Foundation News

Pole Barn Campaign & Giving Tuesday Results

Money In:  The Pole Barn campaign launched in 2021 and concluded with a final push on Giving Tuesday this past November, 2022.  We set a goal of $25k. During the final push during Giving Tuesday we raised $4,100 for a total raised of $21,105 over the course of the campaign.   
 
Money Out:  So far the foundation has contributed $2,250 to pole barn stands, $1,016 on signs and $13,580 on concrete for pole barn pathway expansion/improvements. 
 
If you haven’t visited the Mining & Ranching exhibits in the Pole Barn recently, you should!  You’ll be delighted at the amazing work of Museum Staff!   
 
Spring 2023 Fundraiser

Want to know what it was really like in Angels Camp in the 1856?  The Museum Foundation is working on a story about a man who came to Calaveras County from Massachusetts with the hope, like so many others, of finding gold and striking it rich. His name was Andrew Galliardo. It’s an account of what life was like then as told through Andrew’s eyes, a prospector who hailed originally from Rehoboth, Massachusetts. This story draws on letters generously shared by the Pierce family, which they had received from Andrew between 1856 and 1858.  Keep an eye out for our invite!  We're targeting April!

​Reimagining the Old Sierra Railway Exhibit

There have been numerous efforts to reinvigorate the museum's Sierra Railway exhibit. The most recent effort was done by the Angels Camp Museum Foundation which started in August 2021. Working with several train enthusiasts both in the surrounding area and the Bay Area and completing a thorough assessment, it was finally determined that while the exhibit was one of the more interesting models, it was so aged that it really needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Major findings include:

• All track needs replacing (old track is copper);
• Power supply and relating wiring are a hazard;
• Train needs to operate on DCC “Digital Command Control,” the modern way to operate model trains;
• Because of the complexity of the Sierra Railway, it is recommended to use LCC (Layout Command Control) as a standard protocol for controlling all the other elements such as building lights, turnouts, railroad signals, sounds, etc.)

As disappointing as this is, it does offer the opportunity to completely reimagine the exhibit and how we tell the story, both visually and through sound/narration. One option could be to pattern the new exhibit after one built for the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital lobby in the Bay Area (pictured above.)
 
We have identified a vendor in Fresno, Monster City Studios, as a resource to build the exhibit (they even have a train enthusiast on staff) and will work with them on a scope of work to attach to a planning grant application the foundation plans to write requesting federal funds from the National Endowment for Humanities.  Once a detailed plan and budget are in place, we would apply for the implementation grant.  Clearly, this is a multi-year effort; it will be worth it. 

If you’re interested in helping to write the grant (next round due in August), develop specifications, or help with any other aspects of the project, please apply here.

 
The grant went towards redesigning the exhibit inside the main building of the museum and adding a new, interactive outdoor installation that depicts the timeline and milestones of the frog jump from its beginnings with Mark Twain’s tale about the ‘Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ to the first Frog jump held down town on Main Street Angels Camp in 1928.  The evolution of the celebration eventually found its permanent home at Frogtown in 1937 with a set day that specified the event be held each year on the third weekend of May.   


Bria Heintz, the 8-year-old member of the Calaveras Frog Jockeys team and winner of last year’s Frog Jump competition cut the ribbon and kicked of the festivities of the day with a delegation of real frogs escorted by the fairgrounds’ Frogmobile so kids could get back in the jumping groove just in time for the actual competition coming up next week at the Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee!  as a preview of the fun to come at the big competition coming up next week! ​