Our museum association began back in the early 1960s when several residents from older generations felt compelled to organize a collection of memories. The idea was not new but in our valley not many thought of preserving an era of simple living and families raising their children in the desert.
When things began to change: more families arrived, more schools had to be built, more farmland and mining production; it was then that the familiar had to be protected. Collections stored in attics and in dry fields were rounded up. En masse it would have filled ten barns but there was no center location
The Early Years
the original movers & shakers
Frances Hankin
Frances Hankin became our first President of the fledgling organization. She helped organize the plan to have an indoor display in the Lucerne Valley Community Center — just a back section so grade school children could see how their parents had lived.
Chuck Rader
After Orville Green and Lina passed away, we lost our momentum for a while until our new President Chuck Rader took the reins. The focus and activity level seemed to go up and down. Chuck was like a father to the collection, encouraging new acquisitions and training docents. We knew that without a building to share our collections, it would difficult to gain our dream. We also lead school grade tours through our museum each year.
Orville Green
By 1983, Orville Green with his wife, Lina, grew the membership by offering potluck dinners and a presentation each month. Guest presenters came to share with filmstrips, vacation slides of European countries. Members of other regional museums came to speak to our group. Our members were eager to go on field trips. We joined with the San Bernardino County museum network to gain more exposure and help in funding.
Our dreams of seeing a museum building had to be shrunken to the size of a 12×20 wooden shed. It houses a very small portion on display today. We lovingly call it the “Green Room.”
Over time, our organization of nearly 200 members decided to break away from the county and establish our non-profit status. Donations helped keep the budget going but we needed more help if we planned to see our dream of a full-sized building. Longtime resident and member, Gil Tegelberg bequeathed a large sum as seed money to help in our goal.
A Milestone in Membership
By 1988, our membership had grown to 250+. I remember the days when Orville Green would have to announce one table at a time for potluck dinner — we had as many as nine tables lined with hungry member-families waiting for food and entertainment.
I also remember one of the Christmas celebrations where child prodigy David Mount Jr. at age 5 played a selection of carols on the piano. He was mesmerizing. About that time, our field trips caravaned as far as Big Bear and Ridgecrest, Claremont and Riverside, outings that we may have never done on our own. We also hosted local field trips with other museums and historical societies.