(Seguin) – Need an idea for that last minute Christmas gift or stocking stuffer? The Seguin Heritage Museum may just have the answer you are looking for with the release of its 2021 Historical Calendar.
Museum Volunteer Donna Brawner says the idea for the wall calendar, itself, was even inspired with a bit of history. She says the calendars were designed to resemble the old Seguin State Bank calendars which years ago were given out to customers.
“So, I was just like, let’s do one. I mean we have millions of pictures there. So we sat down, started looking at pictures and picking them out and we tried to pick ones that people really hadn’t really seen before and since we had extra space in the calendars for information about Seguin, we decided to look up some gems about Seguin’s history that people maybe didn’t know and Mrs. John Gesick and Smokey since they have been here all there lives, they were invaluable in providing historical factoids about Seguin,” said Brawner.
Brawner says the calendar includes even more history about Seguin – history she says may come as a surprise to many.
“The really interesting thing I loved about this calendar was that as I was researching the buildings and the history of Seguin, Seguin is like so rich in historical firsts that I’m surprised that more people aren’t exposed to this. So that’s why we did the calendar. We did it for a fundraiser. All the money goes to the museum for upkeep and improvements and then, we want to make this an ongoing thing every year,” said Brawner.
In flipping through the 12-month calendar, Brawner stops during the month of June where customers are seen arriving downtown for the big sale at Mistrots Department Store on South Austin Street.
“The really interesting thing about this picture was is they had the carriages. They had your Model T or A’s whichever ones they are and this crowd, the vehicles stretch off into the distance, all because everything was on sale at this store and then the people standing on top of the building hawking everything. I mean this is priceless and these buildings, most of them are still downtown,” said Brawner.
Donna Taylor, museum volunteer and a member of the museum’s board of directors, says like everyone else, the dollars just didn’t come into their doors this past year and hopes that folks support the non-profit organization by purchasing their calendars this week.
“How important are the proceeds? They are vital. During the COVID, our director John Gesick who has been there for about 22-23 years did resign and he’s going to be moving to join a daughter out of state and he aided us financially quite a bit so now we are dependent on our membership and grants and fundraisers,” said Taylor.
In addition to the Seguin Heritage Museum calendar, Taylor says memberships also make great stocking stuffers. She says memberships are $25 a person or $35 a couple. People may either call or stop by for a membership form. The museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The calendars are $10 each and can be purchased this Tuesday at the museum or at Gift & Gourmet, the Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce office, Parker’s Pharmacy or at the Aumont Hotel
Only a limited number of calendars have been printed for this first round of distribution. Sponsoring the museum’s first batch of calendars is Mickey Franz, president of First United Bank.
The Seguin Heritage Museum can be reached by calling 830-372-0965. The museum is located at 114 N. River St.