It's out and done! We've  sent out the first edition of the Dawson County Banner for 2012. I hope all of our members have received their copy. If anyone has not received their copy, please contact our office in Lexington. For anyone interested in receiving the newsletter in the future, it is one of the benefits of belonging to the Dawson County Historical Society. Our staff is working on our Spring edition, and it should be  printed and sent after the Annual Meeting.

Anyone and everyone is invited to attend our Annual Meeting on March 24. We will be gathering at the museum in Lexington for the first time in a few years. The agenda was included in the winter edition of the Banner, but it is also available below. Mr. David Wells, an independent historian from Omaha will be presenting a program about the First World War. The program is provided through the generosity of the Nebraska Humanities Council. Even if you're not a member, but interested about the program or learning about what the Dawson County Historical Society has to offer, please feel free to attend.

The Dawson County Historical Society will be closed on Saturday, December 24, 2011 for Christmas Eve. We will be open for our regular hours on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes to our members, patrons, and guests.

The Board of Directors and Staff at the DCHS wishes everyone a happy and safe Holiday Season.

Tim Harris from Troop 88 in Lexington has delivered a set of display cases to the museum. The cases designed by Harris and built by a group of local scouts fulfilled the service project requirement of Harris' Eagle Scout rank.

The two display cases and four display pedestals are a welcome addition to the museum. In the coming months they will be installed throughout the museum. The cases will be added to the upcoming "Age of the Mammoth" display featuring our resident mammoth "Big Al" and the pedestals will be used with other exhibits.

Eagle Scouts are the high rank possible through the Boys Scouts of America. It takes considerable time, determination, and effort to reach the Eagle. Only about two of every 100 boys entering the scouting program will go on to reach the Eagle. The service component of the Eagle rank requires the boy to plan and carry out a beneficial project utilizing the volunteer efforts and donations. It challenges the scouts to use critical thinking, planning, and leadership skills.

Everyone at the DCHS thanks Tim for his generous contribution and congratulates him on his upcoming Eagle Court of Honor.

Although the address is still the same, visitors to the Dawson County Historical Society's website will find something new. It is also beginning to communicate through popular social media outlets online.

"The role of our new website is to inform and excite," said museum director John Woodward. The new site includes pages dedicated to information about the DCHS and its activities, as well as information about the museum and research archive. "People come to the museum for different reasons, the more information we can make available online, the more likely we can encourage more visitors and researchers," he went on to say.

The DCHS's online presences goes beyond just the web, but into social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter as well. "Anymore, younger people expect to see organizations to have a social media presence, but its more than that. We can communicate to a wider audience and age groupsusually interested with museums, particularly the under 35 crowd. By reaching out using social media, we can hope to inspire an interest about the DCHS and what we have available."

Follow us at Twitter
@DawsonCoHistory

Find us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/DCHSMuseum

In its first year, the Lexington Community Foundation's "Give Big Lexington" Campaign was a critical success, bringing in over a $225,000 for Lexington area non-profits including the Dawson County Historical Society.

The "Give Big" campaign was organized around a single day effort. Donors could view a catalogue of deserving organizations and make donations online. Donations were also taken at the LCF's office in Lexington.

The Dawson County Historical Society raised $8,808 dollars through the effort. We had 42 unique donors contribute for which everyone is very thankful. However, the DCHS will also receive an additional "matching donation" from the Lexington Community Foundation. This  "match" will be in addition to the money already donated. The amount of the match has not been announced yet, but we will update everyone once the information is released.

The Nebraska Museums Association has announced is annual meeting will be held in Kearney, Nebraska. The dates for the conference will  be March 20-22.

The Dawson County Historical Society is making tentative plans for holding its 2012 Annual Meeting this upcoming March.

While details have not been set, the meeting will be tentatively held on March 24 at the Dawson County Historical Society Museum in Lexington. On the agenda will be a report of the current state of the society and museum and also a speaker from the Nebraska Humanities Council.

More details will be published later. The full agenda will be included in the Winter Edition of the Dawson County Banner and will be available online in January 2012. For more information please contact the Museum.

There is a new face is at the Dawson County Historical Society Museum in Lexington, John Woodward. Originally from Central Wyoming, he took up the post in October succeeded Barbara Vondras who left the museum in August.

John has some ties to Central Nebraska. His great-grandparents married in Gosper County in 1893 and his grandfather was born at Curtis in Frontier County in 1894. Also, a great aunt, Dellamay Woodward nee Vance, was born and raised in Lexington, graduating from Lexington High School in 1938.

A graduate of the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, John has multiple degrees in anthropology and history. For several summers, he worked for faculty of UW Anthropology Department on archeological digs throughout Wyoming. He also  worked part time as a curation aid at the University of Wyoming Archeological Repository while completing his studies. Completing work on his Master’s Thesis last May, John worked for a transportation company in his home town of Riverton while looking for a history related position. His research interests focus on the 20th Century Western History.

John looks forward to using his academic and working experience to continue developing both the  Society and the Museum. Among his goal are finishing the museum’s renovation and expansion project and expanding the range of education and outreach programs offered throughout Dawson County. John is also seeking to develop and expand the existing ties between all the historical societies and museums throughout the county.

When you have a chance, fell free to drop by the museum to meet John.