NORWAY — The Norway Museum and Historical Society’s open house, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 16, is a chance for the public to see the completion of renovations and reorganizations to the remodeled second floor of the building, the climate-controlled storage basement and additional improvements throughout.

Several years ago, the trustees set goals for improving the building and for
the safe storage of the collection. Each year steps have been taken toward
fulfilling those goals. At the open house event, the trustees will share their
progress.

The morning event begins with a short social time with refreshments available and an explanation of the activities. Attendees will then be divided into three small groups, and each group will be led by a knowledgeable trustee
on three short tours to the climate-controlled basement storage area, the main
floor and the second floor. At each of the locations are new exhibits.

One includes a display of before-and-after photos of the progress of the
upgrades. Another location shows the museum’s collection of special Civil War
artifacts. These and others will be used by Peter Hammond in his unique
program “Battlefield Life in the Civil War” on Sept. 25.

A third display is a showing of “yard-long” photographs of groups of people.
One features the large work force of the shoe shop taken in the early 1900s.
Those who have already had a sneak preview of these pictures can’t seem to
tear themselves away as they look for relatives and friends who were employed
there.

Also on display are two newly restored John Waldo Nash fish. Mr. Nash and his
wife, Alice Nash, were licensed taxidermists. Mr. Nash invented and patented a
technique of stuffing a fish that he called “Trout Mezzo.” When mounted, the fish
looked three dimensional. Mrs. Nash painted lovely backgrounds of lake scenes
to enhance the mounted fish. Together, the Nashes created works of art highly
prized by sportsmen all over North America. Mrs. Nash carried on the business
alone after the death of her husband in 1919; she died in 1945.

Door prizes, the current newsletter about photojournalist Harry Packard and
a quiz finishes the early session by noon. After a lunch break, the afternoon
session will repeat the morning’s schedule.

“Kipper,” the famous RCA dog, stands next to the victrola that bears his image. This is just one of the many artifacts on display at the open house on June 16 at the Norway Museum and Historical Society.

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