence, when the crash came. She was thrown clear across the hall into an adjoining room, where she was found unconscious by other inmates of the house. A near-by physician was hurriedly summoned and she was soon brought back to consciousness. Mrs. Wood is able to be about today and fortunately will suffer no ill results from her harrowing experience.
Barn and Contents Burn.
The large barn on the Gus Mitchner farm, 2 ½ miles north of town, was struck by lightning, and burned to the ground, together with the contents. J.D. Logan, who is the tenant on the farm, was standing in the barn when it was struck by the bolt. He was knocked down, but soon regained his feet and had barely time to get the two horses out of the barn when the building was enveloped in flames. Mr. Logan just finished putting up his crop of hay, which is estimated at 40 tons. A buggy and spring wagon was also consumed in the flames. The barn was 40X60 feet and has just recently been reshingled. The heavy loss is partially covered by insurance.
Wires Out of Commission.
Manager Ball, of the local telephone company, states that the storm was the most severe his company has yet suffered. Nearly all the lines in the west part of town were temporarily put out of commission, and the country service was badly crippled. The Western Union Telegraphy company reports that their lines were effected, but repairs have been made and messages are now gotten through without difficulty.
Minor Losses.
The residence of Mrs. G. A. Dodge on West Main street was struck, but fortunately only the chimney suffered. The damage is slight, fully covered by insurance.
The chimney at the home of Vernon Beach on North Napoleon street was tumbled down by the lightning. Here, too, the damage was slight.
The tower on the German Lutheran church at Wanatah was struck, but little damage resulted.
Well, that is all for now. Be sure to check out my blog again on Monday for another update. Have a great weekend!
Best,
KMP
Executive Director
Porter County Museum & Historical Society
Tags: 1909, august, baseball, baumgartner, baumgartner fine, Brauer Museum of Art, buggy, century, Chicago, chimney, court, court house, director, drazier, electrical storm, elementary school, fine art, fire, flagstaff, friday, G.A. Dodge, german lutheran church, goliath grouper, Gus mitchner, Hebron, Historical Society, horses, house, insurance, intern, J.D. Logan, lightning bolt, Mae Wood, manager ball, megan lamboley, Memorial Opera House, minor league, murray beach, North Napoleon street, old jail, painting, physician, pole, Porter County Museum, recorders office, Sheriff Wood, sheriff's residence, standards, Stroller, stunned, team, telephone company, Valparaiso, valparaiso university, valpo, Vernon Beach, vu, wanatah, western union telegraphy, William O. Wallace
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Friday, February 6th, 2009
Today was nothing short of an adventure—enjoyable, of course. Sitting here piecing together the day after-the-fact almost seems like a work out. It might be a bit better if I did not have to keep ignoring the ghost that appears and disappears in the bedroom across from my office. Even the paranormal want to take part in what is going on around here!
Hit the rewind button. Everything began with responding to phone calls and e-mails this morning at 8a. Two major things were set to happen during the day. The first was that Gregg Hertzlieb was coming from the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University to help stabilize the Cross painting in our collection. My second major event involved volunteers from the Historical Society and moving two hundred records from the basement of the county garage. Was I in for a huge surprise…
Gregg Hertzlieb, Phillip Brockington and Howard Reeve came from the Brauer to help give the Cross painting some much-needed TLC. Lucie Whitlow and Blaine Hilton—members of the Advisory Board and Historical Society—came to help as well. Blaine even video documented the morning, which will be available on the Museum site at www.portercountymuseum.org. If you have a moment, watch a few of the video clips. They are very interesting to say the least.
Phil and Howard completed some minor restoration work on the frame of our Silas Hazen Lincoln portrait. I honestly cannot say for certain if it is an original portrait. Phil and Howard think it was a Kurz and Allison lithograph that was colorized by Silas Hazen in the 1860’s. The strongest evidence in favor of their argument is two other similarly sized lithographs of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson from the Kurz and Allison studio. Either way, it makes a compelling story. I actually got Phil and Howard to go on video with me to talk about the work they had done aesthetically restoring the frame on the Lincoln. Check out the video on the website as well.
Back to the “Fish-man” painting… Gregg and I carefully took the Cross painting off the wall and set it on protective paper that Lucie placed on the floor. If any of you are familiar with the story (and the condition of the work), you know that there are two sizeable slashes across the canvass. This happened when the painting was originally displayed in the Conservation Club clubhouse on Route 130. A vandal (or vandals) broke in and practiced their swordsmanship on poor old Murray Beach and his Goliath Grouper. As a protective measure, the club voted to send the painting to the Museum. Fast forward several decades…back to the morning of Friday, February 6 at 10:30a…. Gregg applied very strong (and very temporary) linen tape to the back of the tears in the painting. Once the tape set, Gregg and I picked the painting up and set it back on the wall. For more information on the tape and the temporary stabilization process, watch Gregg’s video clip—it is very informative!
Full restoration is in order for the Valpo man and his large endangered fish. Gregg is going to get an estimate for professional restoration through his contact in Chicago. Phil and Howard estimated that total restoration would probably cost an upwards of several thousand dollars. Look for me to have a begging cup on a sidewalk near you soon. All joking aside, this project will be a major focus in the coming year.
