Hello!

 

Barring any more blizzards, spring is just around the corner, which means it is time to start getting the museum buildings and exhibits ready for the season!

 

For the last few months, Sally, Kelli, and I have been working on our two new exhibits, The Roots of Our Village: The Pioneer Families of Ephraim and The Garments of Our Foundation.  Both of these exhibits present a very personal look at the people in Ephraim's history. 

 

Probably the most difficult task in creating these exhibits was selecting the families and the women who would be displayed.  We worked very hard to ensure that as many families as possible will be represented between the two exhibits. 

 

Although The Garments of Our Foundation exhibit initially will be on display only in 2011, The Roots of Our Village is a permanent exhibit.  We selected five early Ephraim families for this exhibit, simply because we had the most information about them already in our archives.  Also, we tried to avoid redundancy between the families represented in The Garments of Our Foundation exhibit; therefore, if a member of a family is represented in The Garments of Our Foundation, that family probably will not be displayed, at this time, in The Roots of Our Village exhibit.  As more genealogical research is done, we will rotate the family histories displayed in this permanent exhibit.  Our goal is to exhibit, over time, all the pioneer families of Ephraim.

 

We are working to expand the Foundation's archives while also preserving the history of Ephraim's early families.  As all the research being conducted for The Roots of Our Village will be stored in our archives for others to use, we want to make sure we not only have as much information as possible, we have the correct information.

 

We hope this exhibit will encourage community members to take a look at their own genealogy; the early families of Ephraim are full of fascinating characters with heartwarming, and heart-wrenching, stories.  If you have any information, stories, or pictures about the early pioneer families of Ephraim, please let me know.  I can be reached by email (tthompson@ephraim.org) or by phone (920-854-9688).

 

Currently, we are finalizing our research on both exhibits and will soon start the process of constructing the displays. 

 

In The Garments of Our Foundation, we will exhibit short histories of 10 women from Ephraim's past.  Each display will include a rendering of the woman in period dress created by Karin Kopischke, a narrative of the woman's life written by Paul Burton, and a small collection of artifacts associated with each woman.  The artifacts may include garments, letters and documents, or photos.

 

For The Roots of Our Village: the Pioneer Families of Ephraim exhibit, we will display the genealogy and history of five of Ephraim's early families.  Each family will be represented by three generations in a family tree and a collection of artifacts, including pictures, stories, and documents linked to individuals within the family.  There also will be a display of artifacts connected to life in early Ephraim, and a related display about European immigration to Wisconsin.

 

Be sure to take time this season to stop by and take a look at these exhibits.  Who marched with the Suffragettes in Chicago, who had more than 45 grandchildren, who served in the US Navy during the Civil War, and who met her husband while hitchhiking?  You'll find out in our 2011 exhibits!

 

Best wishes,

Thea

 

To see a list of families Thea would like more information on:

EphraimFamiliesINSERT.doc