Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society: Hood River County Historical Museum

For the October 8th meeting and program, CGGS members and guests met at the Hood River Historical Museum. The day started with the board meeting and then a break for lunch. Members brought sack lunches and ate outside in the park area. The weather was very cooperative with sunshine and NO WIND!

After lunch we were given a short presentation from Casey Housen, the educational and volunteer coordinator at the museum on the resources and the expansion and remodel of the museum. Besides a structural changes there will be a large database in place for research. The database will be from records that have been stored at the museum and from individuals and families that have supplied the information. Other resources that are available now is a 18x24 scanner which individuals may utilize by bringing their pictures and newspaper copies and have them scanned for $15.00 fee. Research is available through the museum for the price of admission when you come to the museum in person. Other research is available by the staff for a $25.00 an hour fee.

The expansion of the museum is in a five part plan, future projects depend on grants and fundraising projects. The museum has put online a gallery of historical pictures from Hood River County and is expected to expand its online historical data in the future. For any information on the Hood River County Museum, call the museum at 541-396-6772. The museum will be closing on November 8, 2011 and starting their renovation project and reopen in the spring of 2012. The museums historical photo gallery can be viewed by going to their website at http://www.co.hood-river.or.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={AB6F9DD2-60F9-4F52-B449-684E6BD6505F} and clicking on Hood River Historical Photo blog.

Museum volunteer Casey Housen

CGGS members Jim Bull, Helen Dixon, Mary Watts, Sandy Bisset, Fred Henchell

2024 Program Schedule

January 6, 2024 - America's Extension Service - Resources for Genealogy - Georga Foster
February - Original Courthouse History Forums- Members are encouraged to attend.
March - Darrelll Jabin - Oregons Traveling Historian- March 23, 2024
June 10, 2024 - Hood River Museum Meetup - 1:00pm
July/August - Summer Break
September 14, 2024 - Solutions To Geneaogical Research In Todays Economy
October 5, 2024 - Thomas MacEntee LIVE
Nov. 9, 2024 - FamilySearch Workshop -LDS LIbrary
December- No Program- Merry Christmas

Pioneers of The West

Header Photo: Helen Lundeberg created this painting while employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program that employed artists during the Great Depression. Like other WPA artists, Lundeberg depicted a hopeful view of the United States during a time of turmoil and uncertainty by showing a dreamlike image of western expansion. The group of pioneers, with their backs to the viewer, follows an ox-drawn wagon into a valley. The monumental figures appear strong and assured in their forward progress. Rising mountains melt into the sun. Lundeberg's style of mixing fantastic images with reality is evident in the background: The pink, rolling mountains blend into the orange, pink, and bluish haze of the sky; it is difficult to determine where the mountains end and the sky begins. The careful use of space and dreamlike elements in Pioneers of the West is representative of Lundeberg's postsurrealist style. This movement, derived from surrealism, purposely combined fantasy with reality and was predominantly found on the West Coast. (Helen Lundeberg, Pioneers of the West, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1985.8.27) GSA: Information and images created or owned by the GSA unless otherwise indicated, are considered in the public domain. They may be distributed or copied as permitted by applicable law.