Article by Marcia Darnell
Local Attractons – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
IT’S NOT A PLACE that just puts an “OPEN” sign in the window and waits for people to show up.
The Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center lives up to its name, especially the latter description. The small facility, tucked away on a side street of Del Norte, generates more interest and education than a college professor stoked up on grant money.
The museum’s 10,000 square feet permanently house exhibits on county settlers, petroglyphs, archeoastronomy and local history. In addition, directors A.J. Taylor and Fred Oglesby arrange a constant stream of lectures, demonstrations, field trips and temporary exhibits to delight the museum’s fans.
Taylor and Oglesby, a married couple, moved to Del Norte from El Paso in July 2000. Taylor is the cultural director for the museum, dealing primarily with programming and volunteers. Oglesby, the administrative director, focuses mostly on economics and meetings. Both are archaeologists, Taylor with a Ph.D. in anthropology, Oglesby in the process of earning a master’s degree in geography.
“One of the differences between this museum and others is that we’re professional people,” says Oglesby. The two constitute the paid staff; a cadre of dedicated volunteers makes up the rest of the workforce.
“Last year, we had over 50 volunteers,” says Taylor. The volunteer efforts ranged from one-hour donors to the die-hards who are there every weekend. Small museums couldn’t function without unpaid help.
The staff, paid and volunteer, has been busy the last 2½ years, trying to get the permanent collections up to professional standards. This work includes computerizing records and acquiring acid-free storage materials to preserve the items. The couple is also working on a grant to get some geology shelves to better store and display the museum’s array of minerals.
In addition, they’ve buried themselves in marketing and financial work.
“A lot of it is just keeping people aware of what we’re doing,” says Taylor. That means lots of PR, and many, many public service announcements. She also publishes a bimonthly newsletter for members.
“We have been able to begin building an endowment,” says Oglesby. An endowment is a permanent fund which produces interest payments to support an organization. Having one is every non-profit’s dream.
The couple is also building alliances with other organizations, like the county’s antique tractor club. The museum’s staff and board are planning another museum in Monte Vista, one dedicated to agricultural history.
As if providing enlightenment and entertainment weren’t enough, the facility also serves as the Tourist Bureau for Rio Grande County.
“If we have a tourist walk in and ask for information about South Fork, we’ve got it,” says Oglesby.
The museum also offers programs and trips for Valley schools. Recently, they took a herd of fourth- and sixth-graders from Mosca on a paleontology expedition.
Inside the facility, there’s some kind of new exhibit every three months, usually artwork. Lectures and demonstrations are offered at least twice a month, more often in the summer.
The museum will offer a lot of field trips this summer, including some four-wheel-drive trips. Destinations include Summitville, gold mining towns, and trips to look at native flowers and unique geology.
“Part of our mission is to display and disseminate information on Rio Grande County and the San Luis Valley,” says Oglesby.
But the information does include culture from outside the Valley. Art exhibits and lecturers travel to Del Norte to enrich the local scene.
Artists (not crafters) are invited to submit samples of their work for consideration by the museum’s art committee.
SOMETIMES ARTWORK in the museum is for sale, but price tags aren’t displayed — buyers should ask the staff for prices. The museum takes a small commission on those sales. There is also a small gift shop on the premises.
Currently, the museum’s exhibits include data and artifacts from the excavation of La Loma de San Jose, the first settlement on the upper Rio Grande, founded in 1859.
The display includes a diorama of the village and family trees of the first settlers.
Early 20th-century baby clothes and wedding outfits are on display, as is a period parlor, with furniture, sheet music and books. There’s a collection of surveying and assaying equipment, and an assortment of old musical instruments.
Volunteers are putting together “the kitchen,” replete with cooking utensils, household appliances and product cartons from the early 20th century.
Another exhibit honors Lillian Fassett, the first woman entrepreneur in the area. She opened a general store in 1881 and became the first postmistress in Monte Vista, as soon as it was incorporated in 1886. James Cary French, an early prospector, is celebrated too.
Other displays feature petroglyphs, common in the area; water history and issues; and archeoastronomy. The courtyard of the museum features an horno, an outdoor oven.
Fire conditions permitting, bread will be baked in it this summer.
Education, excitement, and participation: that’s Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center — abundance in a small package.
For information about programs, fees, and hours of operation, go to rgcm.org, or call 1-800-233-4403 or 719-657-2847. The address is 580 Oak St., Del Norte 81132.
Marcia Darnell is in recovery from a full-time government job. She lives and writes in the San Luis Valley.