April Newsletter

Give Big for Kitsap Great Give!

The Kitsap Community Foundation have been supporting Kitsap non-profits through the Great Give for 10 years! This event has brought in crucial dollars for the Museum over the years. In fact, last year we raised over $8,000 during the campaign.

Will we surpass that amount this year?

It’s a great time to support the community organizations that

make Kitsap unique. We’d love your support to keep preserving and sharing the stories of Kitsap County!

You don’t have to wait until the 11th, early giving begins April 1st!

It’s tax season, did you know you can make charitable contributions out of your IRA?

What Is a Qualified Charitable Distribution?

A qualified charitable distribution is an IRA withdrawal that is paid directly from your IRA to a qualifying charity. While income tax is normally due on each traditional IRA distribution, the account owner does not need to pay taxes on the amount transferred to charity (up to $100,000 per year).

Annual withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts are required after age 72, and the penalty for skipping a required minimum distribution is 50% of the amount that should have been withdrawn. However, if you are in the fortunate position of not needing your distribution for living expenses and are charitably inclined, you can avoid income tax on your required withdrawal by donating your money directly to a qualifying charity.

Ask your tax expert for more information!

New Special Exhibit Opens This Month:

The Journey to Kitsap

“Journey to Kitsap” features a variety of engaging personal stories, artifacts, and photographs from immigrants and their descendants. Visitors can learn about the challenges and triumphs of immigration, as well as the ways in which immigrant communities have shaped the Kitsap Peninsula. 

The exhibit opens at 5pm on First Friday, April 7th with a talk from curator Jeanine Greco at 6pm.

Image: 1929 Certificate of Citizenship for German immigrant Elisabeth Depenheuer. KHM archives.

April Fools Scavenger Hunt

All April we’ll be hosting our April Fools Scavenger Hunt! Search our exhibits for items that don’t belong. What silly, oddball, historically inaccurate items will you discover amidst our collection? This activity is suitable for kids and adults, alike. Find them all for a chance to win a prize!

We’ll be open late for Bremerton First Friday Artwalk on April 7th or stop by any day this month to see if you can find them all!

History UnCorked: The Roxy

Thursday, April 27th

7:00-8:00pm

At The Roxy Theatre

For this special program of History UnCorked we’re traveling next door to the Roxy Theatre and back in time to 1941 when the theatre first opened. Local journalist and historian, Josh Farley, will paint the scene of downtown Bremerton and 4th St right before the war. Join us for drinks, socializing and the history of this art-deco building that once drew stars like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in it’s early days.

Previously On

Perspectives: World War II V-Mail Letters

This program is presented in partnership with Kitsap Regional Library. Our next Perspectives will be in June.

Thank you to everyone that came to our first event of our new program Perspectives! The goal of this quarterly series is to illustrate how people’s individual background, culture, religion, demographics all affect how we relate, interpret and experience historical events. Using objects from the museum archives as a tool to jumpstart the conversation, our guest speakers invite audience participation to widen the perspective even further.

For our first event we explored World War II Victory Mail. Special thanks to our guest speakers, Nina Hallett, a long time Museum supporter, who shared her experience living in London during WWII and Kitsap Regional Library Community Learning Interns Alejandro, Imogen, and Andrew who shared their experience with letter writing during Washington Youth Academy and a perspective on modern communications in the digital age.

One attendee chimed in with the insight that many of our historical texts and research heavily rely on letters to understand personal experiences, as the art of letter writing dwindles how will future historians tell the stories of today…. E-mails? Facebook?

Volunteer Opportunities

 Support the Museum by lending a hand in a variety of capacities. This month we could use help with the following activities:

First Friday Art Walk: April 7 5:00-7:00pm – Greeting and socializing with guests

Second Saturday Kids Day: April 8th 12:00-4:00pm – Support our kids activity table by connecting with families and demonstrating crafts

Thursday History UnCorked: April 27th 6:00-9:00pm – Assist with set up for food and drinks, tables and chairs, greet guests, registration check-in, event clean up

Interested in helping out? Email us with the shift that you’d like to sign up for at [email protected] or call us 360-479-6226

Spotlight on George Willock

I’ve been a KHM board member since 2002. I was originally recruited to be the treasurer and served in that role for four years. I was also the secretary for a couple of years. Besides serving on the board, I’ve been involved in various projects, including writing the weekly “Time Capsule” captions for the Kitsap Sun; writing the bios for our annual Heritage Familly events. And one year, I helped remove thousands of pounds of bricks from the old chimney which were lying in the museum attic. I also wrote the Arcadia Press history book on Port Orchard along with fellow board member Claudia Hunt. My wife Barbara and I live in South Kitsap in the small community of Southworth. Besides the museum, my interests include sailing, wood-turning, reading, travel and getting together with friends. 

I am a 4th generation Kitsap resident. My great grandparents homesteaded here in 1882. I grew up hearing stories and anecdotes from my grandmother, dad and aunts about life in Kitsap County during the late 1800s and early 1900s. I feel very fortunate about having these connections. I think the museum plays an important part in forging a link to Kitsap’s history for this generation and those to come. 

My favorite artifact would have to be the thousands of photographs kept in the former bank vault in the basement. I especially enjoy the ones with writing on the back which are so helpful to putting names to places and events. As the old saying goes, ” A picture is worth a thousand words.” So true.