Before their July 22 meeting, Pershing County Museum board members gathered beneath the museum’s new billboard near the SureStay Hotel. The sign is one of three recently installed billboards, with the others located near Mill City and between Lovelock and Fernley. Board members said the advertising campaign is already helping bring more visitors through the museum’s doors.
That growing interest was reflected in Museum Director Kelly Thompson’s monthly report to the board. Thompson said the museum welcomed 164 visitors over the past month. Of those, 92 came specifically to tour the museum, while 25 were interested in its reported paranormal activity and 27 asked about Lovelock Cave. Forty-nine visitors said they came after seeing the museum’s new billboards.
Board members credited Robert Kennerson of Arena Outdoor Advertising for the museum’s new billboards.
The Friends of the Marzen House Museum reported that the billboard project has now been fully paid for. The project was funded through a $30,000 contribution from the Pershing County Recreation Board, which paid for two years of billboard advertising, a full-page advertisement in 101 Things to Do in Nevada and a trifold promotional kiosk that will advertise local businesses and attractions at the museum.
The museum also offered several daytime and nighttime ghost tours, bringing in $260. Combined tour payments and donations totaled $1,031 during the reporting period.
“We have been very busy,” Thompson said, adding that she has sometimes conducted three or four tours at once.
The museum is seeking a part-time employee to work approximately 19 hours a week. One application had been received by the time of the meeting. Anyone interested in the position may contact the museum for additional information.
Board Chair Bonnie Skoglie said the position could grow as attendance continues to increase and that the museum hopes to eventually add two full-time employees.
Several exhibit projects are also underway.
Board member Dena Austin, a Paiute cultural advisor, suggested creating a mural featuring Lone Mountain as the backdrop for the museum’s Native American display.
Austin explained that Paiute people traditionally traveled to Lone Mountain at night to escape mosquitoes in the marshlands below. She said the mountain’s traditional Paiute name, Wah-pung haben, means “mosquito bed.”
Members discussed incorporating Lone Mountain, water and tule reeds into the mural. They also hope to borrow vintage Future Farmers of America jackets bearing the Paiute words on the back for display.
Austin also suggested creating a veterans display featuring an older-style plaque with a weathered patina.
Board member Jack Hursh discussed plans to create a handcrafted shadow box honoring Frank Chang. According to museum history, Larry DeLeeuw opened the Frank Chang Memorial Museum in the garage of his Lovelock motel, naming it in honor of Chang. The museum later moved to West Broadway and featured many Chinese artifacts DeLeeuw had recovered from Lovelock’s historic Chinatown, along with artifacts from Chang’s personal collection.
The collection includes fragments of rice bowls, opium pipes, coins, a handcrafted Chinese mannequin and many other artifacts documenting Lovelock’s Chinese history. After the Frank Chang Memorial Museum closed, DeLeeuw offered the Marzen House Museum first choice of the collection.
Hursh’s shadow box, made from antique Eastlake-style dresser drawers recovered from the local landfill, will feature Chang’s photograph, his familiar hat and his military dog tags.
“Yes, I can remember Frank Chang wearing that hat that Jack is framing,” Bonnie Skoglie said.
Chang was born in Lovelock in 1918 and died in 2004 at the age of 86. The shadow box will become part of the museum’s growing collection highlighting Lovelock’s Chinese history and the people who helped preserve it.
Thompson is also working to display a Class A military uniform donated by Pershing County Manager Kristen Gonzalez. Board members said the mannequin may need to be altered to properly fit the uniform before it can go on display.
Thompson said the museum may ask the Pershing County Commission to approve an internet and fiber upgrade. The current wireless signal does not reliably reach several metal buildings or the far side of the grounds, making it difficult to install security cameras throughout the property.
An upgraded fiber connection could allow the museum to use a radio booster and extend security camera coverage across the grounds, although it would increase the museum’s monthly internet expense.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 13. Members will also finalize plans for an Aug. 22 appreciation barbecue honoring museum volunteers and supporters.
For more information about the Marzen House Museum visit their Facebook page.
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