The Mono Basin Historical Society

presents the

Old Schoolhouse Museum

and the

Upside-Down House

On Mattley Avenue, adjacent to Hess Park, off Hwy 395 in Lee Vining, CA

(behind the CalTrans yard)

THE MUSEUM IS OPEN FROM MID-MAY THROUGH EARLY OCTOBER

HOURS: 10 to 4 PM; Sundays 12 to 4; closed Tuesdays

Donations and membership dues keep our doors open and help us maintain exhibits.

Suggested donation when visiting the museum: $2/adult (persons over 13).

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Located in Mono Lake's Old School House, this museum displays both the

commonplace and delightfully odd artifacts, photographs, books, maps and

equipment chronicling the cultural history of the Mono Basin. Outside exhibits

feature Nellie Bly's legendary Upside-Down House, along with farming and mining

equipment. Inside the museum see Native American artifacts, gold mining

implements and the wheel of the Venita, the Tour Boat that operated on Mono

Lake in the 1930s.

PRESIDENTS CORNER

by Steve (Cedar) Barager

They say that “history has a way of repeating itself”. I guess that may be true, at least in my case. More than 20 years ago, beginning in 1987, I served as the first president of the Mono Basin Historical Society. During those first 4 years the focus was on getting organized and moving the Old Schoolhouse to Lee Vining and setting it up as the museum that it is today.

So here I am again, serving as president in 2011. Our focus today is to make the MBHS a self-sustaining organization, by increasing membership and participation, and develop stable means of raising funds so that we can keep the museum open and improve displays of Mono Basin history, especially Native American, early ranching, settlement and mining, including the early history of Lee Vining and other Mono Basin communities. We would also like to conserve and share the rich family histories of the Mono Basin, in order to connect people who live here and visitors, with the feeling of what it was and is like to live in this beautiful, yet challenging environment.

To achieve this, we have sponsored The Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tours (has it been 6 or 7 already?) and guest speaker programs in Lee Vining. We hope to raise funds to provide an additional building to go with the Old Schoolhouse Museum, to upgrade our display capacity and provide office and merchandising space for the Curator. Sounds ambitious, and it is.

We are in the planning stages for the next Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tour, which will explore the rich history of the west shore of Mono Lake, including Hammond’s Station, Tioga Lodge, the McNab Toll Road and the Mono Inn. The dinner will be on Friday evening, September 23, followed by the Tour on Saturday, September 24, 2011, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Save the date! Tickets will be available in the spring, so let us know if you are interested and we will keep you in the loop.

Between November 2010 and January 2011, the MBHS had membership meetings in order to develop our operating structure. Officers were selected, and a new board of trustees was elected, and the by-laws were amended to allow trustees to serve 2 year instead of one year terms.

The current officers are: myself, Steve (Cedar) Barager, president; David Dore, vice-president; David Carle, secretary; Chris Lizza, treasurer; and Norman DeChambeau, historian. Norm also serves as curator at the museum. Trustees of the Board of Directors are: chair, Bartshe Miller; secretary, Vineca Hess; and Judy Goldberg, Linda LaPierre, Nicolaus Faust, Carolyn Crawford Davis and Laurie Gehrman.

Many thanks are due to those who have served recently as officers or trustees, including Don Banta, Jeff Hansen, Lily Mathieu, Terri Geissinger and Glenda Bayliss. The rotation of leadership by individuals with different skills, interests and connections is what makes and will keep the MBHS strong.

Also, I would like to thank Don Banta, Augie Hess and Floyd Griffin and Tom Paranick for sharing the history of the Lee Vining Fire Department in a program on December 6, 2010. The program was well-attended and followed a delicious potluck dinner. Thanks, also, to John Goldberg of Santa Cruz, for donating a print of the DeChambeau Ranch to the museum. Most especially, I would like to thank my fellow officers, Chris Lizza, Norm DeChambeau, David Carle and David Dore, for keeping it all together during the last 2 years of transition.

Finally, we have a “wish list” and would be honored to receive donations, in order to upgrade computer and software programs to better manage MBHS business. We also need funds to complete upkeep of displays inside and outside the museum, building maintenance, and restoration of artifacts and mining equipment on display in the park. Can you help us? And please renew your membership, or contribute generously so that we can continue to conserve Mono Basin history.