Newsletterof the TRINIDAD MUSEUM SOCIETYSpring 2012 Editors: Patti Fleschner & Kathryn LaSala, 677-3816

Arlene Hartin to Speak at Annual Meeting April 29

Arlene Hartin, historian and former California highway department employee, will present a program on the building of the stretch of Redwood Highway from McKinleyville to Trinidad in 1921-22 at Trinidad Museum Society's Annual Meeting set for April 29 at 2 p.m., 400 Janis Court, Trinidad. Mrs. Hartin, an active member of Humboldt Pioneers, the Conference of California Historical Society, Vintage

Aviation Society, Humboldt County Historical Society, Trinidad Museum Society, other historical societies, and collector of some of Humboldt County's most fascinating pioneer stories, will show pictures and give anecdotes about the massive road construction job accomplished in a relatively short period of time with a minimum amount of government money which opened the north coast to tourism and commerce nearly a century ago.

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Thank you Docents and Volunteers!

Trinidad has a beautiful little museum with some outstanding collections and strong local support. But it wouldn’t be open without the many, many hours of docent time volunteered each week. Docents volunteer their time to open the doors and welcome visitors. More than that, they volunteer their interest to become expert on Trinidad history, native cultures, geology, biology, etc...it’s a lot!

January 11th, the Museum Board honored our docents: Maria Bartlett, Tom Odom, Sharon Malm Read, Pam Topolewski, Martha Sue Davis, Don and Barbara Ratzlaff, Jim Webb, Judy Smith, Pat and Dennis Koutouzos, Patti Fleschner, Allie Lindgren, Jill Mefford, and student interns: Katie LaSala, Stephanie Mitten, and Petra Wilkenson. Garden volunteers Ingrid Bailey and Claire Perricelli were also honored.

Joan Berman, HSU Special Collections Librarian and TMS Board Member, gives Trinidad Museum docents a tour of HSU Crannell exhibit and HSU library research resources. Photo by: Jill Mefford.

First the group assembled at the HSU Library to view the Crannell exhibit, designed and installed by our HSU

interns: Stephanie Mitten and Petra Wilkenson. Joan Berman, Humboldt Room Librarian, introduced the handsome exhibit, which includes objects and photos from several university collections. Joan then gave the docents a hands-on introduction to the HSU Photo Archives, all available on line.

TMS Photograph Curator Tom Sharp trains docents for the on-going “Crannell: A Company Town 1906-1969” Exhibit. Photo by: Jill Mefford.

We returned then to the Trinidad Museum for a wonderful, personal tour of the photographic exhibit “Crannell: The Rise and Fall of a Company Town, 1906-1969” by curator, Tom Sharp. His accounts brought us all into the retelling of this elusive piece of our local history. This exhibit remains on view in the Photography Room.

Finally we repaired to the welcoming atmosphere of Moonstone Crossing, (our beloved old museum!) where owners Don Bremm and Sharon Hanks welcomed us with a scrumptious table of hors d’oeuvres and lovely glasses of wine.

So, thank you docents and volunteers! We hope you know how much we value your generous involvement.

Recipies from Bygone Days Carla Powell lives on Underwood Street, named in honor of Martha Underwood, who moved into the home which is now Trinidad Museum in 1900. Carla loaned the museum her 1960 cook book called "Trinidad Treasure of Personal Recipes" compiled by the Martha Guild, Trinidad Community Presbyterian Church. The book contains recipes by officers and members of the church when Mrs. Viggo Andersen* was president; Mrs. Glenn Carter, vice president; Mrs. Edward Hutchison, secretary and treasurer; Mrs. Ford Hess, world service chairman; Mrs. Harold Daniels, program chairman; Mrs. Wesley Smith; Devotions chairman and Mrs. Electa Tarlton, fellowship chairman. Other members of the guild were Mrs. Robert Cavers, Mrs. John Craft, Mrs. Ransome Murphy, Mrs. Ernest Susan (Martha Underwood's niece), Mrs. Chester Dryden, Mrs. Verne Thornton, Mrs. Kiah Tomlinson, Mrs. Earl Voyles, Jr., Mrs. Alton Wright, and Mrs. Edward Howell.

