Museum Renovations

The building and the exhibit committees have been busy over the winter - doing renovations and preparing new exhibits for the museum's 2010 season.

As we prepare to observe the Year of Liberty the Second, the garage where the historic boat is housed, is being renovated.

We are planning to replace the garage window with insulated glass block. It will allow the light to come into the building, yet is insulated to keep costs down. The committee also is painting the garage and will have new displays, focusing on the Liberty the Second boat.

A new sign will mark the building noting it is "Home of Liberty the Second."

Thelobby will feature a new display detailing the history of elections, including the fact the primary election was started after a Sadsbury Townshp man recommended it. The primary has since been adopted by all the states (although not in the same fashion as ours). The display will include the ballot box from paper ballot, the old electronic election voting machine, which featured levers; and the new touch screen voting machine.

Hoss's Steak and Sea Food House has donated a touch screen machine and we hope to have a computer program to allow visitors to vote on their favorite display at the museum.

Now that Lakeland Museum has closed, we have moved all the display cases to the downtown museum. They will trace our history - from the ice ages to the Woolly Mammoth, the native Americans, items found at the bottom of Conneaut Lake, development of the resort, the train era and more.

The agricultural display has been moved indoors. New walls have been erected in the school exhibit areas and feature shelves where people can pull up a stool and look over our yearbooks or scrapbooks.

More changes are in the works, so stop and see our new look this summer! We open April 24 and will be open from 2 to 4 p.m every Saturday and Sunday thereafter.

Or you can arrange for special tours, by calling George Rutherford at 382-7761.

Our "grand opening" with special ceremonies will be held following the Memorial Day Parade on May 31. Please plan to join us!

Woodland Elk Exhibit

When you check out the exhibits, check the display case with the Woodland Elk antlers.

While standing in four feet of water and digging up two feet of silt, Dale and Jim Sparber were trying to remove some logs that kept catching the proper of their boat.

What they came up with were the antlers attached to the skull (seen in the exhibit). Well preserved, the antlers have been determined to be those of an extinct Woodland Elk. The animal has been extinct in Crawford County since the 1840s. The massive mature bull weighed more than half a ton, and if complete, the antlers would measure over seven feet high, one-third larger than the Rocky Mountain Elk.

Radiocarbon dating by Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh places the animal's death between 1760 and 1820.

Check it out!

Liberty the Second Books to be Sold

Our commemorative books to mark the 25th anniversary of the year that Brian Simpson and Bill Houghton brought the Liberty the Second book up from the bottom of the lake - where it had been since 1922.

We have developed a 60-page book, tracing the history from 1922 to when it was raised and what has happend to the boat since that time.

Many local businesses have purchased advertising and with grants from Wal-Mart and Armstrong Cable, we are able to offer the book for $10, which allows us to make a project but still keep the cost down.

The book is limited to only 500 copies. It is expected to be ready to sell over Memorial Day, so stop by the museum and get your copy! We hope you enjoy it!

Special Raffle Planned

While we have the Woodland Elk antler, we are planning to add a replica of the largest Musky ever caught in Conneaut Lake. The actual fish is mounted and on display at Pymatuning Lake, but they won't give it to us.

So we are doing to do the next best thing - we are having a replica made of the fish, caughed in 1924 by Lew Walker of Meadville. It measures 59 1/2 inches in length.

The board gave Dave Lynch permission to conduct a special 50/50 raffle to raise the more than $800 needed to have this done and put on display at the museum. Tickets are available from Lynch or other board members and at a number of local businesses, such as Miller's Food Factory, Ralston's Hardware and Timberland Galleries. Other places will be added.

Only 2,000 tickets will be sold and the money will be awarded May 31. Hopefully, we can sell all 2,000 tickets and allow us to add this special fish to our display and allow the winner to have a nice summer!

Tickets are only $1 each or six for $5. More information: Call Dave Lynch at 382-6157.

Cuisine

Our 8th annual Conneaut Lake Cuisine is set for May 3, but tickets are going fast. Restaurants signed up to participate this year are: Miller's Food Factory, Silver Shores, Livingston's Quality Meats, The Light House Resatuarant, Hotel Conneaut, Tink's Sub Shoppe, Pizza Hut, Sheetz, KFC, Zatsick's Golden Dawn, Conneaut Lake Park Volunteer Fire Department (Station Five), Pelican Landing, Casey's Ice Cream and Candies, Judy Hughes, ghost of Mama Bear's; Yuen's Chinese Restaurant, The Palms, Valenza, Saegertown Beverage, Crawford County Dairy Princess and the historical society itself.

Tickets are $12. Call 382-3892 for tickets.

Adopt a Block

Our "Adopt a Block" project has nearly $1,800 to date, but we need at least $4,740 to paint the south side of the building and another coat on the front.

We hope to raise that much by Aug. 1 to allow the work to be done by fall. For those not familiar with this project, we have painting the front of the building and added a court yard.

Now we would like to paint the other three sides - and add another coat to the front.

The $4,740 is only the one side and front.

Donors may "adopt" a block by sending $2 donations marked the painting project. You may adopt one or 1,000 blocks - whatever you choose. You don't have to paint it or maintain it - just donate the money and we'll take care of it.

We have been very pleased with the results to date as people are getting involved - donating $2 to $500! Some have chosen to donate in memory of somebody.

For those who donate, we recognize the donation in our newsletter, on our Web site and at the museum.

Donations, which are tax-deductible, may be sent to Box 425, Conneaut Lake, Pa., l6316.

New Products for Year

Each year, we are constantly asked "What do you have new to sell?" We will have a number of items this year. In addition to the Liberty the Second book, we will have bumper stickers, magnets, four new post cards and a new sweatshirt with the Liberty the Second logo.

We are trying to offer a wide range of items - designed to meet the interests of all ages and budgets. As soon as we have them available, we will add it to our store on this Web site, but they will be available at the museum by Memorial Day.

If you have suggestions for items, contact George Rutherford at 382-7761.

Of course, we still have our other items - check our store site!

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