Board seeks to revive museum
City Council has given the Nylander board the opportunity to revive the museum, since it has recently fallen out of ownership by the Caribou Chamber of Commerce, which has merged with the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce in Presque Isle.
On June 27, members of the museum board will present a concise plan for revitalizing the museum to members of the Caribou City Council.
Consisting of only five members, the board is looking for volunteers as well as donations to fund special programs the museum could offer.
“For the last four or five years, we’ve been trying to get the Nylander back on its feet,” said Board President Kimber Noyes. “Things have been coming together nicely for the last year or so. We have a very active board, and the citizens of Caribou have responded in kind and have been very supportive. Over 100 people stopped in during our open house on Memorial Day. This summer, we’ll be open Sundays from one to three. We’ve brought a lot of new/old things from the collections area for people to see.”
Sign-up sheets for “Friends of the Nylander” were available at the museum’s booth during last week’s Thursdays on Sweden event. Along with spaces for name and address, the sheet contained a letter penned by the “Nylander Board of Trustees” which outlines the museum’s need for both “moral and financial” support.
A large container with the phrase “Nickels for Nylander” at the museum booth gave community members an opportunity to make a small contribution to the museum as well.
“Nickels for Nylander will help us with projects and programs,” said board member Gail Hagelstein. “Right now we don’t have a budget so if we want to do a day summer camp for kids, we have no money for supplies. If we want to have more display cases, we will use donated money as well. All nickel money goes towards Friends of the Nylander.
“There are only five of us at this point, and we need volunteers because we can’t keep doing this by ourselves. There are a lot of people who want to help but don’t know how, so we are expanding the ways they can help to involve more than donations,” she added.
The board will continue making appearances during future Thursdays on Sweden events, with the next taking place on Thursday, June 30 from 6 to 9 p.m.