Here are some recipes from this historical treasure of a cook book:

Martha Underwood's Molasses Ginger Cookies from "old, old recipe" offered by Gwyneth Susan (whose children Lee Susan and  Molly Anderson) donated the one hundred year old house to Trinidad Museum Society)

1 c. brown sugar1 c. molasses3/4 c. shortening1 Tbsp. ginger1 Tbsp. soda1 Tbsp. vinegar1 egg1 tsp. salt4 c. flour

Mix brown sugar, salt and ginger.  Add well beaten egg. Mix 1/2 of the soda with the vinegar; add to first mixture. Heat shortening and molasses together and add remaining soda while mixture is quite warm, stir until this mixture

foams up.  Add to first mixture.  Gradually add sifted flour.  Chill dough before rolling out.  Roll dough to 1/4" thickness, cut in preferred shapes.  Bake about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pumpkin Puffs by Mrs. Glenn (Janis) Saunders

1 1/2 c. sifted flour2 tsp. baking powder3/4 tsp. salt1/2 c. sugar1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/4 c. shortening1 egg, beaten1/2 c. pumpkin1/2 c. milk1/2 c. raisins1/2 c. nuts2 Tbsp. sugar

Sift dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening.  Combine eggs, pumpkin and milk; add to flour mixture.  Fold in raisins and nuts.  Sprinkle tops with sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Stardust Pound Cake by Mrs. Mose Saunders (Janis's mother-in-law)

2/3 c. shortening1 1/3 c. sugar3 eggs2 1/3 c. sifted cake flour1 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt3/4 c. milk1 tsp. grated orange rind1 tsp. grated lemon rind1 tsp. lemon juice

Grease, flour 2 quart fancy tube pan or 9 x 5 x 3" loaf pan.  Set oven at moderate (350 degrees).  Beat shortening, sugar, eggs together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on mixer at high speed.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Add alternately with milk, rinds and juice to creamed mixture at low speed.  Scrape bowl often to blend ingredients. Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 55-60 minutes for tube pan, or 20 minutes for loaf or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan.  Butter, margarine or vegetable shortening may be used.

Huckleberry Buckle by Mrs. Ernest (Gwyneth) Susan

Mix together:  3/4 c. sugar1/4 c. shortening 1 eggStir in 1/2 cup milk.

Sift together and stir in:2 c. sifted flour

1 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt

Fold in carefully 2 cups huckleberries.  Spread in greased, floured 9" square pan.  Sprinkle top with crumb mixture: Mix together 1/2 c. sugar, 1/3 c. sifted flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 c. soft butter. Bake 45-50 minutes.  375 degrees.  Best when served warm fresh from oven.

*Historical note:  Mr. and Mrs. Viggo Anderson (Viggo was the first park ranger at Patrick's Point State Park) were married by Justice of the Peace Mose Saunders (owner of the first Saunders Market, circa 1928,  on the old Redwood Highway) at Wedding Rock in the park, the first documented wedding at the site.

Exciting Recent Acquisitions

Trinidad Museum Society is grateful to recent donors who have enhanced museum collections.

The sons of Ruth Greenberg, one of TMS's very early benefactors, have given books on natural history and her basket collection in loving memory of their mother.  The collection includes Yurok and Karuk baskets and caps which will soon be on view.

Ron and Melanie Johnson have given a splendid large Karuk storage basket, circa 1899-1900.

Julie Fulkerson donated a digital photo frame which has a slide show of bird and marine life images by Ron LeValley.

Mike and Vicky Dobrec gave a child's dip net, given to Mike when he was a child by Dick Beach.

Retired postmaster Jack Faulkner donated a vintage postal scale used in Crannell and then Westhaven along with a large late nineteenth century metal Trinidad post office sign.

Beth Saunders Tulley gave her treasured wooden and iron school desk "just like the ones we had at Trinidad School" in the 1920s and 1930s.

John and Clara Farleigh gave Clara's 1964 watercolor of Luffenholtz and the harbor during the flood along with wonderful vintage cooking and farm implements.

Darlene Miller donated a very large 1911 wall map showing all of Humboldt County's lumber companies drawn in color.

Jim Webb gave his collection of polished agates from Big Lagoon.

Many of these recent acquisitions are on exhibit now with others being prepared for display.

The Art of Lee Taylor Walashek

"Hometown Lady Artist" Lee Taylor Walashek, known as "Lena Mae" in the Lindgren family, has her Trinidad paintings on view in the entry room of Trinidad Museum this spring.

