Mountain Lifestyle-Nov 2020-Crestline-Lake Arrowhead edition

A sampling of local authors and book titles covering the history
and stories of the immediate area. Photo supplied by the Mountain
History Museum.
Mountain History Museum bookstore
to be open November 14 & 15
By Louise Cecil
Many local residents have requested
the opportunity to purchase
local history books for the holidays,
since the museum itself has been
closed all summer due to the COVID
restrictions. Every year the museum
has always had opened its doors one
weekend before Christmas so local
residents could have the opportunity
to purchase local history books
and gift items for holiday giving, so
again this year it will be open from 11
to 4 on Saturday, November 14 and
Sunday, November 15. Museum staff
will be using all COVID-mandated
hand sanitizers and face coverings,
although they may not allow anyone
inside the museum due to those
restrictions. Instead, they will have
easy-ups outside and local authors
available to sign some of the local
books. This will be the only weekend
opportunity prior to Christmas for
these book purchases from the museum.
Since last year, the museum
has published a new history book on
Lake Arrowhead history in its Mountain
Mileposts series, “Lake Arrowhead
- A Mile Closer to Heaven” by
Russ Keller. It is similar to the book
the museum published last year in the
same series, “Crestline - The Swingingest
Town in America.” In each of
these books, Keller has put together
the stories published over a 17-year
period of weekly history articles for
a local newspaper. The books cover
various times, historic locations and
areas of the communities, people and
their activities. The pictures, some in
color, and the stories make for fascinating
reading and give a better understanding
to how the area became
what it is, a true mountain paradise.
Other popular books that will
be available include the Images of
America books on Crestline, Lake
Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big
Bear, the Rim of the World Drive and
many other areas. Also, the Crestline
and Lake Arrowhead Chronicles
books will not only be available for
purchase but the author, Rhea-Frances
Tetley, will be there to personalize
them for holiday giving.
An autographed and personalized
book has in the past made
many mountain residents, even
new ones, enjoy and understand the
mountains so much more and is a gift
prized for decades. Most of the books
that will be for sale are in the under
$30 price range. The bookstore accepts
credit cards, checks and cash.
Other items from the gift shop will
also be available for purchase, such
as historic photos and posters, handmade
earrings, stuffed animals and
t-shirts.
The Mountain History Museum
is in the midst of doing a major
remodel. It is adding exhibit space
and expanding the museum by adding
about 20 percent more floor space. A
back room that had previously housed
a kitchen is being connected to the
main display floor, enabling more of
the collected items to be on display.
This remodel which was planned for
last winter was stopped by the pandemic.
In the spring when the museum
opens again, this new room will
enable the museum to have more
wall and floor space to display more
of its artifacts so the public can get a
better variety of information than is
currently possible. This idea has been
under discussion for more than five
years and the idea has finally gotten
all the county permissions and is being
done thanks to fundraising events
and the donations generous visitors
have given in past. Already, the old
fire station kitchen has been ripped
out and designs have been made and
displays are being created for the
space. Be sure to visit the museum
next summer and see the wonderful
new space. One of the new displays
will be a general store representing
the early days of the mountain communities
when the general store/post
office was the center of town.
Also, a wonderful old buggy has
been donated to the museum and is
currently undergoing restoration for a
new inside display on early day transportation
to the mountains, before the
roads were opened to auto traffic.
During the months of closure due
to pandemic isolation from March
through the summer, the historical
society and its volunteers were not
totally inactive. Winter months are
usually when cataloging the collection,
researching and creating new
displays are in active mode, and those
were suspended last year. Working
in groups of one and two this last
summer has been when research and
much more is usually occurring at
the museum. They anticipate restarting
these activities responsibly this
winter. The museum is always seeking
new persons who have an interest
in history and want to lend their
expertise to the ongoing grass roots
museum.
If this interests you, call (909)
336-6666 and leave your name and
suggest ways you’d be interested in
assisting the museum. The museum
needs internet savvy folks, writers,
researchers, display designers and
folks who can cut up newspapers and
put the articles into file folders, and
everything in-between. If this interests
you, check out its website www.
MountainHistoryMuseum.org and
see the many activities it is involved
with in these mountains.
The Mountain History Museum is
run by the Rim of the World Historical
Society, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
It was established in 1986 and
was recognized as the Nonprofit of the
Year by the Lake Arrowhead Communities
Chamber of Commerce. The
museum is located at 27176 Peninsula
Drive in Lake Arrowhead, around
the corner from Mary Putman Henck
Intermediate School, in the former
fire station building. It has free offstreet
parking, and when the museum
is allowed to reopen entry will also be
free. The museum is operated for the
benefit of the community, completely
by volunteers through the generosity
of community donations and through
its book sales.
The weekend of November 14 and
15 will be the only days the museum’s
book store will be open this
year. If you have any questions call
the museum at (909) 336-6666.
Page 14 Mountain Lifestyle (C) November 2020