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Our Friday night Hot Dog Dinners were a huge success. What better way to start a show weekend than to spend it with friends. The hot dogs weren’t bad either! Thank you to Jack Lester, Bob Morley, and Keith Richards, BBQ extraordinaires, the hot dogs were cooked to perfection and thank you too, to those helping with the chips and drinks. Thank you to MW Construction, Inc for sponsoring the “Free” Hot Dog Dinner Nights. After dinner we enjoyed homemade ice cream that Mike Stevens made with his John Deere engine. With such a good turnout and favorable response, MW Construction has graciously agreed to sponsor “FREE” Hot Dog Nights in October.

The show went well. Our largest attendance day was on Father’s Day. It was great seeing so many young families bringing their children to the show. What better way to spend quality time with their families than at AGSEM. We really had a lot of activities for kids to do. They could pump water, see bubbles floating in the air, visit our Heritage Area, take a train ride, drive a garden tractor and much more. Thank you Bruce Yoho and crew for organizing and running the garden tractor rides for the kids.

June 16 at 8:45AM. Above left: Nicholas Foraker. Stan Foraker wearing red IH ball cap.

Another big hit with the kids was allowing them to drive through the parade on a tractor. After completing a safety course ran by Stan Foraker -- pictures above -- kids could drive through our parade. Thank you Stan for coordinating the Safety Class. Also a thank you goes to the kids that participated in the program. They followed the rules and were responsible drivers. Look for the program again at our October Show.

What an honor it was to be a ribbon cutter at our Weaver Building dedication. There was a good crowd to take part in this momentous occasion. I would like to thank Bill Rafnel for his leadership and all Weaver’s that helped on the project. Thank you Patrick Myers for being the construction superintendent and providing so much of your back-breaking labor. Everyone involved should be applauded for a job well done and be truly proud of their accomplishment. This is a beautiful addition to our Museum.

Above our Assembly Building Art and Quilt Show. Poway Station on the west side of the building.

The Assembly Building Exhibits were well received -- pictured above. Thank you to the Poway Station All Scale Model Railroad group for displaying a HO layout and a “hands on” switching layout for kids. Also on display were beautiful quilts. Thank you Valerie Myers, Diane Crawford, Laura Stevens, Jeanette Stevens, Geneva White (Virgil’s Mom), and AGSEM Archives for displaying and sharing your handiwork for all to see. There were about 50 quilts, from wall hangings to king size quilts. Many were hand pieced and hand quilted. On display too was a collection of artwork from Bob Morley and GPA students. Thank you everyone for sharing your works of art.

Many club members have sent me good and positive suggestions to help improve our shows and other activities within the Museum. We have implemented some already. Please continue to send them via e-mail, phone, or drop off in our Pink Suggestion Box in the office. Your input is invaluable. We are all in this together and together we can make a difference.

Our next board meeting will be August 18th. The meetings begin at 9:00 AM. You are encouraged and invited to attend the monthly board meetings. Your ideas and input are greatly appreciated. If you would like to address your Board of Trustees on a matter that concerns you, or plan an event at our museum, etc, please contact me
or Museum Director, Rod Groenewold
at least ten (10) days prior to the next scheduled board meeting to be placed on the agenda.

A couple of side notes….Congratulations to Ashley and Dan Jaques on the birth of their new baby, Lee. He is very cute. I especially thank Ashley for taking time from her maternity leave to assist in various museum tasks. Her help has been invaluable. Rod is recuperating nicely from his surgery. He has continued to be a tremendous resource. I eagerly await the return of both Rod and Ashley. Thanks again to everyone for putting on a great show. See you at the next event!

The Farmhouse was full of excitement. From quilts, baked goodies and tasty samples of ice cream. It always seems to be a gathering or meeting place for one and all. Thanks to Earl Wolf, those stopping in could enjoy the music of the pump organ once again. Earl donated his time and expertise to repair the pump organ for us. Thank you, Earl Wolf, for bringing music back to the Farmhouse. Thank you Charlotte Lunger for a donation of fabrics. Look for pieces of the fabrics in future raffle quilts. We are off to a good start on the raffle quilt tickets. Don’t forget to get your raffle tickets for the Triangle Crazy Quilt before we draw the winning ticket in October.

On the porch Mike Stevens was busily making ice cream with his John Deere engine. Between the Friday Night Hot Dog Dinners, Potluck and batches made for sample cups after the parades, Mike made 45 gallons of ice cream!! Thank you Lois Swart for donating mini chocolate chips. Thank you too to the official taste testers and Ann Runser for helping to pass out the sample cups. Thanks again for everyone who helped in the Farmhouse. We are looking forward to seeing you again in October.

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