A field trip to the local museum may not sound like fun to every kid but in this case, we’re pleased to report a good time was had by the Lobos from Mr. CW’s 5th grade class.

FRONT ROW: Mr. CW, Kannon, Alex, Losiram and Tristan   BACK ROW: Erika, Vivi, Amaya and Isela

The good times began when we learned Mr. CW had taught in the facility towards the end of its 100-year run as the elementary school in Patagonia. Several of the students also shared fond memories of the classrooms from their kindergarten days.

The hosts (our curators Tom & Linda Shore) are both former teachers so they devised a way to work a bit of learning into the trip. The kids teamed up to complete a crossword puzzle based on the clues they discovered in a scavenger hunt in the displays in the former classrooms.  Entertainment included a rendition of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” on the player piano. Yes, there was dancing.

It was only fitting that the field trip ended with a few minutes spent on the jungle gym….for old time’s sake. Kids only, just like it was back in the day.

In mid-March, the Museum board of trustees made the decision to close the facility to visitors effective immediately. Like the rest of the world, we hope this health crisis comes to a swift end but we understand it is imperative that we too do our part to #flattenthecurve.

However, closing to the public does not mean the team will be twiddling their thumbs when there is a long list of projects to tackle.  Complementing the exterior coat of paint our home was given a few months ago, we’re going to take time to spiff the interior up as well. New paint and new lighting in the hall will brighten things up a bit. Our curators will also be constructing a series of new displays based on recent acquisitions from the George Proctor and Bob Lenon collections. They’ve even acquired a few mysterious and/or scary things that were once used by Doc Mock. Yes, there will be a new look on the inside of the museum when the doors re-open.

In addition, we’re going to start work on an exterior project that has been a vision for the past few years. We received permission from the Patagonia school district (our landlord) to install an ADA ramp on the back of the building a year ago. Since then, we’ve been raising funds for that effort in the hopes that the project would be completed in the next few years.
Thanks to a grant we received the Patagonia Regional Community Fund in November 2019, plus a few generous member donations, we are about 60% of the way towards our goal which meant a new way of accessing the museum seemed realistic for the 2021 timeframe.

That was the plan until the real world intervened. When the board made the decision to close, they also decided the time was right to move ahead with this project so that the museum is ready for ALL our visitors when our doors reopen. There are no real-time photos to share yet but rest assured that the ramp will be practical, sturdy and will look as though the original builders of the schoolhouse in 1914 thought a century ahead.

Stay tuned and stay safe, everyone.

Anne and Andy Anderson, the new owners of the Creative Spirits Artists Gallery.

The Museum has sold books, t-shirts and postcards at the Gallery for years but, thanks to the generosity of the Andersons and their interpretation of our 501C3 status, we will no longer be required to pay rent on our booth space. For a non-profit, that savings is enormous. It will drop directly to our bottom line enabling an ongoing investment in our community plans and programs.

The Andersons’ energy and marketing acumen have already brought a new look to the Gallery and we’re sure they have more in mind for the future. If you haven’t stopped by to see what they’re up to, please do and tell them their friends at the Patagonia Museum sent 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.

Thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Museum’s home (formerly the Patagonia Elementary School) is looking pretty spiffy, if we do say so ourselves.

The Museum was awarded a grant by the South32 Hermosa Project Community Fund and used it to contract with Doctor Construction out of Tucson who was definitely up for the challenge.

A much need paint job and repair to the wear and tear of the last century leads us to believe the grand old lady is good for the next 105 years.

If you haven’t stopped by to see us in a while, please do. We think you will be pleasantly surprised by the updates, particularly to the exhibits inside.  The Museum is open Thursday – Saturday 2 to 4. Other times are available by appointment.

Thanks to Eric Peterman of SSVEC for featuring our very own German Quiroga in the September/October issue of their Currents magazine.