Journey Stories: Museum’s Momentous Project Calls to All Orcas Islanders in Summer Exhibit

Local training in Museum’s Journey Stories starts this weekend

Through the great American wilderness was one route on the Journey Stories

One of the easiest conversation starters when first introduced to another Orcas Islander is “What brought you to Orcas Island?”

While the answer may be “the stork” to some old-timers, most of us have circuitous and complex stories that end with our residence on “The Rock.”

Orcas Island Historical Museum is exploring all of the routes that lead to Orcas, through its involvement in “Journey Stories.”  The characteristic American love of travel and the unquestioned right to travel freely is also explored in this summer’s “Journey Stories” exhibit.

“Journey Stories” give accounts of the “hopes and promises of fresh starts, the grim realities of forced migrations and difficult journeys, and the thrills of personal travel.” It is part of  a 20-year old traveling exhibit, “Museum on Main Street,” from the national Smithsonian Museum. It comes to Orcas this summer, through collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.  Orcas Island’s Journey Stories Chair, Andrea Cohen, also gives the nod to Edrie Vinson, Orcas Historical Society member, who applied for the exhibit.

Anndrea Cohen, Orcas Island HIstorical Society volunteer and Chair of the Journey Stories project

Orcas Island is one of only six museums in Washington State communities to receive the Smithsonian “Journey Stories.”“It’s really a gift,” says Cohen, “and it’s especially a gift if you use it – and the ‘magic’ of the Smithsonian name — to meet the creative goals of museum.”

Here on Orcas, through “Journey Stories, the goal is to renew community interest in the museum. “So many islanders just walk by [the museum on North Beach Road], or visited once, 10 years ago, and have a ‘mothball’ image of the museum,” says Cohen.

“I like to think of history as a seamless fit with art and culture, not necessarily synonymous with ‘the past.’  Everybody has a story of how they got to Orcas, as well as amazing stories of their own travels around America.”

Andrea Cohen is completely wrapped up in the stories and spirit of adventure the exhibit calls forth. “Literally every day I go to my email and there’s something amazing.”

Part of the contract with the Smithsonian is to involve the community, in creating a local component to the “Museum on Main Street Exhibit.” And so “Destination Orcas” is the title of the local contribution to the exhibit, containing local submissions of art, stories, plus a documentary video put together by Paul Evans’ Digital Media class at the high school, which Cohen says the museum will “use forever.”

She is enthusiastic about the way the exhibit is coming together with other organizations on the island:

• The Public Library is gearing the children’s book activities in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibit, which will include a children’s tour and storytelling event;
• The Senior Center will host a storyteller and display “Art of the Journey” in August at the Center;  the art will take many forms, from poetry and journals, to paintings created in Caroline Buchanan’s “Art of the Journey” classes held this spring.
• Camp Four Winds is planning a special event, calling upon its archives from an islander who “grew up at Camp Four Winds,” says Cohen.

More local participation is being planned to coincide with the July-August tour of Journey Stories on Orcas, as well as lectures, performances and picnics. The Orcas Historical Museum itself is preparing an exhibit depicting the lives of five notable local residents.

The “Museum on Main Street” exhibit will arrive on July 14 in 15 crates and take up 700 square feet. In preparation, the current museum exhibit will be dismantled (all artifacts except the Boede cabin) and put into storage, starting right after the 4^th of July.

Representatives of Humanities Washington, the Smithsonian Institution and all six Washington communities that will display “Journey Stories” attended an installation workshop in Moses Lake earlier this spring. The exhibit will arrive on Orcas from Moses Lake on July 14; within three days, it will be installed for the July 17 opening. “It all goes together like tinker toys — 7 free-standing units, each shaped differently,” says Cohen.

Volunteers are welcomed in all aspects of the Museum’s project, from the “heavy lifting” of storing the permanent exhibits, and unpacking and displaying the traveling exhibit, to fulfilling the critical need for tour guides (docents) to introduce museum visitors to the exhibit.

“Being a museum guide is really a rewarding experience; and all that’s required is 2.5 hours a week,” says Cohen.

Training begins this weekend, on Saturday, June 19 at 10 a.m. A second opportunity for the general training will be on Tuesday, June 22 at 4 p.m.

Then, closer to the exhibition opening date, Specific trainings will be held, on July 15 at 4 p.m. OR on July 16 at 10 a.m. Those who can only be available during part of the 6-week exhibit can be accommodated in the schedule. Leslie Seaman is Docent Volunteer Coordinator.  Call the Museum at 376-4849 to sign up.

The Orcas Island Historical Society’s steering committee for Journey Stories “is new to this and it’s a pretty big deal,” Cohen says. “Things are humming. There are many people who are hard at work on the many tasks of this momentous project, and it promises to be a great success.”

She encourages people to get involved in the Journey Stories project, “in line with the story of how they came to America, or moved and migrated to where they are now, and describing the freedom of travel, and love of travel, that we enjoy.”

The museum will be issuing passports that say “Destination Orcas” with a list of all the events happening during the exhibit’s stay on Orcas. Passport holders will be able to get their passports stamped at each event, and each “stamp” entitles the passport holder to an entry in a drawing in which Kenmore Air will give two roundtrip flights.

The Smithsonian Journey Stories Exhibition will run at the Orcas Island Historical Museum  from July 17 to August 29, 2010. The exhibit will be open 7 days a week, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission costs are $5 for Adults, $4 for Seniors, $3 for Students. Members & kids 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult are admitted free.

For more information or to sign up to help, call  360-376-4849; e-mail  orcasmuseum@rockisland.com or visit the website at   www.orcasmuseum.org