Wellington Remembered receives accolades

The Northwest Railway Museum has received an award for its Wellington Remembered exhibit. The Association of King County Historical Organizations (“AKCHO”) has recognized Wellington Remembered with its 2011 Exhibit Award. The Exhibit Award is presented annually to an organization for an outstanding permanent, traveling, outreach, or temporary display or exhibit of any size that uses historical collections as the educational source material.

Wellington Remembered is an exhibit and web site launched in February 2010 commemorating the town of Wellington (1892 – 1929) and the Wellington Disaster (1910). This broad-based effort included the Museum’s Oberg Collection of Wellington images and resources from a variety of other regional institutions including the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, Skykomish Historical Society, Everett Public Library, University of Washington Special Collections, and the Washington State Historical Society. In the first year, over 100,000 people visited the exhibit or web site. Volunteers assisted in assembling a half scale section of snow shed used as the exhibit venue. The project was curated by the Museum’s educator Jessie C., and was funded by 4Culture and the Museum's general fund.

The award was presented on April 26 at AKCHO’s annual awards reception held at the Museum of History and Industry. King County Councilmember Jane Hague was the MC. Other recipients include the Museum of Flight for the Boeing B-29 restoration, a 19 year effort; Dr. Quintard Taylor for BlackPast.org; and Preserving the Stories of Fall City, a memory book project of the Fall City Historical Society.

AKCHO is a professional association that exists to encourage cooperation among historical organizations and to promote and encourage the study and preservation of the history and heritage of King County through member organizations, individual members, and the community they serve, and to support such preservation efforts through public awareness and understanding of legislative issues. Meetings are held monthly and are open to the public.

Photo (top): The award plaque presented to Jessie C. and Richard A. at the awards ceremony.

Photo (bottom): Councilmember Jane Hague and Jo Ann E. ~ the 2010 exhibit award winner from Kenmore Heritage Society ~ presented the award to Jessie C. and Richard A.

Museum hosts Evening Magazine

The Northwest Railway Museum made a beautiful setting for television's King 5 Evening Magazine. The filming occurred on Monday, June 14 with host Meeghan Black. It featured the Snoqualmie Depot and the Museum's interpretive railway during introductory segments. The program is scheduled to air at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

Ms. Black has visited the museum prior to today's assignment and took the time to learn about the many improvements made over the last few years. She briefly visited the Conservation and Restoration Center, and had a chance to tour the new Wellington Remembered exhibit. Several clips were filmed from a moving train too.

Special thanks go out to Jason P. and Jon B. for treking up to the Museum to run the train for Meeghan, and to Sue V. and Jessie C. for setting it up! It has become a rare day when the media visits the Museum for coverage not related to a disaster and it was great to be able to accomodate their request.

Evening Magazine in the Seattle market debuted in 1986. It features stories about lifestyle, leisure, current events, and even museums! It remains a popular program after nearly 24 years on the air. Episodes often repeat on Northwest Cable News.