Chassell Historical Organization - fashion museum, chassell museum

Strawberry Festival
Open House

Friday, July 10, 2009 from 12-6 pm &
Saturday, July 11, 2009 from 12-4 pm

Summer 2009 Information!

Chassell Heritage Center opens for the season on July 7 and remains open through August 30^th.

On Saturday, July 11, at 2:00 pm, the Friends of Fashion present their annual Strawberry Festival vintage fashion show entitled The Italians of the Copper Country.

Tickets are $5.00 and are available from members, at the Heritage Center, and at the Einerlei in Chassell. email: shop@einerlei.com

Museum exhibits include a new exhibit by the Friends of Fashion entitled By Her Own Hands, a recent addition, Lumber Kings to Strawberry Kings, and the exhibit of early Chassell, the Chassell Timeline Exhibit.

The Special Events Thursday Evening Programs, held on most Thursday evenings at 7pm in the upstairs auditorium, include presentations to please all age groups.

Special Events for Summer 2009---Thursday Evenings, 7:00 P. M.

July 2 Museum Closed ~~ July 4^th holiday.

July 9 Museum Closed – Strawberry Cleaning Bee @Chassell Park Pavilion

Join the community to clean strawberries for the 61^st annual Strawberry

Festival.

July 16 Author Steve Lehto presents a discussion and power point on

Douglass Houghton, subject of his most recent book

July 23 An Evening of music with Courtney Clisch! 13 year old Courtney

sings a variety of Country, Spiritual, Traditional Finnish, Italian &

songs from well-known operas.

July 30 Joe Youngman will give a power point presentation showcasing the

Birds of the Keweenaw.

Aug. 6 The Truckey Boys – An evening of music by two brothers, will include songs

from their soon to be released CD, “The Family Hour”, featuring songs about

their experiences growing up, becoming adults, raising their families,

relationships, history and the bewilderment of life. The warmth and energy

of these experienced performers/songwriters is sure to please our audience.

Aug. 13 “Having Fun With The Accordion”. Musician Marilyn Monsivais

presents an evening of rollicking accordion sing-along music.

Aug. 20 An evening of good old traditional, sing-along music. Enjoy some of the

Copper Country’s most talented entertainers. Dave Bezotte, Mark Oliver,

Evan Dixon, Ray Bosley and Pete Wickley share their special talents

singing a variety of musical selections for your entertainment.

Aug. 27 The Friends of Fashion present “Italians of the Copper Country”

Fashions will be showcased along with the culture and traditions

highlighting the lives of the Italians who immigrated here to create new lives for

themselves and their families

Friends of Fashion

The Friends of Fashion function as an educational arm of the Chassell Historical Organization, Inc. They present historical fashion shows and mount a new exhibit showcasing vintage clothing and history every two years in the Chassell Heritage Center. The group has given stage presentations throughout the western and central Upper Peninsula as well as northern Wisconsin. They can be hired by your group or organization to present a historical vintage fashion show. Call Nancy at (906) 523-4612 or e-mail: nancy@einerlei.com

2009 Friends of Fashion

Friends of Fashion present a new exhibit this year entitled By Her Own Hands. This stunning exhibit celebrates the magnificent artistic talents of women in the home. Learn how the sewing machine was a great liberator and how women expressed themselves creatively in so many mediums.

On Saturday, July 11, the group premieres their new vintage fashion show entitled The Italians of the Copper Country. Tickets are $5.00 and may be purchased prior to the show at the Chassell Heritage Center or at the Einerlei in Chassell. Call 906-523-4612 or email nancy@einerlei.com.

The show will again be presented for a Thursday evening program at the Heritage Center on August 27^th, 7:00pm.

“LUMBER KINGS TO STRAWBERRY KINGS”

Our new exhibit entitled “Lumber Kings to Strawberry Kings” opened for the 2005 season. Chassell Historical Organization members worked diligently for almost two years on this permanent exhibit showcasing the strawberry industry, the Chassell Lions Club, and the strawberry festival, all vitally important to our community.

Visitors are able to walk through Chassell’s history moving from the lumbering industry and on through the development of strawberry farming, the founding of the Chassell Lions Club, and the development of a festival to promote the growing and sales of strawberries.

There is something for everyone in our new exhibit. Featured is a collection of historical photographs that were originally taken by Angus Ward and recently reproduced from the original glass negatives. Other facets of the exhibit include a history of strawberry farming from the turn of the last century to the present and the story of how a group of industrious farmers determined how to successfully market their berries. Learn about what it takes to grow a strawberry, and the how the strawberry industry profoundly effected our community. Patrons are sure to recognize many familiar names and faces among the personal stories of local farm families. Find your family and friends in the delightful recollections of past strawberry festivals.

This exhibit has been made possible with the help and cooperation of many people. Fortunately, strawberry association records had been stored by private individuals and these were made available so that we might piece together the real story of the organization’s history. In 2004, CHO members began interviewing past and present strawberry growers to learn about strawberry farming and the history of the strawberry associations. Many enjoyable hours were spent with these men and women who recounted their farming and family histories and generously shared many photographs and artifacts. Without their help and cooperation, the exhibit would not have been possible. Our heartfelt thanks go out to these wonderful people.

We are grateful to the Chassell Lions Club and the Chassell Improvement Association for generously contributing $5000 for the production of the exhibit. Their generosity has enabled the CHO to produce a professional-quality exhibit of which we may all be proud.