Discovering, Preserving and Sharing Walla Walla Regional Heritage Volume 2013, No. 3

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!

The DispatcThe DispatcThe Dispatchhh

If you love ice cream with strawberry or chocolate toppings, join us on August 18th for the annual Ice Cream Social!

In addition to free ice cream, there are lots of activities planned throughout the day (10 am through 5 pm).

There will be a variety of Pioneer kids games for the entire family to enjoy as well as local crafters selling and demonstrating their wares. The Museum's Living History Company will be performing as the Frenchtown Dance Troupe as well as having a gathering of 19th Century characters discussing the role of women in public life. We would like to welcome and thank the Walla Walla Historic Auto Club and the Walla Walla Sweet A’s who will be joining us here at the museum with a

variety of antique automobiles for the public to view.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

All day.... Pioneer Kids Games All day.... Walla Walla Historic Auto Club and

Walla Walla Sweet A’s will have a variety of antique vehicles on the grounds

All day.... Local crafters demonstrating their trade

All day.... Book signings by Sandra Stredwick (The White Stallion) and Wesley Hoskins (An Organic Childhood)

1:00 pm... Frenchtown Dance Troupe 2:00 pm... Living History Company discussing

the role of 19th century women in public life

Bring your friends and family out for

a day at the museum!

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MUSEUM STAFF

Archaeologists Greg Civay Sarah Starr Susie Dandrea

Bookkeeper Carolyn Burdine

Buildings & Grounds

Manager Jim Klees

Collections Manager Laura Schulz

Executive Assistant Nancy Parry

Operations Assistant Warren Rood

Program Manager Abigail Scholar

Store Assistant Elizabeth Kay

Tour Coordinator Bill Lake

President’s Message By Steve Stevenson, President, Board of Directors

2013 BOARD MEMBERS

President Steve Stevenson

Vice-President Len Isaacs

Secretary Ernie Campbell

Treasurer Don Meiners David G. Carey Roger Cockerline Linda Emmerson Amy Phillips Hess Bill Jordan Fred Mitchell Elaine Prentice Wilber Pribilsky Charles Saranto

Emeritus Member Norman Adams

Ex-Officio Member Jim Barrow

Executive Director James Payne

Come see what’s new at the old Fort! Each year we add new things and

change out exhibits. If your friends or family members have not visited us in the last five years they have not seen our new building, the children’s hands-on stations, a bunch of new exhibits, and Museum store. Currently, we are featuring a third display of beautiful Plateau Indian Beadwork from Fred Mitchell’s collection. If you missed the Civil War exhibit last winter, we have kept four cases of artifacts in the Grand Hall and due to

the responses of the folks who saw the original exhibit, we are planning to install an expanded version in the special exhibit gallery that will open September 13. Thanks to grants from the Walla Walla Exchange Club and Columbia REA, we will expand the connections between our region and the Civil War. The upcoming Ice Cream Social is a great opportunity to invite friends and family out to see what’s new at the old Fort! There will be activities for the whole family to enjoy and, of course, FREE ICE CREAM!

From the Director’s Office By James Payne, Executive Director

In 1861, a group of southern states led by South Carolina succeeded over the issue of states rights and the North fought to preserve the Union. A significant outcome of this turbulent time was abolishing slavery. This July, thousands of Americans flocked to Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary of that famous battle. It seems fitting that during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the movie Lincoln would win an academy award. During our second ever winter season, the level of public interest in our Civil War exhibit was exceptional. Thus, by popular demand, we are bringing back the exhibit in an expanded format. We will increase to over 400 artifacts illustrating both home life and what Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry soldiers

carried into battle. We will add to my favorite display, featuring the personal items used by soldiers. A new component, Grampa’s Gear Goes to War, will show rare weapons and accouterments used in earlier wars. Highlights of this display will include a rare Revolutionary War Horseman’s saber and one of the only surviving examples of an 18th century, American-made Charleville musket. An exciting addition includes Connections between the Civil War and the Walla Walla Valley. The

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Museums feed the mind and soul

