The Butterfield Trail June 10, 2008 – January 2009 2008 marks the sesquicentennial of the Butterfield Overland Mail’s southern route which passed through El Paso, the (then) town of Franklin, Texas. The ruts made from the stagecoaches along this road are still visible on land owned by the El Paso International Airport. Until replaced regionally by railroads, 19th century stagecoaches provided the most dependable, scheduled land transportation for people and the mail. El Paso was both a station site and supply center for the surrounding region. The Butterfield Trail display includes a full-size stagecoach on loan from the Wells Fargo Stagecoach Appearance Program, clothing, tools, weapons from the 1850s, maps of historic routes and photographs of people and places engaged in stagecoaching. The exhibit also highlights artifacts collected by the Conklings; a husband/wife archaeological team from El Paso who made one of the first 20th century surveys of the Butterfield Route. A hands-on section for children completes the exhibit providing the opportunity to learn how to “handle the reins,” what to pack for a stagecoach trip and the answer to that all-important question; how much room is there on that center seat?

Packed Away - Trunks, chests and wardrobes Coming Soon. The United States has been characterized as a “throw away” society. But what about those things we don’t throw away? What have we chosen to keep and how have we preserved these items? Packed Away is an exhibition comprised of trunks, chests and wardrobes temporarily turned into exhibit cases. Inside are clothing and accessories, bedding, linens and the other odds and ends from the past that most families accumulate. Packed Away identifies these items but also asks the visitor questions. Why are there more women’s clothes saved than men’s? Why dolls but no red wagons? How does this affect our view of everyday life in the past? We tuck away our family items in order to preserve them – a concept that is central to the management of museum collections. Packed Away includes information on better storage techniques through the use of acid free storage boxes and other important materials. The exhibit will also provide information from the Museum’s reference library on preservation, particularly from the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a recent grant awarded to the Museum.

The Search for a New Museum Director In July, the Museum interviewed two prospective Museum director candidates, neither of which was ultimately chosen. It was an interesting interview process with both candidates being interviewed the same day. There were twelve professional, local panelists that split into two teams; one convened in the 1st floor seminar room and the other in the 2nd floor boardroom. Each interview was forty-five minutes in length with the candidates being moved from one room to the other for the immediate 2nd phase of their interview. There were twelve predetermined questions, one for each panelist. The candidate’s answers were kept to five minutes per question. There was then a short period allotted for any other questions the panelists might have and then the floor was turned over to the candidate for questions back to the panel. By 1:30 in the afternoon the panelists were meeting over lunch and discussing each candidate. It was during this post-interview process, the panelists, affirming that each candidate was justifiably qualified, unanimously decided to continue the search.

Focus on Perspectives Lecture Series, Part III read more...

El Paso Museum of History Receives IMLS Award read more...

City Council offers $100,000 Matching Grant Challenge read more...

New Director of Education Hired read more...

Special Events Coordinator Hired read more...

New membership Challenge read more...

Call for Submissions: Immigrant Women of El Paso November 14 – December 31, 2008 A tribute to immigrant women who made El Paso their first U.S. home. The El Paso Museum of History is once again making a call to the El Paso community to participate in an exhibit in much the same way the community came together and supported Rock & Roll El Paso. The El Paso Museum of History is your museum celebrating you! In May of this year, the El Paso Museum of History received a call from Marian Haddad, a poet, essayist, visiting writer, manuscript editor and consultant, and creative writing workshop instructor, who was born in El Paso but now resides in San Antonio. Her mother, Namnoume Aboud Haddad, passed away November 14, 2007. Ms. Haddad has wanted to pay tribute to her mother since that day. The project has now expanded to celebrating the lives of all, or as many as the Museum can properly present, women who emigrated from ALL COUNTRIES directly to El Paso. Of course, many came through Ellis Island while others traversed across various borders by land, plane, boat, train . . . to find themselves here in El Paso. While the Museum will not be accepting the actual framed photos/portraits at this time, the first step is to fill out the attached application  (download) and email it to Jim Murphy, the Museum development director at: murphyjr@elpasotexas.gov There are a few guidelines established: Applications will be honored until the Museum decides they have enough. Don’t wait until the last minute. All pictures/portraits must be of the mother only. No additional family members. All pictures must be framed and ready to hang. It could be any type frame as long as it is ready to hang. Nothing has to be perfect. No framed picture is too small. No picture can be larger than 20” wide x 30” tall (including the frame, outside to outside) Pictures must be delivered to the El Paso Museum of History between October 15 and October 31, 2008. Applications can be downloaded and emailed back to murphyjr@elpasotexas.gov beginning July 1, 2008 Include the following information (see application): The entire name of the woman (including maiden and married name if they have both) The date of her birth and death (if that is the case) The city/village and country from which she emigrated and the date of emigration (general date is fine) 100-150 word paragraph describing your mom Photos must be of women who are either: Deceased or alive but not under 80 years old Space is limited, don’t wait.

El Paso Museum of History

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