Museum month kicks off locally

By Elizabeth Gabriel

(Updated: Friday, May 02, 2008, 2:45 PM)

May is Museum Month, duly declared by the state and by the Madera County Board of Supervisors.

That tickles the Consortium of Southern Yosemite Museums because it gives them even more of a chance than usual to blow their own horns and show off what they've got.

The group is a volunteer organization of nine museums in Madera and Mariposa counties: The California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa, the Coarsegold Historic Museum, the Children's Museum of the Sierra in Oakhurst, Fresno Flats Historic Park in Oakhurst, the Gold Gulch Museum in Coarsegold, Little Church on the Hill in Oakhurst, Sierra Mono Museum in North Fork, the Thornberry Museum and Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp, and the Wild Wonderful King Vintage Museum in Oakhurst.

The big event of the month will be a Victorian tea at Time for Tea in Oakhurst. It begins at 11 a.m. May 12 and includes a silent auction, raffle and fashion exhibit.

Tickets cost $17.95 and reservations are a must. Call (559) 658-6999 or (559) 641-5911 or e-mail punkyboo@sti.net for more information.

While the tea will be a one-time thing, each of the museums in the consortium has something to offer all the time. The consortium's Web site is www.southyosemitemuseums.org.

Here are some quick glances and what you can see without ever leaving the mountains.

California State Mining and Mineral Museum: At Mariposa County Fairgrounds on Highway 49, 1.8 miles south of the town of Mariposa; (209) 742-7625; www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=588

The museum shows off the state's mineral wealth, history and geologic diversity -- and it's the official mineral collection of the state of California. The collection, which began in 1880, contains more than 13,000 objects including mining artifacts, rare specimens including the Fricot "nugget," which will knock your socks off. It's a 13.8-pound hunk of crystallized gold discovered in the American River in 1864.

Coarsegold Historic Museum: 31899 Highway 41 (just south of Lucky Lane); (559) 642-4448; http://coarsegoldhistoricmuseum.org/

The complex is located on property that once was part of an old horse-drawn-freight wagon road, and the original historical adobe freight way-station is part of it. The museum proper is in a restored barn and contains artifacts and history of the region. Various sections of the museum represent the Coarsegold Market and Supply, a blacksmith and tool shop, a gold-panner hard at work, a tack shop, the kitchen of the Picayune School, an area of Indian artifacts, and an extensive display of pictures and articles about Eastern Madera County. The barn has been dedicated to Ethel Kennedy, who originally owned the property.

The museum is gearing up for its annual Art, Dinner and Music in the Meadow for June 7.

Children's Museum of the Sierra: 49269 Golden Oak Drive, Suite 104, Oakhurst; (559) 658-5656; www.childrensmuseumofthesierra.org

The 4,000-square-foot museum calls itself a discovery museum for young people (ages 2-12) and their families, providing hands-on exhibits and programs designed to encourage visitors to learn by doing, imagining, creating and making. There are places to play, to be in plays, do art, see art, ponder the wildlife of the Mountain Area, read and be read to. Docents encourage the kids to be pirates, artists, pizza chefs, firemen -- anything they want.

"Children are encouraged to use their imaginations at the museum -- It's good to be the king," Donna Marks said.

The museum is looking for volunteers.

It will be throwing a 10th anniversary celebration June 16.

Fresno Flats Historic Park : At the intersection of School Road (427) and Indian Springs Road (418) east of Oakhurst; (559) 683-6570; www.fresnoflatsmuseum.org

Historic homes, furnished in period style, a model of a lumber mill, old printing equipment, a blacksmith shop and artifacts from Oakhurst's past make the museum a treasured spot. It also has a gazebo and plenty of tables for lunch in a quiet setting near Oak Creek.

With the end of the school year approaching, the museum is often filled with classrooms of children getting to experience such things as candlemaking, using a washboard and wringer to do laundry, sit in old-fashioned desks and weaving rope. The adult docents are aided by costumed junior docents from Oak Creek Intermediate School.

Gold Gulch Museum: 35814 Highway 41, Coarsegold; (559) 658-2002

The museum, at the former Broken Bit restaurant site, has opportunities for going into a "mine shaft," gold panning, using a sluice box to find gold, making candles and visiting an Indian camp, along with tours, talks and demonstrations. The new attraction is still completing its facilities.

Little Church on the Hill: In Oakhill Cemetery, 40188 Highway 41, Oakhurst; http://southyosemitemuseums.org/lcoh

The little church was built by volunteers and consecrated as Christ Church in June 17, 1894 and moved to Oakhill Cemetery in 1957.

In the 1990s, the Grub Gulch Chapter 41-49 of E Clampus Vitus donated the labor to fix the roof, using materials donated by the community.

And in 1994, the Clampers initiated a drive to complete restoration so that "the Little Church would stand another 100 years" and could be once again made available to public.

The church will celebrate the completion of its restoration May 26, the Monday of Memorial Day weekend. There will be an open house and ribbon cutting at 9 a.m.

Sierra Mono Museum: 33103 Road 228, North Fork; (559) 877-2115; www.sierramonomuseum.org

Permanent collections include a wide variety of Native American baskets and cultural artifacts. Also on display is the Tettleton Wildlife Diorama Collection consisting of more than 100 taxidermy animals of North America and Asia. Other collections include historical photographs, cultural items, beadwork and weapons.

There is a gift shop stocked with locally made authentic Indian crafts, books and gifts.

Every Thursday, elders gather to weave, bead and dine. Guided tours offer a walk through the collections, stories, songs and nature walks with signage explaining usage of indigenous plants. Classes in language and basketry are held throughout the year.

There will be a spring open house May 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. that includes a raffle, hors d'oeuvres, and acorn will be served.

Thornberry Museum and Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: 56001 Highway 41, Fish Camp; (559) 683-7273; www.ymsprr.com/

From 1899 to 1931, the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company operated miles of narrow gauge railroad track and helped pull 1.5 billion board feet of lumber out of the forests.

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is a restoration of the old narrow gauge Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company Railroad. A section of the original railbed has been reconstructed, and two vintage Shay steam locomotives authentic motive power for the trains.

The museum is the original Thornberry cabin, homesteaded in the 1860s. It has a variety of things from way back when.

The train gets under way again this month, and the first of the Moonlight Special rides will be May 10.

Wild Wonderful King Vintage Museum: 49269 Golden Oak Drive, Suite 100, Oakhurst; museum, (559) 658-6999; tours, (559) 760-7600; www.kingvintagemuseum.org/

The museum full of clothes and accessories that take you back in time. Feature exhibit changes every season. In the Victorian room there are ballroom slippers from 1790, a corset display and the dresses of the 1800s. Other exhibits include a Civil War sword, Civil War discharge papers, and military uniforms.

The bridal collection includes wedding dresses dating from 1940 to the 1990s. The children's display includes shoes, clothing, dolls and books of the 19th and 20th century. The shelves on the walls are lined with a fantastic hat collection of cloches, bonnets, cartwheels, mourning bonnets and much more dating back to the Victorian times through the 1960s.