James Kirk Casper Dean & Shari Derby

Ben Daltoso

Mike & Merry Lynn Denny

Michael Dunham Sharon Colley

LaVonne Frazier Jane Robison

In MemoriamIn MemoriamIn Memoriam remembering those no longer among us

Marian Hoare Jim & Margaret Buchan

Rod Ingham Allan & Betty Renwick

Margaret Kibler Jerry & Janice Nielsen

Gail Martin James & Peggy Payne

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Volume 2013, No. 3 Fort Wal la Wal la Museum/Discovering , Preserving and Sharing Wal la Wal la Regional Heritage Page 3

Leland “Lee” Nelson Bob & Nancy Klicker

Mary Ellen Morrison Dean & Shari Derby

Gerald Mosman James & Peggy Payne

Each of us is the sum of our heritage. We can understand ourselves better if we understand our roots. Fort Walla Walla Museum values the past and shares it with visitors through its programs and exhibits. The founders of the Museum provided a wonderful foundation on which to grow and evolve. We need support from those who agree with our mission to continue to offer a link to our past. One benefit of a charitable bequest is that it enables you to further the good work of an organization long after you are gone. Your gift will make a difference by leaving a legacy to our children and future generations. Providing a bequest is one of the simplest ways to make a significant gift. With the assistance of your financial advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to charity as part of your estate plans. A bequest may be made in several ways

Gift of a percentage of your estate Gift of a specific asset, item or real estate Gift of the residue of your estate

continued from previous page soldiers who built Fort Walla Walla were recalled to the east to serve in this significant war. Famous Civil War Generals like Grant, Sherman and Howard visited the Fort. Lots of local residents are descended from Civil War soldiers. We are asking local folks to contact Laura Schulz or myself if they have information or items associated with their Civil War ancestors. We will display enlargements of photos and may be able to display some additional artifacts to illustrate these family connections. Perhaps you’ll get to see my great-great grandfather, Aaron Smart, a private in the 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry who resembled a dashing young Robert E. Lee. Do you have a Civil War ancestor?

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The (online) Free Dictionary defines barnstorming as “to travel around an area appearing in exhibition sports events, especially baseball games.” Barnstorming baseball teams were particularly widespread and popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, helping baseball become the true “national pastime.” Barnstormers regularly visited Walla Walla during this period. For a share of gate receipts and the occasional free room and board, professional teams from the Northwest League - clubs from Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, and Spokane - visited Walla Walla in a shortened version of spring training. Other professional teams came from as far afield as Helena, Montana, and Ogden, Utah. Amateur teams also barnstormed through Walla Walla, including collegiate teams from California and town teams from British Columbia. Walla Walla cranks - fans, in baseball idiom - turned out in large numbers to Sportsman’s Park, at the northwest corner of Rose and 7th on October 28, 1914, to watch an all-star team from the American League shut out a National League team, 1-0. The first barnstorming team to visit Walla Walla, however, was the semi-professional Portland Stars, considered one of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest. According to the Walla Walla Union, the local town team - the Walla Walla Base Ball Club - arranged to play the barnstormers in an exhibition series in August 1882. In order to attract the Stars, Walla Walla had to promise the visitors free room and board in a local hotel plus $100 or

half the gate receipts, whichever was larger. The Stars then agreed to play two games, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, August 20 and 21, at Walla Walla’s “Driving Park” at the end of east Alder (near the current site of Pioneer Park). The Union predicted large crowds for the series, noting that “excitement among the lovers of that National game seems to grow more intense” as the date of the first game approached. On Sunday afternoon, August 20, more than 400 cranks walked or rode out to the Driving Park to attend the game. (Sunday baseball became the standard practice in Walla Walla, as it would elsewhere, because most Americans worked a six-day week.) The Stars led off in the top of the first and scored a quick run. Each inning saw the visitors’ lead increase until the home team scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Until that point, the Union described the home team as “either playing in bad luck or not the equals of their visiting adversaries.” Although the Stars eventually won, 10-5, “the balance of the game was played with better spirit, the enthusiasm of the spectators being worked up to a high pitch and the applause generous in all quarters.” The gate receipts also proved generous, generating about $200, half of which would go to the Stars. The two teams met again on Monday afternoon. This drew only a small, uncounted number of cranks to the Driving Park. The early game time - 1:00 o’clock - prevented most working Walla Wallans from attending. Those who did

