Grandparents’ Day…2024.  Oneida Pioneer Museum building…1914.  That’s a span of 110 years.  A lot has happened in that time.  It took energy and serious work to get where we are today.  The valley’s energy could be seen in the faces of the elementary students on Grandparents’ Day, and it contrasted sharply with the serious portraits of our forebearers hanging on the walls of the Pioneer Museum.  They didn’t smile for pictures in those days, but you could see they knew how to work.  Many of those portraits predate the building itself and come from the 1800s.  We are fortunate to have a reminder of our roots right downtown.  

Did you know fifty years qualifies an item as possibly being “museum worthy?”  The “museum worthy” board members along with a few energy-infused humans who have a love of this valley’s history are serious about continuing the legacy of our ancestors for the education and character building of our youth.  Several Activity Day groups and elementary classes have taken time to visit and learn.  The giant bear skin grabs their attention.  The medical tools leave most a little squeamish.  The bathtub from the early 1900s brings giggles.  All leave knowing a little more about those who did so much to build this community.  It’s important for young to meet old.

Currently, our museum has more “treasures” on the bottom floor than it can reasonably display.  You must move the spinning wheel to really see the pioneer quilts; saddles keep you from examining antique bottles closely and medical equipment that filled a hospital is crammed into a corner.  You get the picture.  It’s a problem.  We have space upstairs and have started to clean, frame and insulate rooms.  Construction is expensive! 

On April 3 at 4:30 we relics are going to have a “clean sweep” upstairs so we can start organizing and moving some items up.  If you can help, call any of the board members and come give us a hand.  Also, the Friends of the Museum campaign to raise funds will begin the first of April.  We not only need your help, we need your money!   Send your tax-deductible donation today to:  Idaho Pioneer Museum, PO Box 79, Malad, Id 83252.  And thank you for your generous help.  Donors’ names are displayed in the museum. 

We do have a Good Life.  Come and see some of the ways that Good Life began in this valley.  Visit your local Pioneer Museum which opens for the public on May 25 and bring a kid!

Board members:  Chair Jean Thomas, Sharon Harris, Joan Hawkins, Bill Lewis, Julie Willie, Janice Vaughan, Marvin Hess, Hailey Sweeten, Lorna Hess, Sarah Robbins, David Gilgen, Dotty Evanson.