1920 And Our Museum Begins?

 

Jim Kershner's "100 Years Ago Today" in this morning's Spokesman, quoted from an article ono 26 Oct 1920:   "The Eastern Washington Historical Society announced its intention to seek federal money to expand its fledgling museum into a large, permanent institution.

"I believe museums are even more important than libraries," said Harl J. Cook of the society. "We should teach our children natural history. At the present time, a child goes out of the schoolroom and doesn't recognize it." 

He claimed that Spokane was in the center of the finest prehistoric field in the world and that 'within the next 25 years it will be the most popular hunting ground for ancient fossils on the entire continent."

Well, I don't know about that, but I do remember going to the museum in about 1957 and being mesmerized by the gem/mineral/rock collection. It was in an upstairs room in the mansion in those days. Anybody else remember those wonderful specimens? Wonder what happened to them????

Pompeii: Did You Have An Ancestor There?

Well, whether or not you did have ancestors living in Pompeii, you'll want to see the exhibit on this Italian city destroyed by ash from Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Somebody's ancestors perished in that horrific event as evidenced by the body casts left behind. 

This exhibit will only be at the MAC through May 3rd, so better get to going.  Click to www.northwestmuseum.org for all you need to know to plan your visit. 

P.S. If any of you have visited the actual site of Pompeii, I'd love to hear from you and share your reminiscences with others.