A Cause for Celebration! Governor signs Senate Bill 1009.
July 19th, 2024
Mount Shasta Sisson Museum granted 25 year lease.
In 1979, the State of California Department of Fish and Game decided that the front building at the hatchery no longer suited its needs and was going to tear it down. Vera Dal Gallo, who lives on the same property that used to be the site of Justin Sisson’s Tavern and his home, heard about that. She thought the building would make a perfect place for a museum for the town of Mt. Shasta.
Many concerned, dedicated, and active citizens agreed with her. At their first meeting, Donna Brooks, Frank Dal Gallo, Charles Fullerton, Gino Marconi, and Helen Bliss agreed that the town of Mount Shasta needed a museum and Hatchery Building A seemed like the perfect place. Louie Melo, who had taught architecture for a number of years at San Jose State College, volunteered to draw up the renovation plans for free.
This group went on to work with the State of California and the Department of Fish and Game to obtain a twenty-five year lease of the building. Governor Brown signed the bill in October 1981.
Velma Nile volunteered to be the first Director of the Museum. “So, for one year I worked 40 hours a week doing something I had never done before: start up a museum. At that time, there was no money in the budget for salary. During my tenure, we put together the volunteer group that did all the work.”, Velma stated.
Lee Apperson, one of the founding members had memories to share too, “I couldn’t even begin to tell all the sweet stories about those special people who volunteered to run the store and keep the place open, set up displays, maintain the building, keep the books, and do the million and one tasks that kept the museum running growing, and being interesting.” Sisson Museum opened on July 4, 1983 in the newly renovated building.
“This new bill will ensure the future of the best small town museum in California and allow us to continue to provide an immersive interactive experience of the history, geology, and environment of our mountain community. We are grateful to Senator Dahle and his staff, especially to Bruce Ross and Taylor Brown for shepherding this through the legislative process, and to the Regional Department of Fish and Wildlife office for their cooperation in this process, as well as the many people who submitted comments in support of this bill.” Ted Marconi, Secretary, Board of Directors
Here’s to a great 25 years!