A winter-spring work schedule is in the hands of the Sherman County Historical Museum's Museum Team, volunteers who work behind the scenes in this national-award-winning local history museum. Volunteers are invited to participate in a variety of projects with a broad spectrum of subject, skill and time commitment. Work began January 6 and will continue through April. The benefits experienced in working with this team include personal growth, fellowship, respect, success and pride in achievement.

The Museum Team works by consensus. This group plans and produces exhibits; conducts research for interpretive labels; plans marketing; writes grant applications; recruits, trains and supervises volunteers; cleans exhibits; distributes brochures; contracts for design, construction and planning services; and manages the Museum's collections, acquisitions and exhibits.

The winter work list provides tasks to fit any volunteer. A sampling includes word processing [exhibit labels], housekeeping, paint touch-up, re-folding textiles in storage, constructing padded hangers for clothing, filling brochure racks, ordering and shipping brochures, sewing muslin bags for quilt storage, inventorying and ordering supplies, design and production of exhibits in the new ag exhibit building, moving farm implements, installation of a windmill, installing new signs, landscape maintenance and research.  Contact the Museum, 541-565-3232, to join the Team!

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The Times-Journal, Condon, OR January 20, 2000
'FOR THE RECORD' AVAILABLE IN SHERMAN COUNTY
The Sherman County Historical Society informs that the fall 1999 issue of Sherman County: For The Record is in the mail to members and for sale at Klindt's Booksellers and Wasco Variety. This issue comprises a 1909-1910 diary kept by a Deschutes Railroad surveyor, Rufe Armstrong, and the continuation of some Wasco County marriages of Sherman County residents. 

The Deschutes Railroad Company was incorporated in 1906 to build a railroad up the east bank of the Deschutes River from a connection with Oregon Railway and Navigation's main line along the Columbia River near Deschutes Station in Sherman County. It began three miles east of the mouth of the Deschutes River and ran parallel to and climbed from the main line up the Deschutes on the east bank to the junction with the Oregon Trunk track.

At the same time, the competing Oregon Trunk line was formed and the route surveyed up the west bank. Contractors for both lines employed construction workers from Europe and Scandinavia, and engineers, surveyors and suppliers.

Grass Valley was transformed into a hub of activity. In June, 1909, Edward R. "Rufe" Armstrong arrived in Grass Valley from Comanche, Texas to work as a surveyor on the east bank road, Deschutes Railroad. He kept a daily diary from June 28, 1909 to July 18, 1910. Excerpts from the Grass Valley Journal are included for an interesting story.