Carson Park is on its way to becoming a beautiful wintery wonderland! It's a great time of year to find your way through the park for holiday-themed fun and history-themed experiences.

Saturday, December 3:
Crafts, Cookies, and Caroling Fun
5th Annual Gingerbread Display

WEAU captured the November 26^th cookies, carols, & crafts event. Activities will be offered again on December 3^rd & 10^th. 

All holiday fun is included with museum admission. Become a member and enjoy FREE access to these activities on Saturday Dec. 3^rd:

• Vintage Crafts, 1:00 - 4:00pm

Take a peek at the 23-room dollhouse all decorated for the holidays on your way to create your own treasures from yesteryear.

• Cookie Decorating, 1:00 - 4:00pm while supplies last

Decorate Mrs. York's Cookies sugar cookies in the Ice Cream Parlor. Available for purchase: Ice cream novelties, assorted chips, and canned soda.

• Holiday Tunes with Sheila Wall, 1:00 - 1:30pm

Sing along to holiday favorites as Sheila accompanies you on guitar and piano.

• Story Time with Ben Minerath, 1:30 - 2:00pm

Gather in the auditorium for the classic The  Night Before Christmas and other holiday stories.

• Caroling in Galleries, 2:00 - 2:30pm

Join in the fun with familiar tunes as the music meanders through museum galleries (carols led by music therapist Sheila Wall).

• Gingerbread Display, on view December 3^rd - 17^th This year's display is generously supported by Market and Johnson

Marvel at the creativity and look for connections to the museum's Then & Now: 150 Years of Change in Eau Claire  exhibit. Use the iPad provided or your own device to vote online for your favorite structures!

Closing Soon:
Then and Now:
150 Years of Change in Eau Claire

A Huebsch delivery wagon and 1906 automobile have been a part of this exhibit since it opened in May. Next week they will move back into permanent storage ahead of additional snow accumulation. The museum's exhibit celebrating Eau Claire's sesquicennial year remains on view through December 31st during museum operating hours: Wednesdays - Saturdays 12:00 - 5:00pm and Tuesdays 5:00 - 8:00pm (closed December 24th, closing early December 29th & 31st).

There are two more programs connected to this exhibit. a Collecting the Valley  presentation and a party for CVM members and their friends. Make sure to set aside some time between now and December 31st to stop in for one final look at Eau Claire's journey through its first 150 years.

Give Us Your Vote!
Volume One's  Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll
voting ends Friday December 9^th

In 2022, Chippewa Valley Museum was voted #1 "Best Museum/Historic Site" and Carson Park was ranked #2 for "Best Public Park"

The museum is listed in ten different poll categories this year. Click the links below to view the contenders and cast your vote for the museum! Note:  You must be signed-in to a Volume One account to vote. Go to the Sign In page to sign in, reset your password, or create an account.

• Best Museum/Historic Site

• Best Tour / Tourist Attraction

• Best Art Exhibition From the Past Year

• Best Place to Take Your Kids

• Best Thing

• Best Kept Secret

• Best Social Media Presence / Business or Organization

• Best Volunteer Opportunity

• Best Place to Impress Out-of-town Guests

• Favorite Local Nonprofit

According to Volume One, winners of this poll will be featured in a special issue of Volume One on Feb. 9. The poll has been running since 2007, celebrating the people and places that make the Valley a great place to live, work, and visit.

Holiday Gift Ideas
Keep the museum in mind as you do your holiday shopping this year

Carson Park is beautiful year-round, but it's especially lovely after a fresh snowfall. Once there is more snow in the park, you will be able to check out snowshoes as part of Eau Claire's Wintermission initiative. Finally, if you're planning a social event between now and New Year's day, try out the The List Holiday Escape Room at the Schlegelmilch House. 

Peace,
Carrie Ronnander
Director, Chippewa Valley Museum
 
PS  -- It's basketball season, and I'm a bit partial to that sport. Last July, Archivist Jodi Kiffmeyer shared a great little story about basketball as part of the #ChippewaValleyHistory series.Below is the post.

Abrahamson family basketball team with their coach and father, Roy Abrahamson; 1947 (CVM 930200-0008-001)

Roy Abrahamson of Fairchild had six sons--the perfect number for a basketball team, plus one substitute. Edwin, Gerald, Charles, Alvin, Lyle, and Pete Abrahamson took to the court in Fairchild on the evening of March 4, 1947, with father Roy as coach. They'd challenged the Lions Club basketball team, who had a record of 10 wins and 5 losses, to a match on the eve of the club's tournament. Ranging in age from 30-year-old Edwin to 12-year-old Pete, the brothers took home a win that night, scoring 38 points to the Lions' 32.

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 7 March 1947

The Lions Club couldn't let the defeat stand and proposed a rematch. On March 20, a date "scheduled when the Lions decided they had improved enough to take another chance" (Eau Claire Leader, 20 Mar 1947), the club discovered they'd need to work a bit harder, once again losing to the Abrahamson brothers.They must have cut their losses at that point, because no record of a third game appears in any newspaper.

Roy Abrahamson was a well-known citizen in Fairchild. He worked for the railroad until 1928, when he started his own coal and trucking business. Around the time he coached his sons in their legendary games, he was the mayor of Fairchild and also served time on the community's volunteer fire department. He died in 1976, at the age of 76. --Jodi, CVM Archivist