In between the first major project and the second, Blaine and I had time to film a quick video regarding the mural that will be unveiled during the Friday, February 13 VIP party before the opening performance of Ragtime at the Memorial Opera House. It almost gave Blaine his first blooper reel for the Museum website. While explaining the mural and its history I almost took a tumble over one of the last remaining antique tools in the room… Would not be the first time I was on YouTube…
Sadly, I can sum up the final major project of the day with one sentence. I am not very good with math. What was supposed to be moving two hundred records from the county garage was just that—moving two hundred tin boxes of records. Too bad I underestimated the total number which is actually closer to 4,000 tin record boxes (among many other boxes of records from the early Twentieth Century).
Mike Spudic, Jason Trunick, Lucie Whitlow, Blaine & Trena Hilton, Stacey Hensley, and Michael Shaw made quick work of the tiny fraction of the records we moved this afternoon. Twenty banker boxes full of records to be exact. Once we secure more boxes the project will resume. Al Hoagland, the supervisor of the highway department, is just happy to see the records begin to move.
Well, I am getting tired and would bet money (not large amounts, though—remember, I am not good with math) you are growing tired of reading. Tomorrow morning I plan on writing more about the project of moving the records from the county garage to the Museum along with what our tentative plan is for the records once they are all (yes, 4,000 tins and then some) here.
Until next time, be sure to check the website to see if any videos are available. Blaine Hilton is doing some amazing things to bring our Museum into the technology age. It is exciting to have a support network of so many intelligent, enthusiastic people that think highly of the Porter County Museum and Historical Society.
Best,
KMP
Executive Director
Porter County Museum
Tags: 000, 1860, 200, 4, Abraham Lincoln portrait, advisory board, Al Hoagland, blaine hilton, brauer, Brauer Museum of Art, Chicago, Conservation Club, county garage, Executive Director, fish-man, George Washington, goliath grouper, gregg hertzlieb, henry cross, Historical Society, howard, howard reeve, jason trunick, kmp, Kurz, Kurz and Allison, Lincoln, linen tape, lucie whitlow, Memorial Opera House, Michael Shaw, mike spudic, mural, murray beach, museum, old, painting, phil, phillip brockington, porter county, Porter County Museum, portercountymuseum.org, Ragtime, records, restoration, Route 130, Silas Hazen, Stacey Hensley, technology, Thomas Jefferson, tin, tin boxes, Trena Hilton, Valparaiso, valparaiso university, video, video clips, VIP party, YouTube
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Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Is it weird to think that I am only 24 years-old, yet the most senior member on the Historical Society’s Board of Directors? Not at all. Besides, I am only a non-voting member of the Board now that I am the Executive Director of the Museum.
Look for some of our new Board members to blog about their experiences with the Historical Society and Porter County Museum soon. The following individuals are members of the Historical Society’s Board of Directors:
Mike Spudic, Chairman
Jason Trunick, Vice Chairman
Wanda Spudic, Secretary
Blaine Hilton, Treasurer
Cary Knauff
Mark McColley
Mike McDowell
Elizabeth Rusnak
Daniel Timm
Lucie Whitlow
As always, I am very excited to work with the Historical Society Board. Everyone brings something different to the mix. Check back frequently as we continue to build a solid future for the Historical Society and Museum through short and long-term planning.
Have an idea you would like to share with us? See an exhibit that can use an update? Do not hesitate to let us know. We are here for the benefit of the community, so every bit of input–no matter how big or small–helps.
One other new face at the Museum is our new intern, Megan Lamboley. Megan, a resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is currently a junior at Valparaiso University. Megan will eventually be blogging about her experiences as an intern at the Museum.
If you have an opportunity to stop in at the Museum and say “hello” to Megan, please do. She is normally here on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 1p to 4p (unless it snows heavily). I am very glad to have her on the Museum team.
There is soo much to blog about at the Museum, yet so little time to put my fingers to the keys. Look for more from me soon.
Best,
KMP
Executive Director
Porter County Museum
P.S.-It is a great time to join the Historical Society and support the Museum by becoming a member. Think about it. Tell a friend. In the words of a great “Broncho John” poster–”Don’t Miss This–Your Neighbor Won’t” Join today!
Tags: blaine hilton, blog, Board, Board of Directors, broncho john, cary knauff, college, daniel timm, director, elizabeth rusnak, executive, experience, fort Wayne, friend, Historical Society, Indiana, intern, jason trunick, John Sullivan, junior, kmp, lucie whitlow, mark mccolley, megan lamboley, membership, mike mcdowell, mike spudic, museum, new face, Porter County Museum, school, support, Valparaiso, valparaiso university, valpo, vu, wanda spudic
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Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
My name is Kevin Pazour and I am the Executive Director of the Porter County Museum & Historical Society in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana. I will be periodically writing to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a small Museum. Think that sounds boring? Believe me, it is not.
Most people think of local Museums as small, stagnant places where self-interested people meet to discuss the importance of their genealogical tree. Not this Museum. I am working diligently with the Board of Directors of the Historical Society and Porter County Museum Advisory Board to change this stereotype.
Experiential learning is the future of the Porter County Museum. Gone are the days of boring tours and lectures. What is fascinating to you may not be interesting to me in the least bit. History does not change—but the way we present it certainly does. New interactive technologies will bring our local stories to life. Visitors will not only learn fascinating stories about our local history, but in some cases be able to touch and experience history like never before.
I look forward to keeping all of you updated on the progress we have made and will continue to make in the coming year. If you have free time on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, please come to the Museum between 1p and 4p to volunteer. I can certainly use your help!
Tags: Historical Society, Indiana, Porter County Museum, Valparaiso
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