The June 29 evening celebration of the opening of the museum's new fishing exhibit entitled “Big Fish- Making a Living from the River” was well attended. Over 100 people turned out to enjoy wine and appetizers and mingle with their community friends. The Town of Morristown Supervisor- Frank Putnam did the honors of cutting the ribbon at the public ceremony the next day. Guests attending these events included Hallie Bond – the consultant who researched and help design the exhibit, members of the Town of Morristown Town Board, A representative of the Sweetgrass Foundation, media representatives, and museum trustees and donors. The Exhibit is officially open and guests are encouraged to visit at no cost. Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 1
On July 6th over 50 people attended the ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the hiking trail at the Red Barn Preserve. The Town of Morristown’s Highway Superintendent- Dean Hoffman cut the ribbon. Boy Scout Troup 9 from Heuvelton sent 4 Boy Scouts and Scoutmaster Joe Bouchy to the event to escort guests around the three quarter mile long trail. We think we have the nicest hiking trail in St Lawrence County with views of Blue Herons on their nests, beaver dams, a 300 foot long board walk through a marshy area, and amazing encounters with all types of wild life. If you do not see at least one deer along this path- you are making too much noise! Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 1 and 2018 Gallery 2
There has been a flurry of activity out at Red Barn Preserve in the last few weeks. In late June the museum was awarded a grant in the amount of $12,250 by the St Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency to install hiking trail #2 and to make improvements to the Red Barn. We have invited an architect to help us create plans for converting the Red Barn into a public use facility. We have been busy soliciting bids for the work outlined in the Grant application including foundation repairs to the Red Barn, water pump replacement for the well, window and siding repairs, and signage for the property.
Our garage sale on June 16th was a popular fund raising event with the community. Museum friends donated many hundreds of items to the sale.
Trustee Rich Bzura organized a group of volunteers to create an inspiring museum float for the 4th of July parade in Morristown. Rich created several large decorative banners displaying pictures of our two themes this year- “Big Fish- Making a Living from the River” and “Hiking Trail for the Red Barn Preserve”. The centerpiece of this elaborate float was the elevated blue heron nest and blue heron decoy mounted high in the air above the float trailer. Boy Scout Troup 9 from Heuvelton provided five scouts in uniform to toss candy from the float. Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 2
The summer Concert Series kicked off July 7th with the popular group- The Shoes. Over 120 people attended the event- many of them dancing under the Morristown Fire Department pavilion. Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 3
The Museum Board of Trustees held their annual election of officers. Dean Shelato was elected president of the Board- succeeding Gary Alford. Gary is running for judge in Ogdensburg and decided to step down to dedicate more time to his campaign. Chris Coffin was elected Vice President, Carolyn Johnson Secretary and Patty Reagen Treasurer. Museum Volunteer George Cosler was elected to the Board.
Grants continue to be an important part of the museum business. Without money from Grants the museum would have a difficult time sponsoring activities such as the summer concert series or new exhibits such as our current- “Big Fish- Making a Living from the River”. With help from State Senator Patty Ritchie- we have applied for a $50,000 Grant to provide upgrades to our museum building including adding heating and air conditioning to the building.
Our volunteer organization continues to grow and we welcome anyone who would like to work a couple of hours for the museum. There are numerous things you can do for us to help the museum. If you like working outdoors- we have endless projects out at the farm. A new volunteer recently explained he was good at maintenance and before long he was wiring the new electrical service in the pump house. Others have asked if they could work on our hiking trail project- and the answer was yes! We are currently looking for someone who has knowledge of computer and web cameras. We need someone to help us catalog museum artifacts. If you have experience in fundraising- we need you! If you know how to apply for a grant- we need you (and if you do not know how to apply for a grant- we will teach you) The bottom line is- we have a lot of fun and we think we provide a great service to our community. If you want to help- please call me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437
Dean Shelato
July 16, 2018
On July 6th over 50 people attended the ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the hiking trail at the Red Barn Preserve. The Town of Morristown’s Highway Superintendent- Dean Hoffman cut the ribbon. Boy Scout Troup 9 from Heuvelton sent 4 Boy Scouts and Scoutmaster Joe Bouchy to the event to escort guests around the three quarter mile long trail. We think we have the nicest hiking trail in St Lawrence County with views of Blue Herons on their nests, beaver dams, a 300 foot long board walk through a marshy area, and amazing encounters with all types of wild life. If you do not see at least one deer along this path- you are making too much noise! Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 1 and 2018 Gallery 2
There has been a flurry of activity out at Red Barn Preserve in the last few weeks. In late June the museum was awarded a grant in the amount of $12,250 by the St Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency to install hiking trail #2 and to make improvements to the Red Barn. We have invited an architect to help us create plans for converting the Red Barn into a public use facility. We have been busy soliciting bids for the work outlined in the Grant application including foundation repairs to the Red Barn, water pump replacement for the well, window and siding repairs, and signage for the property.
Our garage sale on June 16th was a popular fund raising event with the community. Museum friends donated many hundreds of items to the sale.
Trustee Rich Bzura organized a group of volunteers to create an inspiring museum float for the 4th of July parade in Morristown. Rich created several large decorative banners displaying pictures of our two themes this year- “Big Fish- Making a Living from the River” and “Hiking Trail for the Red Barn Preserve”. The centerpiece of this elaborate float was the elevated blue heron nest and blue heron decoy mounted high in the air above the float trailer. Boy Scout Troup 9 from Heuvelton provided five scouts in uniform to toss candy from the float. Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 2
The summer Concert Series kicked off July 7th with the popular group- The Shoes. Over 120 people attended the event- many of them dancing under the Morristown Fire Department pavilion. Pictures can be viewed on this website home page Galleries Tab- under 2018 Gallery 3
The Museum Board of Trustees held their annual election of officers. Dean Shelato was elected president of the Board- succeeding Gary Alford. Gary is running for judge in Ogdensburg and decided to step down to dedicate more time to his campaign. Chris Coffin was elected Vice President, Carolyn Johnson Secretary and Patty Reagen Treasurer. Museum Volunteer George Cosler was elected to the Board.
Grants continue to be an important part of the museum business. Without money from Grants the museum would have a difficult time sponsoring activities such as the summer concert series or new exhibits such as our current- “Big Fish- Making a Living from the River”. With help from State Senator Patty Ritchie- we have applied for a $50,000 Grant to provide upgrades to our museum building including adding heating and air conditioning to the building.
Our volunteer organization continues to grow and we welcome anyone who would like to work a couple of hours for the museum. There are numerous things you can do for us to help the museum. If you like working outdoors- we have endless projects out at the farm. A new volunteer recently explained he was good at maintenance and before long he was wiring the new electrical service in the pump house. Others have asked if they could work on our hiking trail project- and the answer was yes! We are currently looking for someone who has knowledge of computer and web cameras. We need someone to help us catalog museum artifacts. If you have experience in fundraising- we need you! If you know how to apply for a grant- we need you (and if you do not know how to apply for a grant- we will teach you) The bottom line is- we have a lot of fun and we think we provide a great service to our community. If you want to help- please call me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437
Dean Shelato
July 16, 2018