A group of volunteers from the Museum, led by Murphy Musick, will once again be replacing flags on the veteran’s graves in the Patagonia Cemetery in anticipation of Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th.

There are 93 veterans that are buried in the cemetery and we’re pleased to announce that for the first time, we are in a position to replace ALL the flags on their graves. The new flags we have purchased will stay up all year round as a symbol of our appreciation for their service to our country.

If you would like to help, Murphy will meet you at the cemetery flagpole at 8:00 AM on Sunday, the 24th. If you can’t make the event but would like to donate to the flag replacement fund, we thank you.

Call it what you will, the idea that items that have outlived their short term usefulness can be of value is a concept that matters to an organization like the Museum. Happily, our neighbors at the Empire Ranch Foundation feel exactly the same way which is why we are now the proud owners of 14 1940’s era school desks.

In terms of the back story on the transaction, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is partnered with the Empire Ranch Foundation (ERF)  for the purpose of preserving the Empire Ranch, one of our area’s treasures. School desks that were not needed at another BLM restoration project at the Fairbank schoolhouse have been in storage in an outbuilding at the Ranch since 2007.  Fortunately, Alison Bunting who is the historian for the ERF, as well as a member of the Museum, was aware of our plan for the Lochiel schoolhouse to become a community meeting place in the near future. She contacted our curators, Linda & Tom Shore, and the rest, as they say, is history.

We owe a big round of thanks to the BLM for their generosity, Alison for her thoughtfulness and the ERF volunteers for their helpful hands. The desks are off to a good new home and the ERF has regained some storage space…..which sounds like a win/win to us.

Good news! The Patagonia Museum will host our fifth fundraising and educational tour to the Rio Sonora Valley on February 18, 19 and 20. Our expert guides are Dr. Deni Seymour and Bill Steen. You can read more about their very impressive backgrounds here.  Musical entertainment will be provided by P.D. Ronstadt and The Company.

Our chartered motor coach will depart from Patagonia on Tuesday, February 18, at 8 am and will return to Patagonia on Thursday, February 20, in the late afternoon.

The price per person which includes transportation, lodging, meals and meal gratuities is $600 (double occupancy) per museum members and $650 for non-members. (As an FYI, membership into the Patagonia Museum is open to anyone who supports our work. The fee starts as low as $5 for students, $35 for individuals and $50 for households so if you are planning to go to Banamichi, it’s worth becoming a member….for that reason and a lot more.)

There is limited seating for this tour so please let us know if you plan to go  as soon as convenient. Proceeds from this fundraising event support our programs and projects.  For more info, see the Banamichi Bus Tour Flyer March 2020.

If you would like to join us, please print off the registration form and return it along with a check to PO Box 919, Patagonia, AZ 85624.

Banamichi Bus Tour Registration Form March 2020

Questions should be directed to German Quiroga at 520.343.5641 or via email: german@thepatagoniamuseum.org.

The official word: the Patagonia Museum enjoyed another educational and entertaining bus tour to Mexico. On November 9, 10 and 11, museum guests traveled to Casa Grandes, Chihuahua and Mata Ortiz.

Highlights of the tour included a picnic lunch at Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico, a guided tour of Paquime and El Museo de las Culturas de el Norte, a pottery making demonstration in Mata Ortiz and a visit to the plaza at Viejo Casas Grandes .

Don’t take it from us…here’s what one of the participants had to say:

“Just wanted to thank you again for a great tour with wonderful people! You did a super job of getting everything organized and making adjustments when needed! Having Bobby Ronstadt along was an added bonus. Becky was also an excellent guide…..we learned so much!

The Patagonia Museum invites you to join us for our second fund-raising bus tour to Mata Ortiz on November 9, 10 and 11, 2019. We depart from Patagonia on Saturday, November 9, at 8 am. By mid-afternoon we arrive in Paquime and tour the Museo de las Culturas del Norte. We lodge and dine at the Hotel Hacienda in Nuevo Casas Grandes for 2 nights. On Sunday, we proceed to Mata Ortiz and view a pottery making demonstration, visit with several pottery makers and enjoy lunch provided by our Mata Ortiz hosts.Rebecca Orozco, a history and anthropology instructor at Cochise College and the University of Arizona, will provide commentary throughout our tour. Peter Dalton Ronstadt and Company will provide the musical entertainment during the tour. On Monday, we return through  Puerto Palomas and dine and shop at the Pink Store. We return to Patagonia by 6 pm that day.

The fee for Museum members is $550 per person (with double occupancy) and includes your transportation, lodging, entertainment and meals. There is a $50 per person surcharge for nonmembers of the museum. Membership to the museum is available to anyone interested in supporting our work and begins at $5 for students, $35 for individuals and $50 for families.

