Museum forms history group

The Museum of North Idaho and its members have formed a Friends of History group to act as a museum foundation and help with the planned capital campaign to finance the construction of a new museum.

The board and museum director Dorothy Dahlgren invited interested North Idahoans to join them for dessert and coffee at the museum on Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. for an informational meeting about the new group.

Board president Kathy Arneson said the Friends of History will operate as a foundation, separate from the museum and the board but dedicated to the promotion of the museum. Its purpose will be to assist the museum in building community awareness, fundraising and membership-building activities that will aid the construction of the new museum.

Arneson said the planning and groundwork for the new building is well under way with a new site, between Memorial Field and Northwest Boulevard, selected. Architectural drawings by the firm of Madsen, Mitchell, Evenson and Conrad are complete.

“The actual beginning of construction is about seven years away,” Arneson said, “and we are going to have to have a lot of help from those willing to help build.”

Established in 1968, the museum has outgrown the space at its current location, which is the central repository for the history of Kootenai, Benewah and part of Shoshone counties. Arneson encourages anyone who is interested in seeing the museum expand, who is concerned about preserving cultural history or who would like to learn about the North Idaho community and its history, to attend Tuesday’s get-together and to RSVP by calling 664-3448 or by e-mail at www.museumni.org in order to plan for refreshments.

Those not attending the dessert and coffee hour can obtain an application for Friends of History by writing to Museum of North Idaho, P.O. Box 812, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83812.