Year in review: Point Roberts Historical Society

Did you know that Irene Waters and her husband Ken ran one of “the” three major jazz music sites in the county in 1956? The Reef’s decade long run with Irene in charge became one of the area’s ranking small jazz hubs ever! I knew Irene personally for many years but never knew this part of her story. That is why history needs a home and we need your help to create it.

The dream of a permanent home for the Historical Society became a reality this past August with the approval from the parks district granting the old library room to our group which allows us to share our collection of photographs, artifacts and materials with the public in a space that both residents and visitors can enjoy and share. But we need your help to make our dream a reality!

The towers have been stopped, the library is built and now we can really use your financial support as we move forward. As a non-profit organization for over 30 years, we can issue tax receipts for donations.  Speaking of donations, we humbly and gratefully thank Mark Robbins and all the members of the Lighthouse Society who so generously gave the Historical Society their remaining funds.

This money couldn’t come at a better time. We are starting from scratch and need to purchase display cases, interactive displays, photo swing panels, computerized inventory software, printers and countless other items that we don’t even know we need yet. It’s a big empty space that we want to bring alive with the Point’s varied and interesting history but it takes money and we need your support.

What can you do to help? Join our group. It’s easy and you’ll receive our bi-annual newsletter. Become a financial benefactor. We plan to set-up a PayPal account for those wishing to make large, small or monthly donations to our group.

Have spare time on your hand? We need help from anyone who is willing to do light construction work for hanging material on the walls and hanging doors for the archive room. We don’t want our elder members climbing tall ladders. If you want to get your hands dirty, then volunteer to meet with other members who will be working on cleaning windows, scrubbing walls and moving cabinets and boxes into the archive room.

Contact Jessica McVey at 360/945-0409 or email historicalsociety@pointroberts.net for future dates and times.

A special thanks to member Bruce Meikle for designing our new logo. Thanks, Bruce! We are excited to begin the process of bringing the Point Roberts History Room to life with treasures, artifacts and photographs of the Point from years gone by. Individual membership is $10, family $15 and business $25. Send checks made payable to Point Roberts Historical Society - PO Box 780, Point Roberts, WA 98281. Find us on Facebook.