November 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
Gratitude turns what we have into enough – Aesop
Some winds and clouds building around the Sierra Mountains with a mix of some beautiful warmth still in the day and the evening chills make the Indian Wells Valley the place to be in November. Sunsets of beauty and drama are sure to be on the calendar this month!
At the Maturango Museum we find many reasons to be thankful for our friends and our community. Even though we do not always follow the same path, we still pull together in ways that come from the heart. So often I am reminded of the generous and kind nature of many people in our valley and many who now live in other communities who still keep us in their thoughts. Many thanks for the messages and the visits. It’s a pleasure! The many people who work to make our programs appreciate the support and encouragement you give. It matters!
We give a great Thank You to all of those who made our Annual Dinner/Auction a success! Desert Valleys Credit Union, Hyla Nursery, Firequick, State Farm Insurance, our Friends and supporters and the Oasis Garden Club for beautiful décor. The catering by Casey’s and the amazing desserts in the auction were delicious and fun. Our very biggest thanks to Steve Morgan for making the journey to be our auctioneer. Truly the best. Thank you for everyone who made it happen, the wonderful attendees and the donations! Our greatest thanks from all of us at the Maturango Museum! Let’s do this again next year!
My Best to you all.
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October 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
October seems to hold the essence of being a time for preparation. The heat of the desert lets go enough so that we can enjoy outdoor activities and to prepare for the holidays to come. One of our favorite activities in October is the Open Studio Tour. It is the perfect joining of buying locally made gifts mixed with friendships renewed and new ones made. The artists are all inspirational and fun people. We hope to see many out for the weekend on the 26th & 27th.
I would like give a thanks from each member of the Staff and our volunteers to each person who has made our fundraising efforts worthwhile and fun. You are a big part of why we are here and why we work so hard to fulfill the mission of the Maturango Museum.
My Best to you all.
Download the October Newsletter Now
September 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
“All at once, summer collapsed into fall.” — Oscar Wilde
I feel a certain gratitude for days where there are fewer fires filling our eyes and throats with the smoke and ash. It seemed that August had notifications each day. It is good that some of those big burns are showing the work of constant work done by the firefighters. I am grateful for the firefighters and their work. Please take care and check on roads and pass ability if heading out.
September is the month when we hold our Annual Fundraising Dinner Auction. We hope to see you there! Tickets are on sale on our website and in the Museum Store. It’s a fun event and we have a chance to be with friends and bid on some interesting items! It’s always a good time!
I hope you have a chance to come by the Museum and see our displays. The Soaring and the ARTifacts displays are not permanent, so if you have a chance, it’s worth the visit! We do have some talented and interesting people in the Indian Wells Valley! It is great fun to be inspired by the artifacts and by the artworks themselves.
At the Museum we are watching the growth of our solar field and the changes it will bring as we work towards its completion. The Solar Committee and Sidewinder Solar are working together to get the most from our field. Many thanks to all!
Enjoy these first reminders of cooler days and the beauty to be found around us. We are better together and we hope to see you come in for a visit, a walk around the garden or to volunteer! Thank you for everything you do to support the museum and for your time!
Remember the Bricks! The new walkway through the garden that leads to our new curation building makes the garden accessible to our visitors. If you are interested in buying an engraved brick that will enhance the walkway the information is on our website and in the Museum Store.
Download the September Newsletter Now
https://maturango.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/September-2024-up.pdf
August 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
“Leaving any bookstore is hard, especially on a day in August, when the street outside burns and glares, and the books inside are cool and crisp to the touch.” – Jane Smiley
Once again, this has been a summer of extreme heat that has made itself felt in the dry leaves and grasses and the survival of all things growing. The growth all winter from the deep soaking we got from Hilary and the winter rains has increased the amount of crisp and dehydrated plants when exposed to the extremes heat of the desert. We all feel it and the need for water is ever present. Don’t leave home without it!
Our gardens are looking good with the work being done and a few new plantings that are surviving with care. Our new walkway through the garden that leads to our curation building makes the garden accessible to our visitors. If you are interested in buying an engraved brick that will enhance the walkway the information is on our website and in the Museum Store.
We are putting together more plans for trips and tours. Some of us went on the July trip to Bodie and had the opportunity to go around the town and to the Stamp Mill. The tour was led by informative host Chris Spiller from the Bodie Foundation. We were glad to support the work they are doing to slow, or arrest, the decay of the remaining structures. It was a day of information and stories along with photogenic structures and historical items. It was a full tour that still included time to investigate on our own which was fun as the weather was beautiful. We hope to put together a tour to that area again next year if the weather allows, the roads are good and there is interest.
In reference to the opening quote, the Maturango Store has a great book section! If you come in and look at a few you too may find them an excellent respite from the heat! We have some fun books for the young readers as well. Too soon they will be going back to various school situations and may enjoy having a favorite read for these burning hot days!
Please stay hydrated! Our best to you all.
Download the August Newsletter Now
https://maturango.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/August-2024-update-fx.pdf
July 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
“Taking a wrong turn allows you to see landscapes you wouldn’t otherwise have seen.”
Rick Rubin
Sometimes in the heat of July we find a reason to travel up to the cool. We may not have to take a wrong turn, but we may stop just to admire the shades of golden, dry grasses against the lavender hills. There may be a turnout on the highway where the only sound is that of a swiftly flowing river that cuts all other sound from our devices. A noisy peaceful rush of water. Worth the trip even to experience from the car window!
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June 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
By Debbie Benson, Director
“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes,
and every sunset is different.” John Steinbeck
The Maturango Museum is a busy place with our activities and visitors. It is beginning to be the season where travel is what everyone is planning for a day or even longer. It is always fun to meet the people coming our way and our lizards seem ready to greet our guests, with only an occasional scream! Enjoy watching them but please let them go about their business as inhabitants of our garden.
