Historical Society meets, discusses its budget deficit

Members of the Odessa Historical Society met Monday evening and reviewed the events of the past year. A new website, odessawamuseum.com, includes photos and information and will also soon carry photos from the Washington Rural Heritage webpage, thanks to the work of Tom Clavel.

The St. Matthew’s historical church has received a new roof and coat of paint. The work was done by Diamond Construction of Odessa. Al Volmer constructed and donated the new sign for the church located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Alder Street. The Society is planning to finish the landscaping of the grounds in the spring.

Another successful bake sale was held during Fest, bringing in over $2,000. The museum had more than 200 visitors during Fest weekend. While bake sale proceeds were up over last year, membership dues were down considerably. This led to a deficit for the year, primarily due to the refurbishing of St. Matthew’s. Membership dues and memorials are used for the operation and maintenance of the facilities. Contributions can be mailed to the treasurer, Judy Scrupps, 2941 King Ranch Rd., Odessa WA 99159.

Elections were held, with Lise Ott taking a position as a director, Barb Schlimmer elected secretary and Paul Scheller re-elected president. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m. at the museum and is open to the public.