Museum features items from 1930s

Museum features items from 1930s

The biggest challenge for the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum may be in letting people know that it exists. Many new people have moved to the area recently, and longtime residents may not have been there in years.

"We need to bring the museum to them," said Dale Sherman, the museum's new director.

The museum has an extensive and growing collection of items related to the Valley's history, museum board President Kris Kirby said.

Some exhibits are permanent, such as the old schoolhouse, and some change each year. The theme for new items this year is, "A good time was had by all," which has a focus on the 1930s. A large case near the entrance contains items from a senior ball, including prom dresses and a photograph and news story from the 1936 marriage of Jane Vinnedge and Dr. M.A. Tennant. One display includes high-school sports, including a team photograph.

"It's been fun to watch (visitors) look for people they know," Kirby said.

Nearby, copies of pages from the friendship book of Wayne Terhune are posted, and the parlor has been changed to fit the 1930s by adding a radio and magazines from the era. Kirby said one highlight for visitors has been a large quilt containing names of the 1939 Snoqualmie Falls Parent-Teacher Association. Original theater notices from the Brook Theater, which once stood in Meadowbrook, fill one case.

Nearby, the farm shed has been cleaned up by Boy Scout Troop 425, led by scout Jason Campbell, said Kirby. The scouts converted a wall so it can hold a passive display.

- Michael McCluskey.

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