MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The future use of Middletown’s Gibson Library building will be the focus of the Middletown Luncheon Club meeting on Wednesday, March 20.
The meeting begins at noon at the Middletown Methodist Church Social Hall, 15155 Armstrong St.
Lunch will be offered at $5 per person by the Girl Scouts, who get the receipts plus a donation from the club.
Gibson Library, located at 21267 Calistoga Road, opened in 1930, the land having been donated by the Luncheon Club and the funds for construction of the small building donated by Chauncey W. Gibson, who had owned a resort on Cobb Mountain.
In the immediate future, the library will move into its new quarters adjacent to the new Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St.
The venerable old library building, now owned by the county of Lake, will become available for other uses.
The Lake County Historical Society has been approached and its board came last Saturday to inspect the library and consider its use.
At their board meeting, it appeared that their immediate intention would be to substitute the Middletown building for quarters the society now leases in Nice, where it stores assorted research materials and artifacts.
It was suggested that the Gibson building would be opened for several hours three days a week as a museum and historical research center.
Two members of the currently inactive Middletown Historical Society attended the meeting, and protested that a museum in Middletown should feature local artifacts.
The board indicated its willingness to work with a Middletown group to create a museum with rotating exhibits representing south Lake County and the Lake communities.
Another suggestion was that Dr. John Parker, the archaeologist who played a strong role in the preservation of Anderson Marsh State Park, should become curator and work toward retrieving local archaeological artifacts that have been moved to other venues for display.
Apparently a plan for Karen Turcotte to create an art exhibit and study center there is not moving forward. Over the past 10 years Turcotte has masterminded the well-received Eco-Arts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, which has become a notable tourist attraction in the area, as well as the Coyote Valley Film Festival.
A number of local residents have indicated interest in a local arts and culture center, with exhibits of local arts and crafts as well as local historical items, and a variety of ongoing classes, speakers and other educational pursuits. Arguments in favor of this approach note that, in all current studies, art tops history in contributing to a local economy.
The challenge is in mustering support by Middletown area residents who, understandably, want the building to reflect local culture.
Whatever manifestation the future occupancy assumes, if local residents want a local entity, they will have to contribute time, effort, labor and funds to making it happen. The immediate need is finding how much Middletown area residents really care, and how well they are willing to follow through.
Moves are under way to revitalize the Middletown Historical Society as a group voice in making residents’ wishes known and a centralized communication point for input and collecting offers to volunteer in any way.
Come to the meeting and let them know what you would like to see happen at the old library building.
Comments also can be submitted online at www.middletownhistory.com ; sent to the Middletown Historical Society, P.O. Box 74, Middletown, CA 95461; or written comments, including your mailing address or phone number, can be left with Jacque Spiker at the Middletown Senior Center.