Small town success in a year with so many negatives

By Linda Thompson

McCleary is a town with a success story and a museum! Last fall the Historical Society was in a panic. It lost the building that had housed the museum for over 35 years. Volunteers had weeks to evacuate. They called on the state and other museums to see if anyone could take and save some of their collection.

Then they held a public meeting. They told the townspeople that they were down to three board members/volunteers, had almost no funds, had no place for the collection and admitted defeat. The people of McCleary would not accept defeat. The meeting ended with a full board, and new volunteers. A citizen took an empty building off the market and gave six months’rent-free to store the collection while efforts were made to look to the future. It was truly beyond what anyone dreamed possible.

But the success didn’t end there. Within two weeks they were offered a nearly 100-year-old church building, assessed at over $200,000. With $5,000 down, the $45,000 balance of the sales price would be carried for a year. The building did need some work. A number of local businesses stepped forward to give very low bids for work or give grants. The Grays Harbor Community Foundation and Simpson Door were the major donors but Vaughan Pumps, OCCU, Sierra Pacific, Harbor Pacific Bottling, Bear’s Den, and Gordon’s Grocery all played a role. The City of McCleary helped in every way they could.

But the people of the community – they are amazing. They bought over 200 dozen Krispy Kremes, and over $800 in fudge. The Society feared that people didn’t use cookbooks anymore – but there were over 650 recipes submitted and when the cookbook was done, the first order sold out and a second was needed. Many were pre-ordered, then sold at the Rain Country Restaurant, Facebook, and a corner in Gordon’s Grocery. They went like hotcakes. There are still a few left but the income will exceed $5,000.

Over 80 volunteers have participated already in painting, cleaning, yard work, display development, cookbook preparation and sales. In less than a year, immediately needed repairs were completed and the loan totally covered! McCleary can brag they have a new museum, a beautiful event center for small concerts, lectures or services and a new little gift shop/visitor’s welcome center. It has been a year of success and looks like an even more rewarding future.

Thank you and congratulations, McCleary!

Linda Thompson is president of the McCleary Historical Society

COURTESY PHOTO The pews will remain so the museum can be used as an event center.

COURTESY PHOTO With a major push and generous donations, McCleary Museum volunteers were able to purchase the former United Methodist Church on Third Street in McCleary.