History

Collecting the Valley: C.V. Museum Continues Virtual Programs This Winter

every third Tuesday of the next three months, check out these virtual programs courtesy of Curator of Collections Diana Peterson

V1 Staff |

Pilot Dick Grace by airplane advertising Eau Claire Aero Corporation. 1920. CVM #524100-0013-001
HAPPY AVIATION HISTORY MONTH! Check out the Chippewa Valley Museum’s Collecting the Valley Series, which explores tidbits of Eau Claire history virtually. The museum's ongoing "Eau Claire By Air" exhibit includes photos similar to this one from 1920, which shows pilot Dick Grace by an airplane advertising Eau Claire Aero Corporation. (Photo courtesy the Chippewa Valley Museum)

This winter, cozy up in a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa and log into the Chippewa Valley Museum’s virtual Collecting the Valley programs, which details historical stories and photos from beyond the museum’s walls.  

Curator of Collections Diana Peterson will join with guest presenters Guy Wood, Eau Claire airport’s first full-time manager, and Jeanne Anderson, author of Where the Lilacs Grow: The Story of Happy Island and Old Meridian, to explore pieces of the Chippewa Valley’s past. 

The first series of the monthly program will begin with “Aviation History in the Chippewa Valley” at 6:30pm on Tuesday, Nov. 16, via Zoom. Wood will present the story of Eau Claire’s airport with his own personal records and photos extending back to the Eau Claire Aero Corporation from the 1920s.

The second monthly program, called “Growing up in the 1950s,” will be presented by Peterson as she reflects on what it was like to grow up in the Chippewa Valley in the 1950s. This presentation will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 6:30pm via Zoom.

The last and final monthly program – “Collected Stories from Happy Island” – will be presented at 6:30pm on Tuesday, Jan. 18, via Zoom. Anderson will explore the legacies and origins of the families who have found their place within the Chippewa Valley.

“I just have plenty of information and stories about the early days of flight here in this area. A lot of it is connected to my own family history,” Wood said in a media release. “I’ve sorted through my boxes and folders of newspaper clippings, photographs, posters, and even reached out to the current airport manager for more recent materials to be able to tell the story of Eau Claire’s airport.”


Advance registration to attend these virtual Zoom presentations is required and available through the Chippewa Valley Museum, along with details for all three programs. The cost to attend all three programs is $25 or $15 for museum members. Only have the time to attend one? Don’t fret! A $10 individual program registration is available as well. For additional information, visit www.cvmuseum.com