Open house
Please put the date of Thursday, Oct. 25, on your calendar for the annual open house at the museum. Visitors are welcome to drop by any time between 4 and 7 p.m. In addition to the opportunity to tour the museum, visitors may sign up for exciting door prizes and enjoy refreshments. Volunteer Jill Werner will be offering a taste of pawpaw (a native fruit) for every $5 donation to the museum. Volunteer Bob Fuller has been calling upon businesses in the area for door prize donations. Businesses wishing to donate a prize may leave a message at the museum, 479-855-2335.
Fay Jones exhibit
The exhibit on Fay Jones is something special to see. It is on loan from the Old Statehouse Museum in Little Rock through the end of December. Since Jones designed the Bella Vista Country Club, after seeing our exhibit, Bella Vista resident Barb Templin loaned us her work of art featuring the Country Club. She spent more than 450 hours creating it in an art form called quilling.
Log cabin
The museum is hoping to move forward soon on constructing the foundation on the museum grounds for the log cabin that is being donated to the museum. C.C. Cooper (no relation to Cooper Communities) built the original cabin about 1916 on what is now an empty lot north of the corner of Glasgow and Timbercrest Lane just inside the Highlands Gate of Bella Vista. The cabin was dismantled and rebuilt in its present configuration by Paul Parish in 1974 near Lake Avalon. After Paul died in 1997, his daughter sold the property to Scott Butler, who with his wife Angie is now donating the cabin to our museum. Donations are still being sought to help pay for this project. Those interested in helping may drop off or send donations to the museum or go online to www.gofundme.com/cabinfever. Donors of $100 or more will have their names inscribed on a plaque to hang inside the cabin.
2019 memberships now available
The museum is now accepting memberships in the Bella Vista Historical Society, which operates the Historical Museum, for the calendar year 2019. Current members may renew their memberships for next year. New memberships are encouraged. Dues are $15 per year for individuals, $25 per year for families and $50 per year for corporate sponsorships. The museum is run by an all-volunteer staff, so any revenue receives is put back into operational expenses. Payment may be made in person, by mail or online at www.bellavistamuseum.org. The mailing address is 1885 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista AR 72714. The museum is a 501(C)3 organization so dues and donations are eligible for tax deductions.
Gift shopmerchandise
As the holiday giving season approaches, please keep the gift shop in mind. It has everything representing Bella Vista from Christmas tree ornaments to baseball caps, mugs, magnets, jigsaw puzzles and more. Embroidered patches are coming this fall, plus it has a variety of other donated merchandise on sale. Please stop in and browse anytime the museum is open, Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Hours of operation
The Historical Museum is located at the corner of Highway 71 and Kingsland, next door to the American Legion, and is open 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. The phone number is 479-855-2335. The website is www.bellavista.museum.org.
Community on 10/10/2018