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STARS OVER WALLA WALLA by Terry Gottschall

Volume 2013, No. 3 Fort Wal la Wal la Museum/Discovering , Preserving and Sharing Wal la Wal la Regional Heritage Page 5

Terry Gottschall is Professor of History at Walla Walla University. His stories of regional baseball heritage have appeared periodically in The Dispatch for many years.

photo courtesy of Fred Mitchell

continued from previous page watched a disappointing, poorly-played game that lasted for only five innings. The Stars “appeared alert and ready to make every point possible” but the local team “seemed to be in bad form, dull and inattentive to the game.” The Stars proved superior in every way, in fact, trouncing Walla Walla, 27-9. The game at least provided some excitement for Walla Walla fans. The Walla Walla pitcher, tired and probably frustrated from giving up so many runs, hit a Portland batter, “doubling him up as though he had been kicked by a mule.” A medicinal remedy, however, was close at hand: “A cup of water, with a dash from a bottle, speedily brought him to his bat again.” (One assumes the bottle did not contain sarsaparilla!) In a second incident, Portland batter R. H. Thompson collided with a Walla Walla

infielder at first base. According to the Union, “The collision between the two athletes was so great that Thompson was knocked out of time.” The same miraculous medicinal remedy again appeared and “a pull from the flask” quickly revived the Portland player. Although the home team had lost both games, the Union reported that Walla Walla cranks (except for those fans who had lost money on ill-advised bets) had enjoyed the Stars’ visit. The Stars themselves, having achieved their financial goals, presumably returned home happy as well. The success of that original series guaranteed that barnstorming baseball would return to Walla Walla.

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Jim Hardee, Director of the Fur Trade Research Center and editor of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, recently visited the Museum to explore future partnerships. We were fortunate to obtain autographed copies of Jim’s two books on the regional Fur Trade for our store.

Published in 2013, Obstinate Hope: The Western Expeditions of Nathaniel J. Wyeth ($24.95), this 500 page book includes accounts of Wyeth’s 1832-1833 travels along the Snake and Columbia Rivers.

Pierre's Hole! The Fur Trade History of Teton Valley, Idaho ($29.95), a 416 page book published in 2010, contains new information on this important rendezvous location. The book connects everything from Fort Astoria to the trading houses in St. Louis, Missouri including accounts of the 1816-1831 Snake Country Expeditions.

Also new to the Museum is a book by Keith Powell, Living in the Shadow of Fisher Peak, ($21.95), which chronicles the gold rush fever that consumed the west in the 1860’s and saw Walla Walla become the commercial hub of the northwest.

This book follows California 49’er Jack Fisher and contingent of men who rode out of Walla Walla in the winter of 1864 and headed 400 miles due north to the Wild Horse gold fields near present day heritage town Fort Steele just outside of Cranbrook, British Columbia.

BITS AND PIECES MUSEUM STORE OBTAINS NEW BOOKS

The Museum store has recently added new items bearing our logo. Stop by and check them out...and, as always, your membership entitles you to 10% off most store merchandise! T-shirts ...................................................... $11.75 Tote bags ................................................... $11.75 (or purchase T-shirt and tote bag together for $20) Travel cups ............................................... $10.75 Coffee mug ................................................. $9.95

There were many days this spring when the parking lot was full of school busses and the Museum grounds were bustling with activity! Through the end of June we saw 3,652 kids in 62 groups come through the Museum as part of our Free School Tour Program. Thanks to our community partners for making this valuable program free to area schools. Sponsors for the 2013 school year are Blue Mountain Community Foundation, Boise Paper Wallulla Mill, Hayner Trusts, Mary Garner Esary Trust and Pacific Power.

KIDS DIG HISTORY!

