News: Neillsvile - Jail Museum (Oct. 2012 Mtg)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Roberts, Erpenbach, Osegard

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 10/31/2012

1897 Clark County Jail Museum (October Meeting - 2 October 2012)

The monthly membership and Board of Directors meeting of the 1897 Clark County Jail Museum was held at the Museum Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Reports of September activities were given by the president (Steve Roberts), as well as the secretary and treasurer reports. The building and maintenance report indicated since the repair of the museum’s roof, we have not had any further leaks.

The City of Neillsville - Tourism Committee/Room Tax grant that we submitted ($1,200) was approved by the Neillsville City Council this past week. These funds will allow the Museum to continue with telephone, Internet and website access. The museum website is regularly accessed by hundreds of people researching family history or looking for things to do or places to stay while they are in the Neillsville area.

Our annual request of funds from the Marguerite Listeman foundation was submitted in September. The Listeman Foundation’s support of the 1897 Clark County Jail Museum - its programs and activities - is vital to our continued existence.

Upcoming events include participation in the Neillsville Area Chamber of Commerce Autumn Fall Harvest Sunday, Oct. 14. The Museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 14. Additionally, the Museum will be one of the area homes featured in the 2012 Neillsville Christmas Tour Dec. 7 and 8. Volunteers were requested to prepare for and host these two events.

Natalie Erpenbach, curator and administrator, reported on the September tours that were given and new items and collections that were donated to the museum, as well as emails and correspondence received this past month. Those present were reminded that thank you notes had been sent to the Master Gardeners and Larry Osegard for their assistance with landscaping and door repair recently completed.

We have been busy rearranging the east parlor to accommodate a display case recently donated by Memorial Medical Center. Many items have been reorganized, and other small items that had previously been spread around the room are now grouped together.

New community volunteers, with some extra time to spare, are welcome to help out, as little or as much as you’d like to! Call any of the officers or the museum office (715-743-2150) if you’d like to help out or if you’d like a tour or to see the collection for research purposes.

The museum’s website (www.1897clarkcountyjailmuseum.com) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/1897CCJM) are available for visitors and researchers to use. As scanned photos and research materials are inventoried, they will be listed on the website for interested people or researchers to see what we have available at the museum.

Our next membership meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the Museum, 215 East Fifth St. Neillsville. The public and interested new members or volunteers are always welcome to attend our monthly meetings.