Othello Museum opens Saturday
Courtesy photo - (From left) Jess Vanlandingham, Brandon Kudsk and Logan Hollenbeck were among the volunteers helping to get rid of the old carpet in the Othello Community Museum.
OTHELLO — The Othello Community Museum will open the 2018 season with an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the museum, at the intersection of Third Avenue and Larch Street.
The museum will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. every Saturday throughout the summer. It’s the museum’s 45th anniversary in 2018, and “we will have birthday cake, cookies and punch,” said museum president Eric Morgan. “It would be fun to see a lot of charter members attend.”
A coalition of Othello residents, businesses, service clubs and community groups raised money to buy the former Bethel Assembly of God building in 1973.
Before the purchase the building had been vacant for a number of years, LeAnn Morgan said. “One of the first things we did was remove layers and layers of dark green paint from the altar railings, window sills and other wood surfaces throughout the building,” said museum charter member and current board member Nancy Briggs. “It was a huge job. However, it was all worth it when we saw the beautiful wood once the green paint had been removed.”
Volunteers have been working over the winter, Eric Morgan said, painting walls and replacing the carpet in a meeting room adjacent to the chapel. Museum vice-president Fay Coats said the crew, led by Eric Morgan, removed all the exhibits, painted and helped remove the carpet.
They included volunteers from the Othello High School leadership class, under the direction of instructor Jenny McCourtie. The students “gave up several Saturdays of their free time to help Eric with this project. We very much appreciate their help.”
The open house will include talks from museum members on some of the main exhibits.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.