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CONCRETE HERITAGE MUSEUM 7380 Thompson Ave. PO Box 445 Concrete, Wa. 98237 Phone: 360-853-7042 E-Mail: concreteheritagemuseum@stumpranchonline.com President: Robin Wood Vice President: Lyle McClure Secretary: Gail Boggs Treasurer: Cheri Cook-Blodgett MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2008 We have some fund-raisers planned. Important works by the museum board and improvements on the museum building require finding funds to help in the effort. If you would like to contribute by becoming a member, give a donation or attend our fund-raisers, your help is always appreciated. Upcoming dates: Old Timers' Story Telling: “Finding Secret Places in the North Cascades” Ancient artifacts tell us that Native People traveled to high places of the Cascades for thousands of years. Late comers beat the brush and climbed the slopes in search of rich mineral veins. Trappers, fishers and hunters followed streams to high valleys and hidden lakes. In remote niches, we find remains of living sites of those who found seclusion and freedom from the confines of civilization. Some people believe that there are places in the North Cascades that “have never been touched by human feet?” There are places so beautiful, so alluring, so daunting to achieve, that surely there must be “secret places” out there still to be found. Henry Custer, an early explorer to the North Cascades, after trying to find words to describe what he viewed around him, wrote: “Whoever wishes to see Nature in all its primitive glory and grandeur, in its almost feroc[i]us wildness, must go and visit these Mountain regions.” Each year, for the “Bald Eagle Festival,” we invite story tellers to gather around the table to spin yarns of their experiences in the Upper Skagit Country. This year we have a collection of folks who have spent a good deal of their lives exploring the alluring mountain landscape that is our back yard. We invite you to come and hear their stories. This popular “Old Timers Story telling” event, hosted by historian Jim Harris is sponsored by the Concrete Heritage Museum Association and the Bald Eagle Festival Committee. It all happens at the Concrete Elementary School on Saturday, January the 26th at 1:00 pm. We hope to see you there! The Board of the museum would like to encourage people to contribute to the Building Fund that will help us continue the work of installing restroom fixtures and getting water and sewer hookups completed. Contributors can contact Board Members, or send contributions directly to the Concrete Heritage Museum, P O Box 445, Concrete, WA 98237. Membership forms to the museum can be located at the Concrete Chamber of Commerce on Main Street. 
 1/29/24 – 2/25/05 We sincerely regret the passing of our Museum founder. Many of us attended Herb’s services on March 2, and were amazed at the recounting of his productive and diverse life. His family and friends shared so many wonderful stories from their personal experiences over the years. The Museum is a designated recipient of memorial donations, and we thank those who have sent them in Herb’s name (and, last year, for Kay as well). We also thank Herb’s extended family for their continuing support, and some wonderful personal memorabilia. Herb’s lifetime of collecting and preserving local history has created a priceless treasure for our community. Concrete Heritage Tours- Saturday tours planned to start from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We can schedule a special tour for 6 to 12 people: Call Cheri at 360-853-8533 to arrange a time. Suggested donation: $3 per person.  12:00 noon to 4:00 pm from the Senior Center/Saturday Market Saturdays, through Labor Day weekend. We suggest a $3.00 per person minimum donation. tour includes a stop at the newly renovated Concrete Heritage Museum. to arrange tours at other times, with groups of 6 to 12 people, call Cheri at 360-853-8533. SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS! We are still collecting Albert’s Red Apple grocery receipts. Boxes are located at Upriver Services, or the Concrete Liquor Store. Keep turning in your Alberts Red Apple Receipts - The 2004 receipt donations added $1424.12 to the Building Fund. Thanks, everyone !!!. The Museum building is coming along nicely with the work getting done by board members and volunteers. We welcome anyone who would like to contribute their time, from manual labor to financial donations to help bring the museum open to the public sooner than current projected goals. The Museum displays are currently being planned out by members; some fun and exciting items on local Concrete history are in the works. To our Members & Friends: Here's what's been accomplished on the Museum building this past year: --Exciting new exhibits are in place, and more items are being brought back from storage. --Office area drywall installed. --Don Smith will be painting background murals, and Jim Harris is installing the logging tool exhibits and media displays. --Gravel walkways around the building make access easier. VOLUNTEERS ARE WELCOME! We need to complete the following: --Continue to move inventory back from storage. --Restore water/sewer service to building. --Pour cement walkways. --Office area ready for paint and new flooring, drop ceiling and light fixtures. --Build outdoor storage covers for canoe and other large exhibit items. 2005-2006 funding for construction projects will be provided by a grant from the Washington Heritage Resource Center. 
 
 
A Walking Map of Historic Concrete Washington by famed local artist Don Smith is available for you to copy free. Just double-click on the image and it will come up in Adobe Acrobat Reader. You will want to print on 8 1/2 X 14 paper and also adjust to landscape printing. You can do this by going up to FILE, then PAGE SETUP before you print.Updated Historical Notes and Building Index for the Map available at this link. 
The first reprint of the Charles Dwelley classic, originally published in 1980, with a new foreword by Jim Harris, is brought to you by the Concrete Heritage Museum Association.Written with the wit and insight of the town's longtime newspaper editor, "So They Called the Town Concrete" documents the early days of "Baker" and "Cement City", the development of the cement and wood products industries, Concrete's incorporation in 1909, and the town's subsequent boom years. Dwelley's newsman instinct for a good story fills the pages with human interest. Historic facts are interspersed with tragedy and triumph, community spirit and banditry, ingenuity and general high jinks. Dozens of photographs document area landmarks and residents. To order your copy today, click this .pdf file, print and send in. ORDER FORM If you do not have Acrobat Reader, download at this link for a free copy. Excerpt from So They Called The Town "Concrete" by Charles Dwelley
 "Charles M. "Chuck" Dwelley spent 40 years as the voice of the town of Concrete, after originally being assigned there in the months just prior to the October 1929 stock market crash to edit a failing small-town weekly newspaper, the Concrete Herald, which had gone bankrupt. His early days as an editor were not auspicious at all, especially for the grandson of one of Skagit County's earliest pioneers.
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The Stump Ranch Family & Community History of the Upper Skagit |