News: Thorp Museum Musings (2012)

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

Surnames: None

----Source: Thorp Courier, (Thorp, Clark Co., WI) 6/13/2012

Thorp Museum Musings (2012)

Heard around town:

“A Museum? There’s a museum in Thorp? Really? Where is it?”

“Thorp has a Museum? Honest? I didn’t know that! Where is it?”

“Old telephones? In a Museum? In Thorp? Where?”

“Is the Historical Society’s Museum still in the old rectory out by the Quonset? It isn’t? Well, then, where is it?”

“I’ve heard there’s a museum in Thorp, but I don’t know where it is. When could I go see it? What if friends and family are here during the week, do we have to wait until the weekend to go through the museum?”

“There’s a museum in Thorp with old telephones? Really? Where is it?”

“But isn’t the Historical Society’s museum still in the old rectory out by the Quonset?”

So when can I go see this new museum, and if friends and family are here during the week, do we have to wait until the weekend to go through the Museum?”

These are just a few of the questions we have been hearing around town over the past year. Please read carefully, friends and neighbors, and discover the answers to all of your questions. (Questions about the museum, of course!)

Yes, the Thorp Area Historical Society and Telephone Heritage Museum is open for your viewing pleasure! We are located at 305 W. Birch St. To find us, take Washington St. and turn west on W. Birch St. (just north of the railroad tracks on the corner by Firehouse Restaurant, the Legion Hall, and CenturyLink). The museum is in the former Blue Moon Cheese Factory on the south side of the street. The old Tydol gas station, with an antique gas pump, sits just to the east of our building. Watch for the sign!

Over the past year, the Thorp Area Historical Society has been busy adding a decorative timeline, interactive hat exhibit, doll display, and several “new” photos and artifacts. The Telephone Heritage Museum is located in the same building as the Historical Museum. There are hundreds of old telephones from different countries, old switchboards, and a history of the development of the telephone industry in our country. There is no other museum like this in the nation!

If you are interested in the area’s rich history or are looking to entertain some visitors, consider taking a walk - a few steps back in time – to experience the treasures of our community. We will be open during the summer every Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. If you cannot visit on a weekend, please call either Sue (715-669-5943 or 715-773-0102) or Ed (715-669-3739), and we would be delighted to show you around.