Lee was fostered in the home of Minnie and Dennis Shafer and "blessed with 14 years growing up in the most beautiful place in the world with the best ever town for her village, Trinidad."

A teacher at Fortuna Union High School for 27 years, Lee credits her "classmates' and their parents' kindness and generosity, the good people in Arcata, Arcata High School and Humboldt State, the City of Eureka, the County of Humboldt, the State of California and this Country, all of whom came forth with the help needed to continue her education, earn degrees and credentials, to qualify her to teach."  Lee writes

that "teaching the art of flirting to single senior citizens was fun but won't count except for extra credit."

In the middle of the last century, Lee served as Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy.

The prolific artist, who works with oils, acrylics and watercolors,  is grateful to her husband, Frank Walashek, and her family and friends for encouraging her artistic career in her eighth decade.

Her award-winning landscapes are familiar at the County Fair and at other local venues and in San Diego.

Lee Taylor Walashek's studio, SOHOH, is located in Eureka and is open by appointment.  Call 442-4994 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.  But view her exquisite Trinidad landscapes at Trinidad Museum first.  Her greeting cards are available for sale there as well.

Lee Walashek’s Painting

Historian Jerry Rohde to Speak in Trinidad

Jerry Rohde will give a lecture and photo presentation on "Life in Humboldt County:  Big Lagoon to Crannell" on Friday, August 3 at 7 p.m., at Trinidad Town Hall.

The program is part of a Bill Pierson sponsored five month, ten program series on local history.  The Trinidad presentation will include historical information about Big Lagoon, Patricks Point area, Trinidad Westhaven, Moonstone and Crannell.

Trinidad Museum Society Presents "Made for the Trade" Exhibit for HSU’s OLLI Program

The Made for the Trade Exhibition and presentation explores local Native American Baskets and the changes that occurred through making them for trade and sale beyond the Indian community.

This involves the "Indian curio trade," redefining baskets as art, and ways of collecting and interpretingbaskets through commerce, anthropology, photography,and the white home with an Indian corner or Indian room.

Major weavers Elizabeth Hickox, Nettie Ruben, Amy Smoker, Ella Johnson, etc., and collector/interpreters including Brizard & Co., Grace Nicholson, Emma Freeman, A.W. Ericson, Alfred Kroeber and Lila O'Neale will be emphasized.  We will also explore the new basket forms of covering bottles, basket cups & saucers, pedestal baskets, fancy baskets, stick baskets for clothes, picnics, and handle baskets to mention a few new forms.  In addition many new basket patterns appeared fromweavers' imagination & from designs prevalent in the commercial world.

2 hours  - Sunday, June 10,  2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Instructor:  Ron Johnson, art history instructorLocation:  Trinidad Museum, 400 Janis Court off Patrick's Point Drive, Trinidad, CA 95570

Call HSU at 826-3731 or go to www.humboldt.edu/extended for registration information.

Trinidad Museum Society Presents "Trinidad and the California Gold Rush" for HSU’s OLLI Program

Trinidad Harbor in the mid-nineteenth century was thought to be the mouth of the Trinity River by fortune seekers. After the confusion was settled, Trinidad grew almost overnight to become a principal supply and communication spot for travelers and miners as they set out for Gold Bluffs to the north and Trinity River mining

to the east. Writings by Josiah Gregg, J. Christoph Brodbeck, Isaac Wistar and newspaper accounts will be part of the discussion on what pioneers' expectations were and what they discovered in Trinidad, "a small and shabby assemblage of rents and canvas shanties, then, like many other western towns, living mostly on its brilliant expectations." (Wistar)

2 hours – Wednesday, August 8, 10 a.m. to noon.  

Instructor:  Patricia Fleschner, MA History. President, Trinidad Museum SocietyLocation: Trinidad Museum, 400 Janis Court, Trinidad, CA 95570

Call HSU at 826-3731 or go to www.humboldt.edu/extended for registration information

California Coastal National Monument Kiosk in Place

California Coastal National Monument, the 20,000 off shore rocks along California's coast, was established in 1999. Trinidad is one of the twelve gateways along the coast designated to give interpretive information about the splendid "sea stacks," which hostsea birds, marine life, and vegetation in abundance.   The Trinidad Gateway is rated "15" on a scale of one to fifteen for its beauty, accessibility for viewing sites andbiological diversity.

