The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

The Bruce Museum has been spruced up for the summer thanks to two generous grants received by the Waitsburg Historical Society (WHS) this year. The funds allowed repairs to the Juliet balconies, widow's walk, the replacement of rotted support beams, and a complete exterior repainting of the building.

Secretary Rebecca Wilson said that historical Society members began working on grant applications in January of this year, and it was an intensive process. The organization identified two grants, one offered by the Wildhorse Foundation and the second from the Sherwood Trust.

The Wildhorse Foundation awarded the Historical Society $20,000 for repair needs. Wilson said they were thrilled the Foundation awarded the museum the maximum amount available to a single organization.

When Wilson sat down with other WHS members to identify what to include on the Sherwood Trust CORE grant application, they chose a $17,000 painting project for the exterior of the nearly 150-year-old mansion.

The society had a signed contract with a local painter when it submitted the grant application, said Bruce Museum Curator Margaret Terry.

"We just needed the money," Terry shared. "They (Sherwood Trust) asked what would happen if we weren't selected, and we all said, 'we live in a very giving community; it will get done."

Sherwood Trust board members must have liked what they saw in the application and the vision of the Historical Society because they granted the group $40,000, more than double what their original ask was.

Wilson believed the Sherwood Trust had only done this once before, in an award to the Dayton Historic Depot.

The extra money will open the gate for the caretakers of Waitsburg's history to make the city's stories and artifacts more accessible to all. Installation of an American Disability Act (ADA) accessible entrance is explored, said Terry, Wilson, and WHS President Tom Land. The organization would eventually like to provide a digital experience for the museum's second floor, which is not wheelchair or limited- mobility friendly.

"It's an old house," Wilson said. "We won't be able to put bathrooms or that kind of thing in there, but we are thinking of an entrance of some sort."

The funds allow the museum to open new educational opportunities for the residents and visitors of Waitsburg. Docent-led tours will return once the updates have been completed, and special guest presentations will give kids a hands-on historical look.

Earlier this year, students from the Waitsburg School District listened to an actor portray William McBean, a Canadian who came to the Walla Walla Region in 1846. He left the area and returned later with his Native American wife and children after the Indian Wars.

In the reenactment, "McBean" shared cultural items, including garments, drums, and knives, used by Native Americans across the land. He explained how trading systems worked in the mid-1800s.

"We are just taking care of the history," said Wilson. "We really want to give the history back to the people, to let them learn about it, so they know how we got here."

As the curator, Terry said that she would like to catalog each item in the house, right down to every magazine and book that was donated or left behind by previous tenants. Wilson and Terry both said that they would be happy to have some volunteer help with organizing and entering items into a database

One of the original houses in town, the Bruce House, has been everything from a family home, a library, and a girls' school for a short time. Plenty of items have accumulated over the years. Curation is just one of the many volunteer opportunities available at the historic home. If you would like to volunteer, you can reach out by email at whstour@gmail.com or call (509) 386-3739.

"Volunteers don't really need any special skills," Land said. "Just a willingness to help."

The repairs will be finished up just in time for the upcoming Pioneer Fall Festival, always the third weekend in September. Land said that visitors could expect to see a period fashion show and enjoy the Lauretta McCaw Pie-o'neer Pie Contest this year, as well as a few surprises to be revealed later. This will be the return of the Fall Festival, last held in 2019.