NEW MERCHANDISE

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

AUGUST....CHILDREN’S MONTH Family-focused, with games, activities, story-telling, and hands-on learning AUG. 18 .......ICE CREAM SOCIAL Dip into free ice cream sundaes and enjoy old-time music, dancing, crafts, and vintage cars with friends and family. OCTOBER ...ARCHAEOLOGY MONTH Experience a month-long variety of demonstrations, programs, and children’s activities, as you learn about archaeological processes and discoveries. Visit the Museum each Monday at 7:00 p.m. for a special archaeology presentation. OCTOBER 27….A 19TH CENTURY PARTY Join the Living History Company in a spirited discussion of the events of yesteryear that have shaped modern times. Nov.-Dec. 23…….HOLIDAY SEASON Museum and Store open daily 10 am - 4 pm (except Thanksgiving)

July 14 - Eliza Spalding Warren: Pioneer missionary’s daughter; farm wife (Harriet Hart Beach) July 20 - Maria Whitman: Homemaker & songstress (Barbara Clark) July 21 - John and Catherine Stahl: Brewmasters (David and Jill Emigh) July 27 - Sam Black: Hudson’s Bay Company farmer Tom Williams) July 28 - Frenchtown Reunion with Father J.B.A. Brouillet, Louis Tellier, A.D. Pambrun, William McBean, and Suzanne Cayouse Dauphin (Jeannot Poirot, Jean-Paul Grimaud, Sam Pambrun, Rich Monacelli, and Judith Fortney) Aug 3 - Charles Tung: Chinese merchant (Galen Tom) Aug 4 - Cushing Eells: Protestant missionary (Rogers Miles) Aug 10 - Sarah Miner: Pioneer school teacher (Barbara Daniel) Aug 11 - William McBean: Hudson’s Bay Company trader, & Catherine Sager: Whitman Mission survivor (Rich Monacelli & Stella Gryler) Aug 17 - Miles Moore: Territorial Governor & businessman (Ron Klicker) Aug 18 - Ice Cream Social—A Town Meeting: The Role of Women in Public Life (Full Company) Aug 24 - James McAuliff: Merchant, musician, and mayor (Clark Colahan) Aug 25 - Marion Bauer: Composer (Susan Pickett) Aug 31 - Louis Tellier: Frenchtown pioneer (Jean-Paul Grimaud) Sept 1 - Sarah Jane Williams: Homemaker (Teri Sannar) Sept 8 - Father James Wilbur: Methodist minister (Chuck Hindman) Sept 15 - TBA Sept 22 - Augusta Moorehouse & Caroline Maxson: Adventist leaders (Cleo Forgey & Gladys Wentland) Sept 29 - Charles Besserer: Newspaperman (Ron Klicker) Oct 6 - Frank Orselli & Pasquale Saturno: Italian farmers & immigrants (David Venneri & Doug Saturno) Oct 13 - Robert Wolf: Walla Walla’s first professional fireman (Jason Strange & Jeff Harwood) Oct 20 - E.B. Whitman: Walla Walla’s first mayor (Daniel Clark) Oct. 27 - Final Day Party (The full Living History Company)

LIVING HISTORY

Museums feed the mind and soul

Volume 2013, No. 3 Fort Wal la Wal la Museum/Discovering , Preserving and Sharing Wal la Wal la Regional Heritage Page 7

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College Place, WA 99324

Permit No. 44

Share your talents:

VOLUNTEER!

Pioneer Settlement -Horse Era Agriculture-Military Exhibits

755 Myra Road Walla Walla WA 99362-8035 (509)525-7703 info@fortwallawallamuseum.org

www.fortwallawallamuseum.org

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us with ideas for future issues.

Phone: 509-525-7703 Fax: 509-525-7798 E-mail: info@fortwallawallamuseum.org

Events at Area Museums

COWBOYS & INDIANS’ SUITE OF PRINTS BY ANDY WARHOL

AUGUST 23 - OCTOBER 26

Andy Warhol was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and the leading figure in the visual art movement knows as Pop Art. ‘Cowboys and Indians’, a suite of prints published in 1986, is said to have been the last series published before Warhol’s death in 1987. The exhibit is on loan from the Rockwell Museum or Corning, New York. For more information, please visit their website at www.tamastslikt.org.

For more information, please visit the Kirkman House website at kirkmanhousemuseum.org.