Swenson Memorial Museum modernizes

The Swenson Memorial Museum has upgraded the second floor with heating and air conditioning thanks to a grant which Lyn Clark had applied for and brought to fruition.

“It will be really nice to have the heating and air conditioning on the second floor,” said Kay Meadows, who has worked at the museum for several years. “In the summer, it is really hot and stifling up there and in the winter it was chilly and uncomfortable.”

The second floor had been cleared out and exhibits set up in 2019 and early 2020. There is an extensive Depression Glass collection gifted to the museum and shipped in several boxes. The Club Room also was set up to include memorabilia from the Lions Club, Rotary Club, Riding Club, Square Dancers and the Boy’s Choir.

There is also a collection of vintage dresses from the 1920s and earlier and are part of an exhibit on the second floor

The family of Ross Elliott donated his law books and his office furnishings just like it was when he practiced law in Breckenridge. Additionally, there is a Rural School exhibit that includes numerous photos from many of the 100 rural schools that once operated in the rural areas of Stephens County.

Then there is a children’s toy room with a collection of wedding dress dolls donated by Elizabeth Gray. A Wedding Dress doll is featured in a special display on the first floor, in the front teller window, along with other wedding dress dolls contributed by Elizabeth Gray as well.

One of the major exhibits on the first floor is the Basil Clemons photo exhibit which includes some photos of the photographer, as he lived and worked in Stephens County, just in time for the Oil Boom. Included in that exhibit are some of his cameras that the young Frank Pellazarri Jr. carted around for Basil Clemons, as an assistant. Clemons also developed delayed time exposures 50 years ahead of any others in the field of photography. He also photographed the famed Klondike Gold Boom and took photos from an airplane, which was unheard of in that era. This was before he came to Breckenridge in 1919, in time for the Oil Boom. There is also is a surprise in store for the visitors as part of the Basil Clemons exhibit.

Come and see for yourself on Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but only until 2 p.m. on Saturday.

There is so much more to see and the walk through the exhibits flows very easily from one to the other at your own pace. The museum staff is readily available to answer any questions, but they allow you to stroll at your own pace and focus on the exhibits that you wish to see.

The second-floor exhibits had been completed in 2019 and early 2020 and were opened to the public prior to the COVID virus hitting. The museum closed in September of 2020 after one of the part-time employees came down with COVID and has remained closed until very recently.

The museum is now open and it will be much more comfortable to stroll through the exhibits on the second floor with the installation of the heating and air conditioning thanks to the grant and to Russell Blue, who did the installation while the museum was closed due to the COVID virus.