Trinidad Museum Society is one of the partners, along with the Bureau of Land Management, HSU Marine Laboratory, State Parks, City of Trinidad, Tsurai Ancestral Society, Trinidad Rancheria, Yurok Tribe, Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, Trinidad Coastal Land Trust and Department of Fish and Game, to provide for public enjoyment and to help protect this unique part of the California coastline.

A colorful kiosk showing the English and Yurok names for many of the offshore rocks, and information about viewing them, is now in place near the Historic Garden in front of Trinidad Museum.  Color brochures with trail maps are available in the museum, at City Hall, in the Chamber kiosk and at Salty's at no charge.   Interpretive panels also are in place near the Seascape Restaurant at the Bay.

Trinidad Museum Board of Directors

Patricia Fleschner, president (baycity@sonic.net)*Scott Baker, vice presidentJoan Berman, treasurerJill Mefford, secretaryVirginia WatersRoberta "Allie" Lindgren

*Ron JohnsonTom Sharp*Matthew Marshall

*Nominated for three-year terms

Election at Annual Meeing April 29, 2012, 2 p.m.A short business meeting also will take place prior to thepresentation by guest speaker Arlene Hartin.

Trinidad Museum Calendar

April 29, 2 p.m. – Annual Meeting with special guest speaker Arlene Hartin, historian and former California highway department employee.

May 13 - Friends of the Trinidad Library Garden Tour, which will include Trinidad Museum's Native Plant Garden and Historic Garden.

In the Museum Shop

Crystallizations:Thoughts and Poems by Ned SimmonsHumboldt Rocks by Meryl KingBits and Pieces of My Life by Mary WilburGrave Matters: Excavating California’s Buried Past by Tony Platt Place Names of Humboldt County, California, A Compendium 1542-2009 2nd edition of this reference book by Dennis W. and Gloria H. Turner Native American Jewelry and Adornment of Northwest California by Ron Johnson and Coleen Kelley MarksTrinidad by Dione ArmandFour Ages of Tsurai, Yurok Geography and Yurok Narratives reprinted by Trinidad Museum SocietyTrinidad Geology by Ken AaltoA Dog's Life: Boomer Jack of the Northwestern Pacific by Lincoln KilianMovies Made in Humboldt County from the Clarke Historical MuseumRedwood Gems by Dorothy King Young

Greeting cards by Martha Kemp, Susan Morton, Jim Welsh, and Kathleen Manaktala and NEW CHRISTMAS CARDS with Trinidad images by Lee Taylor Walashek"Trinidad" watercolor print by Shelly Mortensen Original botanical drawings by London Horticultural Society Gold Medal winner Martha Kemp

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Checks welcome. Sorry, no credit card purchases. Call 677-3883 to check for availability.

Editor Note:  If you would like to hear about docent training and the fun of being a volunteer please call Patti at 707-677-3816.

Trinidad Museum SocietyP. O. Box 1126400 Janis Court

Trinidad, California

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TRINIDAD MUSEUM SOCIETY and YOUR MEMBERSHIP

    Trinidad Museum opened September 26, 2009.    Three and a half years later, hundreds of visitors, including members, school classes, senior groups, garden clubs, historical societies, other organizations and family groups have toured the museum and its gardens.   Special events such as exhibit openings, book signings, garden tours and lectures have been well received.     Volunteer docents, interns, and the board of directors keep operations running efficiently.  Great care is taken to assure that every donation and membership dollar is well managed.  Trinidad Museum Society is grateful for remarkable community and member support.     We hope that you will renew your annual membership, or join Trinidad Museum Society, today.   Please select from the following membership categories:_____________________________$25 museum member_____________________________$50 museum sponsor_____________________________$100 museum patron_____________________________$250 or more, museum benefactor_____________________________special gift to the building maintenance fund._____________________________I would prefer to make a pledge for future exhibits or other museum operations. Specify amount, please._____________________________I am interested in volunteering as a museum docent or garden helper

My name___________________________________________________________________Mailing address_____________________________________________________________Email address_______________________________________________________________Telephone__________________________________________________________________

Trinidad Museum Society is a 501C3 non-profit corporation, tax identification number 68-0042645P. O. Box 1126Trinidad, CA 95570Inquiries:  707 677-3816web address:  trinidadmuseum.org

Trinidad Museum SocietyP. O. Box 1126Trinidad, California 95570