Come to the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival!

It’s time to saddle up and head to the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival, on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at the Dickinson County Heritage Center, 412 S. Campbell in Abilene, Kansas from 9 am to 4 pm. The admission is $5 per adult and $2 per child (ages 3-12), sponsored by the Dickinson County Historical Society.

There will be lots of fun and activities for the whole family. We will have lots of live entertainment on the main stage featuring Classic Heart playing great music of the 50s and 60s, music that will really make you want to dance. Aaron Fowler of Wichita will also be on the main stage presenting a program entitled Oh Give Me A Home: Music and the Kansas Prairies. Our third performer on the main stage will be Dave “Zerf” Zerfas. Zerf plays Kansas Ballads and Old Cowboy songs. There will be great music and entertainment all day long.

This year the Antique Farm Show will feature International tractors and farm equipment. The special feature tractor will be International Cub owned by Gail Rodda. Registration begins at 8:00 am. There will be tractor games at 11:00 am and the Parade of Power will begin at 1:00 pm. Also there will be an antique tractor pull beginning at 2:00 pm.

There will also be a pedal tractor pull for kids four to twelve years of age. Registration will begin at 8:00 am and the pull will begin at 9:00 am. This activity will be free of charge.

If you love old cars then you won’t want to miss the Antique and Classic Car Show. There will be over 50 antique and classic cars on exhibit throughout the day. Anyone who would like to bring a car for the show is welcome to do so. Registration will begin at 8:00 am Saturday morning.

Come and learn how old crafts were done. We will have demonstrations on blacksmithing, chair caning, bread baking, molasses boiling, pioneer cooking, lumber sawing, and much more.

Inside the Heritage Center make sure you visit the Mud Creek Quilters demonstrating the art of quilting. As a fund raiser, the Dickinson County Historical Society will be giving away a beautiful hand quilted quilt at 3:00 pm. For a donation of $1.00 you will receive a chance on the drawing, or for donating $5 you will receive 6 chances for the drawing.

There will also be a special traveling exhibit entitled Orphan Train Riders to Kansas from the National Orphan Train Museum in Concordia, Kansas inside the Heritage Center.

For $1.00 kids of all ages will enjoy riding on the 1901 C.W. Parker Carousel powered by its original steam engine. This carousel is a National Historic Landmark, a National Historic Carousel, and was voted one of the top 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs. It is truly a national treasure and everyone will have great fun taking a ride.

If you like trains, come and ride the rails as the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad powers up their 1919 Santa Fe 4-6-2 “Pacific” #3415 Steam Locomotive. Relive the days of steam powered trains. The train will run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on the hour.

During the day, visit Old Abilene Town and watch Wild Bill Hickok tame the streets of Abilene in 1871. Also you can take a ride on the Old Abilene Stage located in Old Abilene Town. On Sunday from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Bill Burrows will hold a “Cowboy Jam Session” at the Alamo Saloon.

There will be children’s activities as well as arts and crafts booths, folk craft demonstrations, and the Farmers Market. Kasey the Clown and Timbo will also be roaming the grounds during the day.

Don’t miss out on the fun and the excitement at the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival. For more information call 785-263-2681, check out our website, or visit us on Facebook. 

We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support of the Chisholm Trail Day Festival.

Wrangler

Bert & Wetta

Solomon State Bank - Solomon, Abilene

Abilene Termite and Pest Control

Zey's Market

M & M Tire & Auto, Inc.

Family Eye Care of Abilene

First Bank of Kansas

First National Bank of Hope

Abilene Reflector-Chronicle

TCT

Great Plains Manufacturing

Wyatt Land Title Services

McKee Swimming Pools

Reynolds Real Estate

Mr. K's Farmhouse

Mid-Kansas Cooperative Assn.

Kenneth A. Hansen, D.D.S.

Drover

West's Plaza Country Mart

Pinnacle Bank

Webb Home Center

Holm Automotive Center

Longhorn

Smart Insurance

Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc.

Brierton Engineering

Thanks again! We'll see you at the Chisholm Trail Day Festival on October 6, 2012!