Please click on the link below to download the Tour Registration form that needs to be returned along with your check.

The Borderlands Earth Care Youth and The Patagonia Museum partnered to plant 4 apple trees and various native flora on June 17 and 18 at the Lochiel Schoolhouse.

The project included an elder sharing session on the evening of June 17. Bud Bercich, Gooch Goodwin, Maureen De La Ossa, Frank De La Ossa, Ramon De La Ossa, Bob Brandt, David Ellis and German Quiroga were the elders attending this event that was supported in part by a grant from the Patagonia Regional Community Fund.

The Patagonia Museum and Borderlands Restoration Network are collaborating to install apple trees and native vines at the Lochiel Schoolhouse.

On Monday, June 17, and Tuesday, June 18, the Borderlands Earth Care Youth will dig water-harvesting basins and plant 4 apple trees in the rear yard and native vines near the cistern of the Lochiel Schoolhouse. This activity is funded by the Patagonia Regional Community Fund and will include an elder sharing activity on Monday evening at the schoolhouse.

Visitors are welcome to join us on either day. Please, bring water, lunch and gloves.

Please join Murphy Musick on Monday, May 27, at 8:00 AM by the Patagonia Town Cemetery Flagpole. Murphy will walk the grounds and replace the small flags by the veteran’s headstones that are in poor shape. Please help him honor our veterans with new flags.

Best wishes to all for a safe Memorial Day holiday.

Thanks once again to our co-sponsor Borderlands Restorative Network and all the many volunteers who helped us pull off a wonderful day. Hundreds of people enjoyed the April 20th event in the Patagonia Town Park which included:

Speakers: (Connie Williams on climate change; Kate Tirion on permaculture; Sean Schrag-Toso on water resources; Rodo Sofranac on the Arizona Trail; Stephen Strom on Bears Ears; Kiyomi Morino on tree rings plus Ashley Avila & Connie Williams on our legacy). We extend heartfelt thanks to the organizations that sponsored the speakers: Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, the Deep Dirt Farm, Arizona Borderlands Democrats and the Patagonia Public Library.

Events: The Story Time Walk facilitated by Laura Wenzel, our librarian; kite giveaway & flying; face painting courtesy of  Patagonia Creative Arts Association; yoga in the park led by Samantha Shore of Sol Fit AZ plus movie screenings of “Modified: A Food Lover’s Journey into GMO’s” and “The Beaver Believers”.

Booths: Friends of Sonoita Creek;  Patagonia Area Resource Alliance;  AZ Democrats;  Borderlands Restoration native plant sale;  Energy bike demo; Friends of the Library book sale; Patches O’Nassis – Blue Road sustainable living demo, Tucson Audubon, the 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors and the Lending Shed rummage sale.

Food: Rose Quiroga’s burros thanks to the Museum; Cassina Farley’s baked goods; Jackrabbit BBQ foodtruck; Ovens of Patagonia sweets and entrees from The Happy Cooker.

Music: was provided by Mariachis Penumbra, Gertie and the T.O. Boyz, the Zach Farley Band, Rebekah & Matt Rolland and the Hog Canyon Band.

Tours & off-site activities: such as area tree plantings, an art show and recycling lessons were provided by the Tucson Audubon’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds, Nature Conservancy Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve, the Deep Dirt Farm & Institute, The Patagonia Museum, the Patagonia Regional Times, Patagonia Creative Arts Association/Tin Shed Theater and Borderlands Restoration.

If you missed the event, folks like Kayla Lewis-Simpson took lots of great photos. Please check out our EARTHfest photo gallery where we’ve saved some of the 2019 pics because preserving memories is what museums do.

Mark your calendars. EARTHfest will be back on April 18th, 2020. Until then, take good care of our environment. As we all know, there is no Planet B.

And there is no doubt the SCFPA benefit concert on April 25th was a resounding success, as evidenced by the fact that it was standing room only in the Benderly-Kendall Opera House.  
The Museum owes a huge round of thanks to those of you from the community who came to the event to support us. We also send kudos to the members of the Santa Cruz Singers, Evan Korey, their accompanist and Christina Wilhelm, director extraordinaire. Thank you for the hours you spent preparing for the concert. The standing ovation was well deserved.

If you haven’t attended an event at the Opera House in Patagonia, make a note to do so. It is an incredible venue and we promise you will not be disappointed by any performance you hear there.

We’re in the early stages of planning our next tandem event in 2020 with a concert under the stars on the Museum grounds at the top of the list. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Until then, the Museum thanks the Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts for a truly magical event.