Encore!
Mark your calendars for November 11, 2006, and plan to attend "Encore: Another Evening with the Stars". Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with a social hour and silent auction followed by dinner and entertainment. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Parish Hall is the place to be for this fabulouse fund raising event. Proceeds benefit the Alvin Historical Museum Exhibit Fund.
For more details and ticket information, click on Alvin Historical Museum.
posted by Alvin Museum Society | 1:12 PM
2 Comments:
The Alvin Museum Society is a important organization for Alvin, Texas. As with any community, the history of that community is important for its residents so they will know where they came from, where they are, and where they are likely to go.
Alvin is on the threshold of a new era. As the Houston Metropolitan area creeps slowly toward Alvin, the city has some real challenges ahead. Some estimates have Alvin almost doubling in size in the next 10 years. The influx of new people will bring with it new idea and people who may not be so tolerant of the provincial way of Alvin.
Once again in Alvin’s history, the nature and character of Alvin will be challenged and maybe changed.
I have been connected at a very minor level with the Museum Society for about two years now. That is not long enough to claim any real tenure, but long enough to have a pretty good picture of the organization.
I am also one of the younger people in the organization. I guess that is typical of organization of this nature, but it is not a good situation. As a High School student I was in the History Club and would have wanted to be involved in a Museum Society if there had been one. I am sure that there are many young people who would be active in the Museum Society if there were programs to foster that.
It took almost a year of doing the Blog/Web Site for the museum before I was asked to do more in the society. I still find that the understanding of the benefits of the Web-Site is still not understood.
One of the characteristics of small towns is that young people leave and live elsewhere. Those people still have a connection to Alvin and most often have family here. The internet allows easy access to what is going on in Alvin and offers the Museum Society an avenue for both outreach and fundraising. Online membership and sales of Museum publications and items can bring in much needed funds and participation.
As this letter will attest, I am rather a Bull in a China Shop when I feel strongly about an issue, but I do not insist upon being where I am not wanted. I got and get the feeling that there is a distinct tendency toward not wanting to dilute "control" of the Society by encouraging widespread participation.
The Museum Society is a wonderful organization and the people who have spent, and currently spend their talents and time making it wonderful are to be commended and valued. However, there needs to be a dramatic effort to bring more people of much greater diversity in to the Society.
I drive by the Alvin Historical Museum and see it as a perfect example of the Society. It is a wonderful facility; it has great exhibits inside – it is just not open. If we wait for it to be perfect it will never be open. There is much to do and there is much more that the Society can do.
For any organization to flourish control must be divested from the top. Responsibility must be delegated and then those who accept that responsibility must be allowed to exercise that responsibility independently. One person or a small group of people can only do so much. If everything has to be given microscopic overview and delayed until that review can be given things will move slowly.
I hear all the time that the people who hold the leadership positions do so because they are the only ones who will accept the responsibility. I offer that while that is probably true on one level, the very nature of the organization maybe the limiting factor.
The resistance to the Blog was and is intense, not because of any intentional antipathy, but because many in the leadership are not familiar with technology.
I left Alvin some thirty years ago because there was no place for me here. I find that to still be the situation. Like old dogs with bones, those who stayed behind hold their positions as being some birthright for staying here. I do not pretend to believe that a person who has devoted their lives to the betterment of their community does not deserve respect and in some cases a degree of reverence. That said, life goes on and change it the one constant in life.
In some of my discussion with members, I was told that an idea I suggested had been tried and it did not work. That is a bad rut to fall into. One can try something and it not work because it was not the right time or it was tried the wrong way by the wrong people.
It is time for change in the Alvin Museum Society. I say this as an outsider. I may not be here in a month or I may be here for 20 years. Alvin is my hometown and I have a deep interest in History. I would be willing to do more in the Museum Society as well as in the town generally, but those avenues are not open to me or most of the citizen of Alvin. If I were not connected by family to the Society, I would not be able to so the little I have been able to do.
Look North, Change is coming. History tells us that when great change comes it often wipes existing structures out. It is only those that are ready to adapt and incorporate change into their structures that survive. A good symbolic start would be to open, on a limited basis, the Alvin Historical Museum. Follow that with a broad active outreach for participation and membership. There are many tools and people that are available if they are only given the chance.
Roy E Pearson
Alvin resident 1949-1967 and 2005-present.
I agree with much that Roy has expressed in his post . I have also felt that the resource of a website has not been explored by members of the society . I do think this resource should be maximized , but that may be because I am very active on the Web , and many others in the society are not , possibly due to time constraints , lack of technical knowledge ( by the way -such is not really required ! It is easy to respond to posts and easy to navigate the diffent blogs and sites one may be interested in ) , and resistance to change .
I respect the elder members and the massive groundwork laid in the beginnings of the museum . Some of us younger members were either too busy in our lives and careers to be involved , or weren't aware of the project .
I was aware from the beginning , but was one of those who thought ; " Someone else will do it . " I regret this , and am now beginning to be involved as time permits . I come to the meetings and have helped in a small way , hoping to become more involved in the future . I challenge others to come to meetings , ask questions , join the Society , and visit the museum .
We need discussion about methods of encouraging younger people to join and participate . I feel that the modern generations will respond well to a website that can draw attention to the museum , even from other cities where our townfolk have moved , whether to college or work .
As Roy said , many retain a connection to the hometown , no matter how far away they move . The internet is one of the satisfying ways to keep in touch with home . For example , my uncle , Rolland Madera , who is 97 years old , reads this blog and is a member of the Society , even though he cannot travel anymore , and has not been to Alvin in years .
If one forsakes his home , he has lost a very important part of his history . Our Alvin history can be preserved through the museum , the cottage , the proposed railroad museum , the Old Timer's Reunion , and other means .
We need to further the effort in any way possible !
I wonder why the museum can't be open some weekend days at least once a month , but preferably more often . It does not need to be completed to be a treasure . The public at large is not aware of the museum at this time and some exposure is needed badly . A " work in progress " is a great way to capture and retain interest . Visitors may well be likely to return to see what has been added since the last visit .
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