It’s that time of the year again! The grass starts to get green, trees start budding out, soon the leaves will start showing up, geese, robins and snow birds will be arriving from the South, and BEST OF ALL THE GUNNISON PIONEER MUSEUM WILL OPEN Sunday MAY 17, 2015.

The museum this year would like to add more buildings so that we might be able display more of Gunnison’s history. By the way we happen to have a very generous donation of approximately 6 acres to the museum this past winter. I am positive that our Curator, C J Miller will find some very interesting things to put on this land. C J manages to make a number changes each year which makes all the workers at the museum get out and check the buildings to see where everything is, almost like a scavenger hunt.

This is my first Museum story this year. I would like to take all of the readers of our stories on a tour of our museum.

First building that you will come to is the main entrance building, this is where you will meet our volunteer workers they will greet you and give you one of our self-guided tour books. In this building you will find the famous La Veta Hotel display with several items from the hotel. There are old time pianos, including a player piano. They are all located on the 1st floor. On the second floor for the avid hunter, gun enthusiasts and outdoorsman we have a marvelous gun collection and Arrowhead Collection. For the ladies and young girls we have 1880’s wedding dresses, dolls and a real nice old time doll house.

The Old Main Building is the next place that will be toured. In this building you will find vintage clothing, barber shop, beauty shop, saloon and very old office equipment including some of the very large safes used in Gunnison in the early 1900’s.

Oh, by the way, we would like to invite everybody to attend our annual Pulled Pork Roast dinner Sunday August 1st, from 11:00 AM to2:00 PM.

I am positive that most of you can remember your grade school days no matter what your age? Than the Paragon School is something that you must see. The school was built in 1905 for $1905.00. It was designed by John B. Outcalt a ship designer, the school has the design of a ship and was located three miles north of Gunnison.

From here we will go to the Coleman Building. This building is probably one of the most interesting in the museum. Hanging in the first room on the north wall, is the largest Elk Head and Horns recorded by Boone and Crocket in Colorado. In the next room, you will view some 1880’s to early 1900’s horse drawn wagons, including carriages, buggies and chuck-wagons. Maybe one of the best display that we have is the history of the telephone, in Colorado. Displaying some of the earliest telephones and telegraph equipment used by the Company. This equipment was donated by people and organizations from all over Colorado. The next exhibits and pictures provide information about the Gunnison area ranches. You will see the names of the ranchers, along with all the support people of the men and women who help make these ranches work and be successful. Last but not least are all of the different newspapers printed in Gunnison County from the 1880’s to 1960’s.

From the Coleman we will go to the Andy Mallett Antique Car Museum. In this building we will discover over 80 Antique cars from Model A’s and Model T’s to 1950”s Studebaker including cars of all types up thru newer models of cars.

One of the display buildings that we are really proud of is the Jordan Building. This is one of the best displays of our American Heritage and of service men and women that served and defended our country. We have displays of the different Uniforms and weapons that were used from the World War I days thru our current troops, which are defending the United States of America, worldwide.

Please remember our annual pulled pork roast dinner on Sunday August 1st. We would sure appreciate your coming out and having dinner with us and supporting the Gunnison Pioneer Museum.

I have just given you a short tour of the museum, there are thousands of exhibits to see, and we have more than 22 buildings with displays and 100’s of outdoor displays. Including the different types of haying equipment from as early as the late 1880’s up to recent years. If you are interested in mining, we have all kinds of historical mining equipment.

I promise, you that you won’t be disappointed in the museum and will want to come back another time to see all the displays that you didn’t get to see on your first visit.

I really enjoy writing these stories about the Gunnison Pioneer Museum. I know 57 years ago when I was in Mrs. Betty Wallace’s English class, she didn’t think that I would read a newspaper, let alone write stories for one, I guess she succeeded in teaching me something, thank you Betty Wallace you were a great teacher.

The Pioneer Museum would like to invite anyone to join our organization, please visit our museum to find out how you can do this. The people working at the front desk will be more than glad to explain how our museum operates.