Giving To The Museum Has Never Been As Important As Now!

 

DORCHEAT HISTORICAL MUSEUM, INC.

Dear, Supporters of the Dorcheat Historical Museum,

With the upcoming holiday season approaching, we hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and happy.  The old saying “The Times We Are A Changing” has never been more evident.  We have some changes coming up for 2022!  Let me begin by telling you about the perfect person I have found to help carry on our mission statement as a docent / and hopefully a future museum Director / Jessica Gorman of Minden.  Jessica first came to the museum several years ago asking if I minded that she do some work in the Minden Cemetery as far as cleaning headstones and checking on things.  She is an avid genealogy researcher and knows so much about Minden’s past history.  She has even read all the books that we offer at the museum!  She isn’t 100% sure yet….. but I am working on her! 

One thing the Pandemic has shown us is written in Ecclesiastes 3; For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: ² a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; ³ a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷ a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.  We have lost some wonderful people the past few years due to illness and age…( I feel like I have personally lost so many of my go-to people when I needed answers about Webster parish history), some of us have gotten back to our roots with planting gardens and canning food, we have hunted more wild game so we don’t depend on the supply chain, we have seen our country and city seem to be chaotic at times and then at others pull together to stand up for what we know is right and true, we have cleaned out and gotten rid of excess baggage,  we have watched as parts of history have been destroyed and removed all across our country and Minden,  we have not been able to embrace loved ones and gather as what we deemed NORMAL and we mourned for that feeling of togetherness, we have been pushed and pulled via the internet to speak out and then just go and hide away from it all, we are all looking for the time to LOVE and that is ALL THE TIME.  We pray for NO WARS… but we know those lurk on the horizon.  They say history repeats itself ….we have seen good times and bad.  History is not there for us to change.  It is there for us to learn from.  I hope you will continue to support the museum in every way that you can.  I hope that you will continue to help us keep Webster parish history alive for future generations.  That is what a museum is all about….preserving that history GOOD AND BAD!  Seems so many want a museum and things to do in Webster Parish…. but so few are willing to support it.  We ask that you not be that person.

For the 2^nd year we were not able to do our fundraiser but did a mail-out instead earlier this year.  That mail-out did great…but we are still short for the year on where we need to be!  We usually take in around $30,000 at our event.  This money is what we have always used to operate from during the year.  Not having the gala two years in a row puts us at an even bigger disadvantage financially as we move forward for the coming years.  This year I (Schelley Francis) turned 62 and have signed up to receive my Social Security starting in 2022.  This will put us in a better position to continue forward, by cutting our overhead.  As always, we are very mindful of how our money is spent.  Each year we like to have enough to move forward without jeopardizing what we already have in savings.  We know many of you are in the same situation and respect that.  You still have time to make a difference at the museum for 2021 and starting 2022.  We will greatly appreciate any help you can offer financially. 

I would like to have an exhibit of the History Keepers that would include John, Dr. Longino and Mrs. Campbell.  I think, without these three people, much of our history would be gone forever.  I would love to honor them in our building that needs to be completed.  My goal is to finish that in the next few years, but without donations that exceed our basic needs that will not be possible.  

Remember we are a 501 C3 nonprofit.  You can now go online and donate to the museum.  www.dorcheatmuseum.com is our new website and makes donating so easy.  If you are a business take a look at being highlighted on on sponsor page.  For mail in donations please use the following address Dorcheat Museum P.O. Box 1094 Minden, LA 71058.
  

Sincerely, 

Schelley Brown Francis                                                                    Louise Baird Snook

Dorcheat Museum Director                                                              Dorcheat Museum Board President

116 Pearl Street      P.O. Box 1094      Minden, LA 71058     Phone#318-377-3002

Come here some history and see some Christmas Lights

Dorcheat Historical Museum's Schelley Brown Francis and Jessica Stewart Gorman will be riding along on the hayrides to tell you the history of the area on Friday Night.

 

Dorcheat Museum needs your support!

 DORCHEAT HISTORICAL MUSEUM, INC.

 

Dear Supporters of the Dorcheat Historical Museum,

Well we made it to 2021! Due to the Pandemic…we are still finding our way through post Covid-19 sort of! We opened back up in August of 2020, with cautious navigation of how to do that safely for our patrons as well as myself. 

Yesterday Minden was hit with another sobering fact. The Covid virus is still impacting our parish in a hard hitting way. Just when we were in hopes of getting this behind us, it has reared it's ugly head again. So once again we are being more cautious here at the museum.

We have faced many challenges during the last 14 years but none that have taken the wind out of our sails like this pandemic episode has. We had hopes that by the fall we would be back in full swing….but we have chosen to wait it out for a while longer as a safe-guard for our patrons. We have lost some wonderful people the past few years due to illness. I feel like I have personally lost so many of my go-to people when I needed answers about Webster parish history. 

As many of you know we lost a very important person during all of this. John Agan, our Webster Parish historian, passed away Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at the age of 61. John’s passing is like losing a search engine of knowledge. He can never be replaced and we are so grateful that we have just a sample of his vast knowledge captured in book form at the museum. It is still our hope that we can honor John once we get back to hosting events. I would like to have an exhibit of the History Keepers that would include John, Dr. Longino and Mrs. Campbell. I think, without these three people, much of our history would be gone forever.

This will now be the second time, since the opening of the museum doors in 2008, that we have not had our annual fundraiser gala. We still don’t feel that with the size of our meeting room we can safely allow this to happen. With that being said we realize that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on many and that even if we could have a fundraiser that we would still not feel right asking a business to donate items this year. So many business in our area have closed or can’t even find people to work. People are still struggling.  

The gala usually has 100-125 people in attendance. We usually take in around $25,000 to $30,000 at our event. This money is what we have always used to operate from during the year. Not having the gala two years in a row puts us at an even bigger disadvantage financially as we move forward for the coming years. I was able to draw unemployment for as long as the state had museums mandated closed. As always, we are very mindful of how our money is spent. Each year we like to have enough to move forward without jeopardizing what we already have. We know many of you are in the same situation and respect that. 

This past year I have watched as parts of history have been destroyed and removed all across our country. I was witness to that even in Minden. That fact alone shows me the importance of what we are trying to do here at the Dorcheat Museum. History is not there for us to change. It is there for us to learn from. I hope you will continue to support the museum in every way that you can. I hope that you will continue to help us keep Webster parish history alive for future generations. 

If you can help us financially this year, we would greatly appreciate it. We are a 501 C3 nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible. Please send support to:

Dorcheat Historical Museum

P.O. Box 1094

Minden, LA 71058

Sincerely, 

 

Schelley Brown Francis                                  Louise Baird Snook

Dorcheat Museum Director                          Dorcheat Museum Board President

116 Pearl Street     P.O. Box 1094  Minden, LA 71058

   Phone# 318-377-3002

Museum Director Schelley Francis Speaks At Lions Club

Minden Lions Club July 22, 2021

Special thanks to Schelley Francis for agreeing to fill in at the last minute today for our scheduled speaker, who was under the weather.

Schelley spoke to Lions about the mission of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, as well as future dreams and the challenges it’s faced over the past year and a half. She said the museum exists to help keep our rich parish history alive, and it will take continued monetary donations and volunteer help to do so. Schelley has served as the museum’s director since 2007.

The museum is currently open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a lunch closure from 1-2 p.m., and by appointment. Guided and group tours are currently on hold due to COVID-19. There is no cost for admission.

The museum also includes a gift shop area featuring books by local authors, postcards, prints, DVDs of past “Night at the Museum” presentations, and more.

For more information, visit the Dorcheat Museum on Facebook or call 377-3002.