The Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center

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Get Involved

There are lots of ways to get involved with the Museum of Art & History and support our community work. You can:

Come Visit.

Sign up for our friendly weekly email to keep you abreast of all the events, exhibitions, and new activity at the museum. We have exciting events and interactive exhibitions for you every week of the year. You can also stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr, where we share photos and stories from experiences with our visitors.

Become a member.

The MAH is a non-profit institution, and the only way we can do all this great work is with the support of people like you who love our community and care about culture. Members are the people who make the magic happen by donating money, infusing events with great energy, and introducing friends to the museum. We’d love you to become a museum member or make a donation to support our work.

Share your ideas.

We are moving towards becoming a more community-centered, responsive institution, and we can only do that with brilliant and challenging suggestions from you. You can share your ideas here (and comment on our ideas, too). You can also come in any day to leave a comment on the wall at the lobby, or contact a specific staff member with something to share.

Share your skills.

We have fabulous volunteers at the museum who help us run our educational programs, preserve our artifacts, and make our events successful–and we always need more. We need artists, crafters, and history buffs. We need techies. We need gardeners. We need people who can upholster couches and tell stories and make gorgeous posters. You can learn more about volunteering here.

Share your stuff.

We need stuff. Specifically, we need couches, armchairs, and craft supplies. We’d love a vinyl cutter. Please check out our wishlist and see if there’s something you might be able to regift to us.

Make the museum free.

Businesses and organizations can receive great publicity and generate goodwill when you underwrite a free day at the MAH. You pick the day, and for $250 (weekday) or $500 (weekend), you can make it free for everyone. This is also a nice gift for someone who wants to make art and history more accessible to the community.

Underwrite an event or exhibition.

If there is an upcoming event or exhibition related to your interests or your business, consider signing on as a sponsor. Event and exhibition sponsorships are available at $500-$10,000 levels. Contact Karen Bush to learn more about what opportunities might be best for you.

Make a donation to support our operations.

Every dollar you donate goes to support educational programs, exhibitions, and projects to make our community a more vibrant place. Donations are tax-deductible. We love our donors. We invite them to parties. We give them hugs. Wouldn’t you like a hug?

  • Anonymous

    I’m interested in local history and here’s a copy of an email I tried to send to the museum that bounced back.

    At the recent block party I met someone who grew up
    in our neighborhood (Jenne Street & Blackburn) that was full of information.  Here’s what he told
    me:

    Yes, it was Italian.  Yes, they were fishermen, but
    they also worked at the cement plant.  They took the train there and when they
    came back they stopped off at a saloon on the corner of Blackburn and Laurel
    where the Salvation Army now stands! (Would love
    to know the dates on that.)
    Yes, there was an ice plant, and also a refinery
    where they welded milk cans.  As kids they could take anything that got broken
    to them and the welders would fix it for them.
    They used to catch crawdads at Neary Lagoon.
    They used to ride horses out behind Jenne
    Street.
    Yes, there were horses in my garage we call the
    “barn” — in fact the sheriff’s posse used to keep their horses there!
    (Apparently this was in the 50s/60s and the mounted posse was used for search
    and rescue in the Santa Cruz mountains.)

     

    Our “barn” includes a chicken coop and feed bins. 
    Many people have stopped to tell us that on the corner of the “barn” was once marked
    all the flood levels and dates, which sadly they painted over when they put the
    house up for sale.

     

    When we bought the house a half-door was attached
    to the back door (to keep the chicken’s out?)  The house was built in the 1920s
    and we bought it from the daughter of the original owners.

     

    Do you have more information on these points?  My
    informant has invited me around for more stories and perhaps photos. 
    Interested?

     

    I remember a book that was titled something like
    “Every Structure Has a Story” and I’m told it’s out of print now.  Are there any plans to revive this book?

     

    Thanks,

     

     

    Dana Bagshaw

     

    145 Jenne StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95060

    831-425-5182

     

    http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/1637-RUNNING-FROM-GRACE

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© 2013 Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center
705 Front Street • Santa Cruz • CA • 95060 • (831) 429-1964