Your Girl Friday International

Let me introduce myself, as well as the programs and opportunities that will occur at the Coquille Valley Museum this year.

My name is Yvonne-Cher Skye, it is in honor of my grandmother that I am Yvonne’s ‘lil one’ so the Cher is an important part of my first name and gives a little family history in each of my personal introductions. I am a professional archaeologist, with 23 years of curation experience which includes digital curation of entire collections of objects, photos, archives and library items. My first museum was a Circus museum in which I curated the entire collection from start to finish. It was tremendously fun. In the course of my career between fieldwork in 49 states; I have had the honor of working with 5 historical society museums. Due to that experience, I learned to delegate tasks and train volunteers to work within historic collections.

Once you have reviewed the back side of this where the volunteer opportunities are listed, you will perhaps start thinking of how you can help out. First and foremost This is a fun opportunity! Choose something that you would enjoy doing, it is your time and your sense of accomplishment that will make it worth your while! Now, onto the programs, the idea, is to have a program at least once a month at the museum.

Programs will include one hour classes where we “share story” because let’s be honest, our elders have stories that are only held within their memories, let’s hear it via their own voice what it was like growing up in Coquille Valley. The job of Docent, specialist means anyone who may have worked the mines, the mills, the shipyard, the blacksmith shops, the schools, the city administration, the farms, the fire department, the police department, the pharmacy, the marketplace, and any I may have forgotten! Youth programs will include a kids corner article to be posted in this monthly newsletter. As well as a treasure hunt, and field trips will be created with prizes for school age children to participate in during the course of the year.

I served on the Museum Board in 2015, here in Coquille, OR.

We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to serve on the Museum Board to attend a meeting that is held the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at 4:00 pm.

It is with the intent to introduce the Museum, its programs, volunteer opportunities, memberships available, and Board meetings that this newsletter exists. We want the community aware and excited about the history of the community within which we live. Photos with captions and photos of mystery will be an integral part of this publication, and articles from local researchers.

Wood, for shelving projects, display usage.

Hardware, such as nails, screws, bolts

Poster board

Poster paints

Pens – Acid-free, Pencils

Paper

Display cases & literature displays

clothing bags

storage boxes (acid-free)

cloth

curtains

miscellaneous – call us

Processing – write notes on all that you see, measure the item, weigh the item, note damage, keywords, industry, name of donor, year of donation ect.

Preparing – cleaning, organizing, and marking the object as trained.

Curating – inputting the data into the database, preparing object for display, or storage, creating signage.

Docent – tour guide, one who walks through the exhibits and shares their knowledge of anything within the museum or about the surrounding communities. Also help keep Museum looking amazing! Importance of job: provides entertainment and education to guests, visitors and members

Archives – processing, preparing, curating archival materials, this consists of simple tasks of which you will be trained. Importance of job: we have 3000+ archives to be worked on. Family history researchers tend to donate their entire collection which can increase our collection at any time. As well as documents from Businesses, Organizations, and Individuals.

Library – processing, preparing, curating library books, and audio-visual materials contained within the museum library, prepare keyword lists to facilitate research and usage of materials. Importance of job: we have 800 books that needed to be cataloged and placed into our library.

Objects – processing, preparing, curating artifacts and objects within the collection so the date can be input into our database for exhibits. Importance of job: we have 4000+ objects to be worked on, and we get new donations frequently.

Photos – processing, preparing, curating photos contained within the collection. Importance of job: we have 3000+ photos that we have counted with an unknown number of others as family history researchers have donated their entire collections to us.

Docent, Specialist – seminar teachers/talkers who have a specific expertise or knowledge on a topic within Coquille Valley where we can all gather to hear what you have to share.

In appreciation for all of the work that you do, we will provide a letter of recommendation indicating the work you have done for us, and your civic service conducted for the Coquille Valley! Not to mention, you will gain valuable skills in an environment that is often closed to the public and requires decades of education of which your current museum staff has endured. We are excited to bring our expertise to the community.

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Coquille Valley Historical Society Mission Statement: Create a venue to assemble, preserve, and display historical information of the Coquille Valley. To feature Coquel Indians, Coquille’s “river highway” and settlers’ methods to survive and thrive. The Society’s primary objective is to provide resources to educate the general public, particularly our children, of the diverse cultural heritage of the Coquille River Valley and to preserve that heritage for future generations. Coquille Valley Historical Society Adopted 2005

Serving the following historic and modern communities: Arago, Bancroft, Bandon, Beaver Hill, Bridge, Broadbent, Coaledo, Coquille, Dora, Eden Ridge, Eden Valley, Fairview, Gaylord, Gravelford, Liberty House, McKinley, Myrtle Point, Norway, Lee, Parkersburg, Powers, Prosper, Randolph, Riverton, Sitkum, Sumner.