What’s old is new again

Had you entered the former Chico Museum—now renamed the Chico History Museum—a couple of weeks ago, you would have heard the screeching of electric saws attacking the building’s south wall.

Serious construction was going on to finish installing the museum’s iconic Chinese temple. It was a sure sign that the CHM—located in the historic Carnegie library building at Second and Salem streets—was up and running again and moving forward.

On April 17, the president of its board of directors, Amy Kao, had signed documents finalizing negotiations to make the museum an independent nonprofit agency. It is now entirely separate from its former overseer, the Far West Heritage Association. (FWHA remains the steward of the Patrick Ranch Museum on the Midway south of town.)

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that CHM no longer has a paid staff and is running entirely on volunteer energy. It desperately needs to raise money.

Separation from Far West has also meant separation from FWHA’s endowment fund, some $2 million, said David Rush, a CHM board member and local attorney.

Betty Nopel, who first broached the idea of going independent to the museum’s steering committee, explained it this way: “We were always worried that if we insisted on [our share of] the money, the Far West board would turn to another group to run the museum.”

“That was like the elephant in the room,” said Dianne Donoho, a CHM board member. “It was heartbreaking to think that Far West wouldn’t help us.”

After all, CHM board members say, the endowment fund was created well before FWHA existed and was originally meant to benefit only the Chico Museum.

The negotiations were amicable, the board members report, but only so long as they did not insist on being given a percentage of the endowment fund. (A message left with FWHA seeking comment was not returned.)

The decision not to challenge the loss of access to the endowment fund was also an indication of the directors’ confidence that they could run the museum as an all-volunteer enterprise.

So far it seems to be working. The museum now features an extensive exhibit, called “Chico Through Time,” that includes several displays focused on historically significant events (the filming of The Adventures of Robin Hood), families (a nice spread on the pioneering Moreheads) and buildings (“Chico’s Grand Hotels”).

Also featured are displays illustrating the Chico Army Airfield; logging, flumes and the Diamond Match Co.; the Butte County Railroad; Chico schools; and much more, including, of course, John and Annie Bidwell.

The museum will now focus entirely on Chico and let the Patrick Museum speak for the history of farming in the area.

Randy Taylor has taken on much of the curatorial work, in part because his personal collection of historic photos and artifacts is so large, but also because he is so knowledgeable. He is joined in that role by fellow board member Dave Nopel, who is the caretaker of the huge collection his late father, John Nopel, created. The museum is also on good terms with Special Collections at Chico State University, which has a vast digital collection of photos and documents.

The exhibits will be changed frequently, Taylor said. “We’re always doing something to keep it fresh.”

The group also has big long-term plans for the historic Carnegie library building to increase its useable space on the main floor as well as in the basement.

Right now, the goal is to keep the museum’s doors open and raise money. It has a five-year, dollar-a-year lease with the city, which owns the building, and “we need to make sure sure it comes out healthy” when the lease is up, Betty Nopel said.

“We live in a very special place,” Kao said. “It’s important that we know and celebrate its history.”