July Newsletter

Be a part of our Kitsap History Club!

It’s been many years since we’ve last updated our museum Membership structure. We’re happy to announce we’ve revamped our Membership terms to include more community perks! Now our Memberships include discounts at participating downtown Bremerton businesses and a new reciprocal benefit to Time Travelers for Patron level and higher.

Announcing Summer Hours

We’ll be open summer hours again this year – Sundays noon-4:00pm throughout July and August. Bring the family down for activities for all ages!

July First Friday Exhibit Opening

Our Kitsap Timeline update is getting its finishing touches and will be complete on July 7th at 5pm. Please join us during First Friday ArtWalk as we open the completed project to the public for the first time!

Photos: Kitsap Timeline entrance 2023; Kitsap timeline entrance 2018

Second Saturday Kids Day: Board Games

Saturday, July 8

Noon-4:00pm

For July’s Kids Day we’re throwing a family friendly board game party. We’re partnering with Ashley’s Pub to bring board games into the museum! There will be stations set up throughout the exhibit spaces with a variety of game types available.

Drop in anytime we’re open noon-4pm

Eat Your Way Through Kitsap History: Historic Poulsbo

Thursday, July 20th

3:00 PM

$40 per person

($35 KHM Members)

*price includes meal

Ever wondered how Poulsbo became a “Norwegian” town? You may have strolled down Front Street before with its dozens of quaint and colorful shops offering Scandinavian gifts, fine art, fashions, antiques, but this is your chance to discover the rich history of this fascinating little town in Kitsap County. Join us for a historic walking tour through downtown Poulsbo where we’ll hear the stories of its origins, the people who settled here, the people who helped shape it. Along the way we’ll be stopping at the Poulsbo Maritime Museum which showcases the rich maritime history of Poulsbo and North Kitsap as well as the Heritage Museum which captures the cultural heritage and the daily lives of early Poulsbo families. Afterward, we’ll finish our tour with a delicious meal in downtown Poulsbo.

History UnCorked: Cosmic Kitsap

Thursday, July 27

7:00-8:00pm

Photo: Richard Gordon, of Poulsbo, was Washington’s first NASA astronaut. Gordon was a command module pilot for NASA’s 1969 Apollo 12 mission.

Our Director of Exhibits & Engagement, Jeanine Greco, will revisit her very first exhibit with KHM in 2015, Cosmic Kitsap, for this out of this world edition of History UnCorked! Find out how history and astronomy intersect to inform our local tides, navigation, time and more. 

Kitsap County is rich with cosmic history with two astronomy groups, a planetarium, and Washington State’s first NASA astronaut. From mythology to farming, our observations of the universe and its effects on our planet have connected cultures throughout the ages.

Previously On

Perspectives: OUT in Kitsap

Thanks to all of you that joined our conversation on the history of Kitsap Pride and Outlines newsletter. The event offered a valuable and thought-provoking discussion. It is through the active engagement of our community that we are able to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other’s unique lived experience. We’re proud to offer a welcoming and inclusive space for dialogue like this to exist.

We would especially like to thank Michael Goodnow and Karen Bolton for being so willing to share their own histories, struggles and successes within the LGBTQ+ community in Kitsap.

This program is in partnership with Kitsap Regional Library.

Volunteers Needed for the Fair

 Join Us At The 100th Annual Kitsap County Fair and Stampede

This year marks 100 years of the county fair and as usual, we will be there to share Kitsap history and represent our museum! We need 3-4 volunteers per shift to cover the pole barn from August 23-27. Volunteers will receive a parking pass and admission ticket for each shift worked.

Morning and afternoon shifts are 4 hours. Evening shift is 3 hours.

If you haven’t volunteered at the barn before, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about Kitsap’s rural history, meet other volunteers, and connect with the community (plus the scones vendor is very close to the barn!)

Museum Spotlight: Ernest Norling Murals

The Ernest Norling Murals: A Note 

Written by Peter Harrington, Curator Emeritus, Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library, who is writing a book on art and mural programs in US military bases, 1941-1945 

The two familiar mural panels that hang in the special exhibit space at the Kitsap History Museum were painted by the celebrated Pasco-born artist, book author and illustrator, and World War One veteran, Ernest Norling (1892-1974). Commissioned by the Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1941, the work was completed in early 1942. Murals were the art form of choice in the 1930’s and 1940’s thanks to the efforts of the WPA Fine Arts Program, and Norling himself had completed two murals as part of the program in the post offices at Prosser (1937) and Bremerton (1938). It is quite possible that the commander of the navy yard, Captain Lucien Francis Kimball, having seen the Bremerton mural contacted the artist….