The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON--Volunteers with Blue Mountain Heritage Society have been busy putting the finishing touches on two new museum displays that will open to the public in April.

Paula Moisio, President of BMHS, said volunteers spent the better part of the winter taking inventory of artifacts that are on loan or have been donated to the Palus Museum, and organizing them for display in the museum annex. The artifacts range in age from early homestead days through the 1960s, Moisio said.

"This is a really fun array of things," said Moisio pointing to a display of old toys and tools.

Barbed wire, saddle bags, brands, and other accoutrements of cowboy life are on display. Also on display are items for the home, including an ice chest from the 1880s, a high chair, a wood stove, an eclectic display of old typewriters, and old books that will give readers a glimpse into the history of long-ago Columbia County.

A new display for 2017 has also been created at the Smith Hollow Country Schoolhouse, in honor of local veterans.

Moisio credited Chris Ver Valen, from American Legion Frank Bauers Post No. 42, for the time he spent sorting, identifying, and labeling the many military artifacts now on display at the museum. The artifacts range in age from the Civil War Era through WWII.

Uniforms belonging to George Balding, Howard Whipple, and Lonnie Conner, and military artifacts belonging to Owen Agenbroad, Lloyd Rainwater, and Donald Knight, are just some of the items in the display.

The memorial banner, with stars representing the local people who served in the military in World War I, is on loan from the Dayton First Congregational Church, and is also featured in the display.

A compilation of information about local veterans in both world wars has been undertaken by local historian Liz Carson, and is a feature of the display, as well.

Michele Smith

Blue Mountain Heritage Society volunteers created this display in the Palus Museum annex.

Moisio said the mission of the BMHS is to preserve the history of Southeast Washington, with a focus on Columbia County.

"History is being thrown away," said Moisio. "It is good to find a way to preserve it. We try to be stewards of a piece of time that is eventually going to fade."

Moisio said there are around twenty BMHS volunteers, along with eight or nine members on the board, helping to preserve history in Columbia County, but that more docents are needed.

The Palus Museum, at 426 East Main Street, and the Smith Hollow Country Schoolhouse, at 113 North Front Street, are open to the public every Friday and Saturday, from 1 - 4 p.m., from April through November, or by appointment.

For more information about the museums, or to volunteer with the BMHS, contact BMHS President Paula Moisio at: (509) 540-9560, or online at bluemountainheritage@gmail.com