Upcoming Exhibit at the Jeffcoat Museum to Focus on the Studio's History

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum in Abilene, Kansas is proud to announce a new exhibition highlighting the history of three generations of photographers in the Jeffcoat Studio family business.

Before the turn of the twentieth century, Lucy Fritz Jeffcoat trained herself in camera operation and retouching photographs.  She quickly found work for several photographers in the Abilene area.  Lucy was also the mother of four children, so she did most of her photographic work from her home.  Her son, Paul, became interested in the photographic process at a young age.  He began delivering his mother’s retouched photographs and was fascinated with the developing process.

Paul went into business as the Jeffcoat Photography Studio in 1921.  At the time, the studio was located in a small second story room in downtown Abilene.  The business soon outgrew this space, and Paul built a new building for the business in 1925.  This building still stands today, and is the current home of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.

Paul saw his business through the Great Depression, and was able to supplement his income by partitioning his building and renting half of his property to other area businesses.  Over the years, the north side of the building would be occupied by an optometrist, an insurance agency, and a shoe repairman.  The sound of pounding hammers repairing shoes could be a bit distracting during portrait sessions, but having these businesses next door helped the Jeffcoat Studio immensely. 

Paul passed the trade of photography down to his son, Bill.  Throughout his life, Bill was interested in documenting life and events in his hometown of Abilene.  Bill photographed several parades, visits from President Eisenhower, and of course, family portraits.  He enjoyed photography outside of his professional work, walking around Abilene and snapping pictures of anything that caught his eye.  His father, Paul, saw this differently.  He once told his son not to take photographs unless he could make an income from the image.  Bill would continue taking snapshots, choosing to develop his film at night to keep it a secret from his father.

Though the Jeffcoat Studio was primarily a portrait studio, the Jeffcoats were able to document the history of the Abilene area, creating images that will last several years to come.  The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum’s newest exhibit, The Family Behind the Lens: A Retrospective of the Jeffcoat Studio, begins on September 1 and runs through November 20.

You can learn more about the history of the Jeffcoat Studio and the history of Abilene by visiting the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum at 321 N. Broadway Street in Abilene.  For hours of operation or to schedule a private viewing, contact the museum at (785) 263-9882 or jeffcoatstudio@att.net.  Be sure to visit the museum’s website at jeffcoatstudio.com and their Facebook page at facebook.com/jeffcoatstudio.

Great Interaction at our Short Film Premiere

Our premiere's audience.

For the past seven months, the Dickinson County Historical Society has been working on a short film highlighting the life of C.L. Brown and his lasting legacy of community giving that still exist in Kansas independent telephone companies today. On Saturday, July 21, 2012, we premiered the fifteen-minute film, C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony, to a crowd at the Eisenhower Presidential Library auditorium. I was hoping for a good-sized crowd for the event. What we got far exceeded my expectations.

That evening, we totaled 165 guests for the film screening. That’s right, 165 people. This total was more than would fit in the auditorium’s seats, but staff at the Eisenhower Presidential Library graciously set up additional chairs so everyone in attendance could have a place to sit.

After the screening, we also held a panel discussion focusing on the history of C.L. Brown, community engagement, and how the short film was made. I was very pleased with the variety of questions our audience posed and the many stories that were shared during the discussion. Many of our audience and their families have strong memories of the Brown Memorial Park, so it was fascinating to hear those people reminisce about the past.

After the discussion, we hosted our annual Ice Cream Social at the Dickinson County Heritage Center. This was probably the largest crowd we have ever hosted for this event. Our museum was a packed house, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits throughout the evening.

I would like to thank everyone who helped make this short film and event a success, and would like to thank our society’s membership for coming out in full force Saturday night. If you were not in attendance, we will be announcing other ways to view the short film very soon.

For another take on this evening, be sure to read the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle’s writeup on the event. 

Principle funding for this program is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization promoting understanding of the history, traditions, and ideas that shape our lives and build community.

Promoting Student Learning in Museums, Part 2

In my last post, I took a look at free-choice learning and its role in museums.  In this post, I would like to focus on what museums can do to appeal to school districts and educators.

