Knowledge gleaned from historical materials and cultural heritage can go a long way toward building a sense of place, and it can help guide the shape of future communities. The business of preserving cultural materials also has a way of taking up space. In fact, anyone who has taken a look at the sagging south wall of the Blaine County Museum in Hailey can see that local history is literally bursting at the seams.
However, an anonymous $40,000 pledge and a generous neighbor have triggered a capital campaign that, if all goes well, will allow the museum to be expanded into the building to the south that currently houses Emer Wood's State Farm Insurance office.
The plan to buy Wood's Main Street building has been in the mix for several years but has reached a critical phase in the face of the collapsing south wall. The museum has saved $60,000, which together with the anonymous pledge brings the museum one-third of the way to its goal for the purchase of Wood's building. Wood has fended off many potential buyers with his promise to sell his building to the museum.
"Emer has agreed to sell us the building and has kept the price at $305,000 for several years now," said Joan Davies, a museum board member active in the capital campaign. "He's being really, really patient. People offer him more and he tells them the museum can have it. We've got to hurry up and buy it."
The Friedman family granted the land for the museum at the corner of Galena and Main streets just as land was granted to the city for Friedman Memorial Airport. There has been a boost in interest in the museum in recent years, largely because of the activities of the two-year-old Blaine County Heritage Court. The museum-sponsored event is dedicated to honoring longtime county residents—70 years old or older—who have participated in, contributed to and been a part of the history and heritage of the area.
Museum President Teddie Daley said that this year the museum's regular fund drive has already brought in $3,220, which is more than the museum received in the previous three years.
"That's the annual letter that we send out asking for donations," Daley said. "We have a packet that I am going to send out in the next couple of days to the people we think have big money about the capital campaign."
The packet talks about the museum's plans to repair the existing museum and link it Wood's building. The museum board hopes to purchase Wood's building within the next year. Daley said there is no firm design yet for how the museum will be expanded, which offers room for creativity. She said she tentatively expects the expansion to follow the existing lines of the buildings and possibly include a courtyard where people can sit outside. The ultimate goal is to have space for new displays, start a library and eventually offer genealogical services.
"I'm always getting e-mails from people looking for relatives," she said. "I just got one from someone looking for the man who owned the Phillips 66 gas station in the 1970s in Ketchum."
Currently, the museum is not open in the winter, but Daley takes people on tours by appointment. This week she had a tour scheduled for a group of Cub Scouts.
"For the next 12 months the Blaine County Historical Museum will be actively seeking donations for the repair of the museum and the purchasing of the building next door," said Laura Hall, who brought the idea of the Heritage Court to the county. "Teddie says she believes in angels along with the board and is hoping for more donations like the one that kicked off the capital campaign."
This year, the ladies of the Heritage Court, who participate in all the local parades including Hailey's Fourth of July Parade and Wagon Days in Ketchum, took second place in Carey's Pioneer Days Parade on July 24. Such activities helped spark the interest of this year's anonymous donor, who observed the positive impact of the Heritage Court as a stimulus for cultural preservation in the valley.
"The museum board is hard at work preserving cultural and historical materials and records. The Heritage Court has played an important role in getting the information and the need for the museum to the public, including locals and newcomers to the valley," Hall said. "Two more donations like that and a couple more on the other side and we'd be all set."
Anyone looking to learn more about the museum, to get a capital campaign packet or schedule a tour of the museum can call Daley at 788-3497. For a tour Daley asks that people call in advance so she can turn the heat on in the museum.
"This is it. We're starting this crunch, this capital campaign. We only have a year from March to do it in," Daley said. "We're doing a really big push to have this done—get it all out in the open to let people know this is what we are doing."
With the help of a $40,000 anonymous pledge, the Blaine County Museum's governing board has embarked upon a capital campaign to raise money to buy the adjoining building that currently houses Emer Wood's State Farm Insurance business. The donation brings the museum to one-third of its $305,000 goal to buy Wood's building. The expansion will give the museum space to offer new services, as well as a much-needed facelift for the crumbling south wall. Photo by Willy Cook
