Guest Opinion: Historical Museum Celebrates All-Year Opening Oct. 2

New fence, landscaping and paving bricks at the Orcas Island Historical Museum in Eastsound.

By Tom Welch

The Orcas Island Historical Museum will host our Closing Party on October 2^nd from 4-6 p.m. Everyone is invited to join us and tour the museum, snack on delicious finger-foods, listen to entertaining music, help press apples and make cider, and enjoy our traditional end of the season celebration. This annual event has traditionally marked the end of our summer exhibit season at the museum, but this year the museum board has decided to make a dramatic change: we’ll hold our traditional party, but we will also use it to celebrate the Opening of the museum for the fall and winter months!

That’s right, the Historical Museum Board of Directors is delighted to announce that we will REMAIN OPEN ALL YEAR so our community can continue to enjoy our unique island history, research and study in our heated administration building, and explore the unique island artifacts that help make Orcas Island the special place that we know it to be. We understand the importance the summer tourist season has for our retailers and lodging establishments, and we know the museum serves a unique role for the visitors who come to visit this wonderful island gem we call Orcas, but we also believe it is important for our schoolchildren and residents to have access to our exhibits and collection for research and study.

This is a big change for the museum that cannot be successful without the continued help and support of our volunteers, and we want to express our sincere thanks to each and all of them for their selfless devotion to Orcas Island history. So come see us this winter, help celebrate Orcas Island history, and discover what our volunteers and board members have learned – we have a unique history wonderfully suited to our beautiful island home.