One area of importance to schools is state education standards.  We sometimes hear that schools are only teaching for the test or state standard.  While I do not think this is necessarily the case, it does show how state education standards are viewed at the utmost importance.  To appeal to schools, museums need to show that a visit will not only be educational or intellectually stimulating, but will also meet state educational standards.  Museum educators should tread cautiously here though, as they do not want to make museum tours so strict and rigid that schoolchildren lose interest in the subject matter.  A balance mus exist.  So often, individuals get into arguments over whether or not schools should teach to such specific standards.  After all, we are all very different people with different learning styles and interests.  But this fact does not negate the importance of learning information that will create a foundation to learn more specialized skills in the future.  This is what school is supposed to do for children: prepare them for the real world.

Museums also need to highlight their collections and give schoolchildren an experience they could never have in the classroom.  At the Dickinson County Heritage Center, we offer students the chance to visit a real pioneer cabin, a tipi, and a covered wagon.  These are all real tangible objects and places that allow students to experience the past in person.  We also feature hands-on objects in the museum which help students learn in a multi-sensory way.  Lastly, we typically end a school tour with a ride on the 1901 C.W. Parker Carousel.  The students are taught the history of this fantastic device, but are also treated with a ride.  These are all things that students could never experience in the classroom.

That said, museums should strive to meet on the same level of students.  Many schools have began using tablet computers with all ages of students.  There is no reason museums cannot create tours or programs for visitors to use on these devices.  For example, SCVNGR offers affordable tours that users can access on mobile devices.  This is an area I am currently researching, and hope to develop for our museum soon.  Museums can also meet students on their level in a more low-tech way.

One great way to create outreach to schools is to give in-school programs or presentations.  Since some schools may not have the budget to afford field trips, why can't museums come to them?  Our museum, as well as others, offer Traveling Trunk programs that allow teachers to borrow cases of hands-on artifacts, books, games, and other resources.  With these objects, the educator is able to give a lesson (or lessons) that will engage their students with a small piece of the museum.  Museum Educators could also benefit their institutions by giving programs in the classroom.  Like a museum visit, educators should strive to make these a unique experience, and allow students to view artifacts up close and personal in their classrooms.

Overall, museums can offer visitors unique experiences both inside and outside their institutions, but should never forget to adapt to others' needs, wants, and desires.

Promoting Student Learning in Museums, Part One

We are currently in the thick of school tour season at the Dickinson County Heritage Center, and so far, it has been a great experience meeting school kids and showing them some of our museum artifacts.  We have certainly seen the affects of the US economy this year.  In some cases, schools have decided to cut down on field trips due to transportation costs.  In other cases, schools have banded together, planned their field trips in conjunction, and traveled together on the same buses.  One teacher, whose students arrived at the museum in a charter bus, said it was cheaper for the students to travel in a rented bus, rather than one owned by the school.  She also said that a large portion of the travel costs were paid with money raised by the students.  No matter how you look at it, field trip budgets have been severely diminished across the board.

Now, I realize you may be thinking, "Well of course he is going to complain about this.  He works in a museum and wants visitors."  That is probably a valid criticism, but while I do want visitors at the Heritage Center, I more importantly want learning to occur.  In school, most students are educated via direct learning, meaning they are directed through a specific lesson or curriculum, with their teacher serving as a guide and educator.  This type of learning exists in museums as well.  As a museum educator, I get the opportunity to lead students through a museum tour.  I offer factoids, ask questions, and point out important things.  But I always do one other thing as well: I let the students explore.  The students are allowed free-reign of an area of the museum, a chance to explore, to learn something new.  Free choice learning gives visitors the chance to learn at their leisure.  We all have different experiences and interests that guide us through museums.  Just because I am interested in historic photographs does not mean the next guy will be.  That is the beauty of museums: there is something for every type of learner.  At least, there should be.  Does free choice learning occur in classrooms as well?  Undoubtedly.  But it occurs in museums to such a large degree, it becomes of paramount importance for museums to provide and promote these opportunities.

In my next post, I will focus on what museums need to do to entice school districts to support field trips for their students.  I will also provide some examples of what museums can offer the public inside and outside their physical buildings.