As president of the Trigg County Historical & Preservation Society, Inc., Bob Brame finds himself thankful of where the non-profit organization has been and is headed in the coming years.
One of many local groups and individuals charged and energetic about the past of local people, places and things, efforts have been realized in the Trigg County Historical and Transportation Museum and beyond.
Located at 41 Jefferson Street adjoining the EOC building, the former Cadiz Christian Church and Masonic Lodge of Cadiz is anything but, now, with permanent displays on its top floor, below a bustling meeting space with rotating exhibits for education, enrichment and enlightenment.
Any non-profit organization, however, has its obstacles, struggles and concerns before realizing its full potential.
During a Tuesday visit with the Cadiz Rotary Club, Brame relayed some of these issues to community movers-and-shakers — citing funding as the biggest of them all.
First and foremost, Brame said there is a strong desire to host a number of local and regional third, fourth, fifth and sixth-grade classrooms inside the walls. However, school districts — even Trigg — can’t send out a driver with children for less than $100 a run.
And that’s if they even have a spare driver of which to speak.
Furthermore, Brame said hours of operation for the museum have to expand, and not on the shoulders of volunteers.
The group’s capital comes mostly from membership dues, which Brame said comes out to roughly $3,000 annually at $15 a month, or $300 lifetime.
It’s enough cash to take care of incidentals and small costs for signage, fliers and the like, but not enough at this time to be a big player for a matching grant.
Membership’s average age, Brame candidly said, also has folks wondering.
Officials, however, have a robust calendar of visitors and speakers planned over the next six months.
Jennifer Brown, past-president of the Kentucky Historical Society and co-founder of the Hoptown Chronicle, is on tap for Tuesday. On February 15 and 25, respectively, the Western Kentucky Christian Church and the Hopkins County Genealogical Society will pay visit.
In April, the group will take a visit to the Marsh railroad site and hear from Dr. Terry Fuqua on all things Canton. In May, there will be a re-dedication of the Golden Pond Overlook and a talk from Dr. George Thomas on growing up in Cadiz.
In June, Spencer Balentine will spend one Saturday discussing the history of moonshine from Between the Rivers, and Jameson Cable will break down the popular Kentucky History Podcast. July will play host to Grace Abernethy’s proclivity for historical renovation, as well as the well-known Thomas Bridges Association.
In August, LBL Area Supervisor Jim McCoy is scheduled to deliver an update on Trigg County’s most prized landmass, and Carl Fagan will relay the region’s part in the national history of the iron ore industry. And in September, Class of 2002 graduate and Filson Historical Society Director of Collections and Research Patrick Lewis will return home to talk about the culture of the Commonwealth and the Ohio Valley.
The museum is open at this time by appointment only, while Brame and his officers of Jim Wallace, Paula Flood, Linda Wood, Chappell Wilson, Jo Ann Harvey, Ken Oakley, Mitzi Lawson and Deborah Bridges can be reached by email at trigghistoricalsociety@gmail.com, or by phone at (270) 610-0829.
