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Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs Historic Preservation Award Sou'Wester Garden Club Seaside Oregon
In
the News |
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Thursday,
April 14, 2005
Longtime resident leaves nearly $174,000 to Seaside Museum
By Laurel Eddy
The Daily Astorian, leddy@dailyastorian.com
SEASIDE — A
recent donation of $173,944 will go a long way for the Seaside
Museum and Historical Society, said its curator Mark Tolonen.
The
organization’s normal annual budget is about $93,000.
“We
do a tremendous amount on a shoestring,” Tolonen said. “Our
volunteers are so generous. Some of our volunteers come in
40 hours a week and work for free.”
The museum, at 570 Necanicum Drive, features an exhibit of a Lewis
and Clark salt-making camp, the next-door Butterfield Cottage,
a chronological exhibit from 2000 B.C. to World War II, and a diorama
of Seaside with a tape recording of the town’s history. |
Mark
Tolonen, great-nephew of Elsie Olson and curator of the Seaside
Museum, examines a “traveling exhibit” teachers
can borrow to show to their classes. |
Submitted
photo
Charles Emery Olson, above, and Elsie Tolonen Olson were long-time residents
of Clatsop County and helped to establish the Seaside Museum in 1974. |
Tolonen
said the museum provides help for researchers, a nostalgic
experience for long-time residents and an attraction for
tourists. “I think
a lot of the visitors enjoy the exhibits as informal learning,” he
said.
The
donation came from the estate of Elsie Tolonen Olson, who
died at the age of 94 in May. She and her husband, Chuck
Olson, were good friends of the museum’s founder, Clarence
Sigurdson, and helped to plan the museum.
“It
was somewhat of a surprise,” said Tolonen, Elsie Olson’s
great-nephew. Olson also made donations to Doernbecher Children’s
Hospital, the Casey Eye Institute and Meals on Wheels, Tolonen
said.
Tolonen
recalls his great-aunt as a humorous, frugal lady who remembered
people from their time in her first-grade class at Gearhart
Elementary. “She’d say, ‘Oh, there’s
little Jimmy so and so...’ and he’s somebody older
than me,” Tolonen laughed. |
Tolonen
recalls his great-aunt as a humorous, frugal lady who remembered
people from their time in her first-grade class at Gearhart
Elementary. “She’d say, ‘Oh, there’s
little Jimmy so and so...’ and he’s somebody older
than me,” Tolonen laughed.
Elsie
Tolonen Olson’s estate has donated nearly $174,000
to the museum.
The museum’s board of directors is considering investing $160,000 to
provide a yearly return in interest, Tolonen said. He is hoping for a 10-percent
return, or $16,000, each year. Michael Foster has volunteered to be the fund
manager.
The
remaining $14,000 could go toward several projects, including
improving the gravel parking lot, Tolonen said. |
Submitted
photo
|
Tolonen manages the office, finances, research projects, newsletter,
and Web site and organizes the artifact collections, all in 20 hours
a week. He hopes the donation will allow another staff person or
provide funding for him to work full time.
“Currently I wear all the hats,” he said. Tolonen’s
goals include new exhibits and putting 7,000 photos on the museum’s
Web site.
Work continues on the 800-square-foot expansion, which will provide
more storage. Tongue Point Job Corps students built the new room,
and interior work continues.
“
You know those Chinese puzzles where you’ve only got one open
spot and you move it around?” he said. “That’s
what we’ve got. We’re full.” Tolonen plans to catalogue
the contents of every box while shifting the storage around once
the new room is ready.
Tolonen is willing to supply several portable exhibits to the public,
including a hand-cranked video arcade game that allows the viewer
to watch two boxers fighting. Museum volunteers have participated
in the Saltmakers Return event in July and August, helped with a
Seaside Aquarium summer kids program and greeted tourists at Fort
Clatsop.
The museum is funded by membership fees from 300 members, donations,
admission fees and grants. Tolonen hopes donations will allow the
board to invest more and provide a more stable budget.
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