This month we are beginning our 2nd Annual Matching Funds fundraiser. We have some amazing donors so please match their funds as you can! Double the Impact!
This month we are setting up a “buy a brick fundraiser” as well. We will let you know the details as soon as we have the complete information on the laser engraved bricks. We will use them to be a part of the new pathways through the Gladys Merrick Garden.
Enjoy seeing the desert and remember to hydrate and listen for the birds! If out and about, use care and enjoy the coolness of the evening as the sun sinks in the west.
Be well.
Download the June Newsletter Now
May 2024 Newsletter
Museum Director’s Notes
Debbie Benson
“May offers the genesis of our creative rebirth, unfurling the tapestry of genius with each step
we take…” ― Dr. Tracey Bond
One of the aspects of the Museum environment that involves decisions made in the past and our entering the future, are our permanent displays. We changed our flow pattern when we went through our expansion over ten years ago and rethought some of what we understood to be important. Our process continues. This last Friday we had an outstanding event that included Museum staff, volunteers, friends and family as the acrylic case was installed around the Paleontology Display. Along with a group of our volunteers who have worked for some time on this project, we had the pleasure of working with some of the workers from Sidewinder Solar as a 300-pound acrylic case was negotiated from the back of a transport trailer, through an entryway, through exhibits and into location for installation. While it did have a test install and a few redoes, it was hung and set in place in a matter of hours. It is a beautiful display and provides information about the extinct Pleistocene giants in our valley. Please come see it in person if possible! Sherry, our Natural History curator, who led this project, and the people who devoted time, energy and thought have much to be proud of. We are all thankful and proud of what came together. I’m sure more information will come in the future but we all wanted to share a bit now!
The flowers are still coming into bloom and there is much to enjoy! There are desert inhabitants out as well; use your eyes, ears and camera to share their habitat, but please let them be. Our best to you All!
Download the May Newsletter Now
"Chasing Spring on the Pacific Crest Trail"
Back by popular demand - "Chasing Spring on the Pacific Crest Trail" Wednesday, May 15, at 7pm in the Coso Room.
In 2016 Bob and Susan Steele thru-hiked the 2,650 mile-long Pacific Crest Trail with a different goal than anyone else - counting all the birds. Their trek passed through magnificent scenery, diverse habitats, and afforded the chance to see birds moving northbound, from spring migration to summer breeding.
With stunning photography and storytelling, this evening presentation with guest speaker Bob Steele will take you along the mountainous spine of the West Coast, winding from Mexico to Canada with a keen eye toward natural history, flowers and birds. Share in the joy and challenge of backpacking 140 days on one of the most famous trails in the Western Hemisphere, and glimpse some of the 200 species of birds and many flowers found along the way.
This presentation is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated
New Historical Video Screening about the Backyard Players
New Historical Video Screening about the Backyard Players
Sunday, April 21, 2 pm
The Maturango Museum will present a new historical video about Steve Lee and the Backyard Players.
Steve Lee worked on the base for 39 years (1954-1993), and while working here, he also wrote, produced, directed, and acted in nearly 40 plays and sketches. From this effort, he started "The Backyard Players" in the 1960s, a very popular acting group in which each performance pretty much sold out. Literally, all of their plays were staged in someone's backyard. For one stretch — eleven plays in a row—from 1967 to 1982 were performed in the same backyard on the base. It was often difficult to see the plays because you had to be invited by one of the cast members to attend. If you couldn't get an invitation, you couldn't see the play. These plays became legendary in their use of local people, customs and situations, and current events, dumb jokes, puns, simile's, metaphors and fractured English.
Steve retired from the base in 1993 and left the desert. About 15 years after his retirement, Steve returned to the desert to give one last performance and to recount the history of the Backyard Players. During this performance, a few of his actors who still lived in the area performed several skits from his earlier plays. Some of those skits will be shown in tonight's video, which was written, produced, and directed by Mark Pahuta.
The video, which runs a little over an hour, will be screened in the Coso Gallery, Sunday at 2 PM, April 21, 2024. Mark Pahuta will be present to talk about the making of the video.
KRVAA Exhibit at Maturango Museum
Kern River Valley Art Association Art Exhibit at Maturango Museum
Saturday, April 13 – Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Opening Reception Sunday, April 14, 1-3 pm
Opening receptions are always free and open to the public.
The Kern River Valley Art Association (KRVAA) goes on the road! The KRVAA, located in the beautiful Kern River Valley, was founded in 1962 as an all-volunteer, non-profit organization to provide artistic venues and opportunities for artists in the valley and beyond. Early on, the KRVAA mainly organized two art festivals per year, on Memorial and Labor Day. COVID brought the creation of the Arm Chair Gallery where monthly exhibitions were held online via ZOOM. Art works were shown and the artists discussed the works with the audience. The Arm Chair Gallery was very popular and helped to sustain and grow the KRVAA during that difficult time.
Today, the KRVAA operates several buildings in Wofford Heights: The Art Gallery, where monthly themed group shows and solo exhibitions by local artists and middle school students are shown. The gallery also holds classes in drawing and painting, crafts, jewelry making, and more. Industrial arts classes such as blacksmithing, metalwork, stained glass making, and more are offered at a nearby Industrial Arts Complex that houses music classes, monthly music events, and workshops in improvisational theater and comedy. A coffee shop in the same complex is currently under development.
The KRVAA wishes to thank the Maturango Museum for the opportunity to showcase the work of the many talented artists that reside in the Kern River Valley and beyond. The artists included in the show represent the incredibly broad range of talent we are lucky to support. Thank you!
To learn more about the Kern Valley Art Association