The Oneida County Pioneer Museum has been working on a project to move materials from the mezzanine area to the newly remodeled top floor in order to allow more space for the collection to be displayed and organized.  Last week, members of the Museum Board were joined by the Mayor’s Youth Council to make some major progress on the project.

The Mayor’s Youth Council, which was created by current Malad mayor Joan Hawkins, is finishing up its second year as an organization.  According to Hawkins, “This year has been a huge success under the direction of [Youth Council President] Mathilde Dickerson.” The Council functions primarily as a service organization which allows students to gain experience working with municipal leaders and see the functioning of government in a practical way.  Members serve terms of one year of service from May to the following April.  They attend at least one City Council meeting, and perform at least four hours of service throughout each semester.

Earlier this year, the Youth Council served at the Crisis Center Dinner, and many of the same members helped with this museum project.  The main service project for the Council this year was a Council Closet at Malad High School for use by Malad High School and Malad Middle School students in need. The Council held drives for food, clothing, and blankets. These items are in the closet for the use of any students who might need them. They can be picked up anonymously. The Youth Council has partnered with the Crisis Center, and the closet is run as an outreach of the Crisis Center. With the food items, there are snack items, hygiene items like toothbrushes and other personal hygiene items, and there are coats, gloves, jackets, and blankets. The Council will keep an inventory of the closet and hold drives each Fall to replenish it. 

The Council is also going to help with planting some planter boxes for the City, and perhaps the Community Garden.

Applications are being taken at this time for new members to replace the four seniors who will be graduating this year, Zion McCullough, Mathilde Dickerson, Kolton Cox, and Karlee Palmer. Myriam Teeples has already applied and is the first new member for the 2024/2025 year.

Hawkins remarks that “I am so impressed with these young people. They are so busy, but they always want to help. Besides school, many of them work, and all of them are active at Malad High School. They are excited about learning too. Last year Kolton Cox and Abbie Cox were the first members of the Malad City Mayor’s Youth Council to attend the AIC Annual Conference. This year we hope more students will be able to attend. It is a great experience that teaches the kids not only about city government, but also how to interact with others.” 

For good examples of involved citizens who help keep the community running, members of the museum board are good choices.  The Pioneer Museum is primarily focused on collecting, curating, and presenting the history of the Malad Valley.  Care and attention to detail are critical to museums, and board members continually work to improve and refine their collection.  The clearing of stored items from the mezzanine will help the museum achieve all of its aims, as it will help organize and make accessible the museum’s holdings.

Two storage rooms on the top floor have recently been remodeled by J.D. Thomas, and the shelves were put together by Board members Bill Lewis and Dave Gilgen.  Dave Gilgen also made and installed a shelf and rod for hanging clothes.  Board member Dotty Evanson led the project to sort and store the clothing and quilts.  Other Board members on hand to help out were Janice Vaughan, Sarah Robbins, Hailey Sweeten, Joan Hawkins and Julie Willie.