Old-fashioned service on display
The World War II-era air raid siren at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum makes its trademark wailing sound when a button is pushed, but not at its former ear-piercing level.
“Our eardrums would be bleeding and burst at this close proximity,” said museum director Jayne Singleton.
The siren is part of a new “America at War” exhibit encompassing the Civil War, World War I and World War II that should be completed in mid-April. The museum has a World War II tent, field stoves, photographs, uniforms and a radio from a B-17. Some artifacts from the Civil War will also be on display. The museum would have included items from other wars if they had been available, Singleton said. “We just don’t have any artifacts from Vietnam or other wars.”
The most prominent new exhibit, placed in front of the main entrance, is a vintage Texaco gas station complete with pumps. There’s even a mannequin to represent the attendant who would have pumped gas, put air in the tires and checked under the hood. “The focus of this exhibit was what a service station meant 40 years ago,” Singleton said. “You never got out of the car. Now you pull up to the pump, swipe your card and drive away.”
Kids will like the new toy room in the front of the museum. It has an old toy stove, a carrousel, a model train and a doll collection. “Some of these are 100 years old,” Singleton said of the dolls. “These are all toys kids played with back in the days when they used their imagination, not their thumbs.”
By the end of April Singleton hopes to have the “Barn Keepers” exhibit up. The photographs of old barns still standing in the area will be framed in wood from another old barn. Volunteers from Spokane Valley Baptist Church are putting together an exhibit on the church, which turns 100 this year.
The museum, housed in the old Opportunity Township Hall, opened in August 2005. The building, built in 1912, saw a lot of community use in its day, so it’s only fitting that it house the museum, Singleton said. “It’s the most appropriate place to house the history of the Valley,” she said. “There are very few historical buildings left in the Valley. So much has been torn down. We really take our responsibility seriously.”
The museum has hosted many exhibits over the years. Singleton said that often the historical artifacts she needs are brought in after people stop by for a visit. “As more people become aware of the museum, things are brought in,” she said. “The community is a wonderful resource.”
Sometimes it’s downright uncanny how artifacts appear at the right time. “I used to think it was coincidence,” she said. “I don’t think so anymore. It happens too frequently.”
Volunteer Peggy Taylor said she dropped in for the museum’s grand opening and liked it so much she stayed. As a former Cheney Cowles Museum volunteer, it was right up her alley. “I’ve always liked museum work,” she said. “I love to talk to people. It’s been a wonderful adventure to me.”
Singleton said she appreciates volunteers like Taylor, who have often lived most of their lives in the Valley. “We’ve got a wonderful group of volunteers,” she said. “We could not have achieved what we have without them.”
The museum is planning a Farm Days event for late April or May, with displays of antique tractors and hands-on demonstrations of historical equipment. A date for the event has not yet been finalized.