Carousel Museum a county treasure in Bickleton
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Some folks were recently lamenting the effect on downtown Goldendale when Highway 97 took a slight detour from the trodden path.
Imagine the effect that highway had on Bickleton when it replaced the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway (the Teddy). It used to be that people drove the Teddy if they had intentions of traveling between Portland and the Yakima Valley. Cleveland and Bickleton were handy stops on that long stretch between Goldendale and Mabton.
But you get the impression that the Bickleton faithful wouldn't have it any other way. The isolation has spared them from a great influx of new names. Not that they aren't friendly, but they have a bond that goes back to the late 1800's. What started as farming related family picnics, perhaps to celebrate the wheat harvest, developed into a great tradition called the Alder Creek Pioneer Association (ACPA), formed in 1911. A picture of one of the first ACPA picnics is full of names that still exist in the area or are familiar to those who call the Bickleton-Cleveland area home.
Membership in the ACPA comes with the purchase of a commemorative pin. The ACPA has three main projects, the annual rodeo, cemetery and museum. A five member board of trustees is elected to manage the business of the ACPA. The association elects a president every year at the conclusion of the rodeo and picnic. The current, and 99th president is Elwood "Tex" Brown.
The museum is managed by a board of five. The carousel, which has become the central theme of the picnic and museum, was purchased in 1929 for $500, including band organ and steam engine to turn the carousel. The restored horses and carriages are on exhibit in the museum. The carousel itself is located on the picnic and rodeo grounds in Cleveland Park.
The Museum is in its third year of operation. Some of the exhibits are kept year to year, with updates that keep them current. Others are new each year. The main display is in the round portion of the museum, which could house the entire carousel, if it became necessary.
The central portion of the museum is divided into eight pods, each with a different theme: wheat farming, Native Americans, World War I and World War II, historic kitchen, barbed wire displays, early schools, old and new wind power, and nostalgia. Among the new exhibits this year are steering wheel hubs, casket maker's tools, historic kitchen setting, an enormous collection of arrow heads and the nostalgia pod titled "Remember When."
The display of steering wheel hubs is owned by former resident, Darrell Seely. Seely also has donated for display, his collection of 300 World War II commemorative pillow cases, and much of the World War II memorabilia which adorn the World War I and World War II pod. A wall of photographs of area veterans is on display.
The casket maker's collection is an original tool box which was owned by James Donaho, who lived in Bickleton in the late 1800s to early 1900s. A portion of the dozens of hand tools, some with intricate designs carved in their handles, are on display.
Area residents donated items that comprise the early 20th century kitchen display, including an old-time icebox with Mabton brand butter.
The walls around the pods which form the hub of the museum feature a portion of an enormous collection of arrow heads in artistic framed arrangements. The collection was assembled by Art and Dora Buck, former residents of Montana. They, along with their daughter Elaine Buehling, collected the pieces during the 1930s-1940s. Fifty-two displays of several thousand arrow heads, awls and beads are on display, with most of the remaining portion of the collection at the Cowboy Museum in Great Falls, Mont.
"Remember When" pod contains saws, medical supplies, a sewing machine and other items that will stir the memories in anyone born prior to 1950.
The museum is a historic record of eastern Klickitat County and is first rate in variety and quality of the displays. One of the more interesting pods is the history of schools, including a map with pictures of 23 schools that existed in the eastern end of Klickitat County in the early 20th century.
The Carousel Museum opened on April 2, and it will remain open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The final weekend before winter shut-down is October 11. Group tours can be arranged by calling (509) 896-2007. And while the main road to the valley no longer runs through Bickleton, its' well worth the diversion and a stop at the Carousel Museum. It's the best place to get a perspective on the people and life in eastern Klickitat County.
Booth space filled for Home, Garden Show
The first ever Goldendale Regional Home & Garden Show is just around the corner. The Joan Frey building on the Klickitat County fairgrounds and the outside area will be a-buzz with exhibits, entertainment and educational programs April 18-19.
Organizers of the event, report that more than 50 exhibitor booths, indoors and outdoors, have been reserved. Demonstrations will be provided by WSU Master Gardeners and many of the exhibitors will have tips for do-it-yourself home repair projects.
John Denver impersonator, Ted Vigil will entertain on both days and food vendors will be on the grounds.
Allyn's Building Center is the title sponsor of the event. For more information about the event you can visit www.goldendalechamber.org and click on "Events." Catch a special preview of the vendors/exhibitors for the event as well as discover some of the classes being offered! You can also contact the Chamber of Commerce Office at 773-3400, for more information.
Vern Markee left a legacy of civic duty
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
The passing of Vern Markee reminded Goldendale residents of the impact one civic-minded individual can have on a community. Markee developed skills in landscaping and colored glass art, but he went one step further, he shared what he learned with others.
Evidence of Markee's devotion to civic projects lie all around Goldendale. The most conspicuous is Vern Markee Park, dedicated in April 1987 in his honor. The park greets visitors who stop for information at the Greater Goldendale Chamber of Commerce offices on East Broadway.
There is also Hornibrook Park, south of KVH Health Clinic, on Elm Drive, built by the city in 1973 when Markee was on the city council. The park was one of Markee's pet projects that he helped build.
The stained glass projects started as a hobby that Markee and his wife, Florence took up in 1982. Markee had been retired from the PUD for 10 years at the time. In an article in The Sentinel in 1992, Markee explained that it was winter and his hands were idle and he "wasn't about to take up sewing." As with his other projects, he wasn't satisfied keeping his creations for himself. Five of the glass art pieces adorn windows at the Columbus Ave. Baptist Church.
One lesson that Markee taught the community is that you don't have to be born and raised in a community to be a part of it. Markee moved to Goldendale in 1961. He began to apply what he learned about landscaping to the yards of friends and he constructed his first public project, a flowered strip in the parking strip of the Klickitat Valley Bank site, in 1966.
Markee went to work for the PUD in June 1971 as a warehouseman. In Dec. 1973, Markee was presented a State Public Service Award by the State PUD. He was cited for his two terms as a city councilman with responsibility for the city park and swimming pool, service on the Board of Trustees of the Methodist Church, first president of the Christian Men's Fellowship, member of the Lions Club, served on the Boy Scouts board of directors and was assistant Scoutmaster, was on the board of directors of the Goldendale Observatory, project executive of the Town Pride city beautification group, member of the Dig and Dream garden club which was responsible for planting flowers downtown, and he was head of development of Hornibrook Park. These were all accomplishments between his time of arrival in 1961 and the award in 1973.
Vern Markee died on Mar. 29 in The Dalles. He was 92. His legacy continues to grow in the flowers and landscapes he created around Goldendale. |
