Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum inc.,

Director’s Report

By: Ashley Jaques

Yeah it’s not raining!!! I have so much I want to share with all you so please bare with me for this issue…There is a lot going on at the Museum right now with work projects: Grist Mill exhibit building, Saw Mill, entry clean up, restroom remodel, garden clean up, HOLA exhibit, Spinners Cottage, Gas Engine Row shuffle and so much more.  How do we get this all done? One word VOLUNTEERS!

Volunteers are AMAZING!  

Volunteers run our classes, exhibit our collection, run food service, help plan the future of the Museum and help with day to day maintenance of the Museum.  

We are looking for more volunteers!  I would like to invite anyone who would like to learn more about volunteering to join me and my staff for bagels and coffee on May 11 at 10am in the Assembly Building.  I only asked two things to join us #1 please RSVP to me through email (agsemdirector@gmail.com) or by phone (442-204-1003) so that I can plan for seating and #2 bring your calendar as we will have signups for events and projects occurring in June, July & August ☺

Some of the areas we are looking for volunteers to help with are:

• Admission booth during events

• Gift Shop: organizing, cleaning, working during events

• Food Service: set up, working during events/rentals, clean up

• Library/Archives: working with Curator

• Docents for Education Tours

• Office help: mailings, scanning, prepping for events

• Beautification projects: painting, gardening, exhibit cleaning, small building project, demolition projects.

We welcome all ages and whole families!  For those of you who don’t really know me I meet my husband (Dan) here, he had been a member/volunteer since 1995 before I started working here in 2000.  Our 5 year old daughter (Ally) and 11 year old son (Lee) have even come out to volunteer assisting in hand stamping, stuffing envelopes and picking up trash.  Some of our Board Members have been here from a young age… President, Jake Williams interned here in high school through Guajome Park Academy and Treasurer, Travis Durst literally grew up here as his grandparents were live on attendants.  

We have generations of families like the Critz family… Grandpa (Bob Critz), Dad (Robert Critz) and the Boyz (Wyatt, Clayton, Landon & Dustin).  The Fraser Family (John, Scott & Mike and their wives and children). We have husbands and wives with different interests: Christine Sheppard is a weaver and her husband ?K? Sheppard is part of the Machine Shop…  Jack Burns is a tractor driver and his wife Teresa volunteers in food service. We also have ones who love to work alongside each other when they are volunteering too … like Beth Holmberg & Sarah Elkind (blacksmith/wheelwright) and Peder & Ginny Oddgard (food service/flower fields) and Denny & Susie Carlson (Jack of all trades).  The thing I love most about our Museum is there is truly something for everyone to enjoy.

THANK YOU … THANK YOU … THANK YOU… to all of you who help us make this place what it is.  

Office wise… We have a new Museum baby!  Congratulations to Events Coordinator Chantal Downing on the arrival of her son Remy.  Remy made an early arrival on big sisters Robin’s birthday, March 10. We can’t wait to meet Remy!  

Since the last issue we have transferred the Cletrac M2 to March Field Air Museum in Riverside County.  What a perfect home for it! Museum Director Jeff Houlihan and Greg Stathatos from B-17 Archaeology were onsite for the loading of the Cletrac along with a Tom Cruise impersonator for some fun promotional photos.  Thank you to Virgil White and Dan Jaques for assisting in loading the crawler.

We have had lots of committee meetings … Membership, Education, Events, Fundraising, Collection and Sign Committee… There really hasn’t been a day that I don’t see committee members or at least talk to them about ideas or projects.  A big one going on right now is the Sign Committee as we are getting ready to install some new signage on the grounds right ahead of the June Antique Engine & Tractor Show. Museum Curator Emily Tipton is the chair of the committee which has been busy setting signage priories, style and verbiage.  

At the last board meeting in March the board approved building two small expansions to the Grist Mill.  The Grist Mill is always a popular “hidden” exhibit during events. I got a crazy idea of moving the existing building from its location across from the office to in front of the Farmhouse and talked to Virgil about it.  Reasoning? A couple, one, visitors always come into the Gift Shop during show and ask where it is. Normally there is something parked in front of it and they can’t really see the sign so I thought it would get more visibility.  Second, wouldn’t it be neat to see Virgil and crew grinding the flour and corn meal and then walking into the Farmhouse and see the ladies cooking with it? That would make me turn around and make sure I bought some to take home. Now, why the expansions?  Well there are other pieces of equipment inside the Museum building that are milling examples and what better place to exhibit them then with the Grist Mill. It is also allowing us to open up room inside the Museum Building to create new exhibits in the near future.  Take a look at all the pictures of mill moving and the start of the new floors.

On March 8th Travis Durst, Dan Jaques, John Alling and Megan went to Valley Center Ag Days to exhibit for their farm program.  They had prepped for around 600 school children, they lost count but there were way more than that. John took his Titan tractor, Travis took a 3HP Wonder engine and Dan took the John Deere engine that makes ice cream.  10 gallon of ice cream later they journeyed back down the grade tired from a long day. Thank you!

Event wise so far we wrapped up the trio of Table Top Auctions on March 23; our next auction will be July 28th down in the campground.  If you have anything you would like to consign for auction please contact Chantal at agsemevents@gmail.com.  Flower Fields is running full steam ahead with May 12 being the last day.  Thank you to all the dedicated volunteers!

Our next biggest event coming up is the June Antique Engine & Tractor Show… we are asking everyone to complete their exhibiting and camping forms via USPS or via the website, www.agsem.com.  You may also pre-fill out your parade registration online and starting May 1st you may pre purchase camping and admission tickets online.  

If your area has something exciting you are working on I would love to see it.  Drop me an email (agsemdirector@gmail.com) or give me a call (442-204-1003) so I can try and stop by.  I have gotten see quite a bit of things going on since the last issue from members letting me know about projects they have wrapped up.