Welcome to the downhill slope of Monday, everyone. It’s been a marathon around here the last few weeks, and this is what we have to show for it:
New Civil War Exhibit
Out with the old and in with the new…..Weekend Manager Lindsey is putting the finishing touches on her new exhibit, A Family Apart: The Campbells During the Civil War Years. She’s pulling some of Virginia’s dresses and jewelry out of storage, along with some exceptional old letters. Come by after May 8th to see the story of the Campbells during this turbulent period in American history.
Magical Spring Thing
Sam Clark’s big show — the Magical Spring Thing — on April 14th was a huge success. We’re still recovering from it, but we raised a few dollars for new environmental programming and special projects around the house. Big thanks to Sam and all the volunteers and board members who helped pull off another spectacular show with Union Avenue Opera, St. Louis Ballet, students from Webster University’s Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, St. Louis Ragtimers and the Ballroom Dance Academy of St. Louis.
Webster High School Lends a Hand
Our garden volunteers (read: Moms and Dads of the CHM staff) are especially grateful for the group of ten Webster Groves High School students and parents who came by on April 10th to do some heavy lifting in the garden. The enthusiastic teens knocked out an impressive amount of weeding, trimming, mulching and planting, and it was a pleasure to have them at the house. The garden looks FABULOUS because of all their help. <please come back!>
The Mysterious Gus Meyer
Between digging up scoop on Lucas Place and the Campbell Family, there isn’t much Intrepid Researcher Tom™ can’t find. Last week, he started the quest to uncover more information about Gus Meyer, a devoted servant who began working at Campbell House as a gardener in 1901, and he eventually worked his way up to be Hugh Campbell’s personal assistant. After Hugh died in 1931, Gus stayed in the house and took care of Hugh’s brother Hazlett until he died in 1938. Gus continued to live in and manage the house until it finally opened as a museum five years later. He signed the Museum’s guest book on its opening day, and we lost track of him after that. Intrepid Researcher Tom™ has found information on his family and what happened to him after he left his job of over 40 years at Campbell House. We’ll make a blog post with all of his findings shortly.
Bring Mom to Campbell House for Mother’s Day
Stumped for what to get your darling mom on Mother’s Day? Easy, bring her to our house for Arias in the Afternoon, a garden party we’re co-hosting with Union Avenue Opera. Spend the afternoon relaxing in our garden and listening to a special one-hour concert while enjoying tea and nibbles from our neighbors, the London Tea Room. It’s going to be a great event and if you bring your mom, you’ll be her favorite son or daughter. We promise. Click here for tickets.
Urban Exploring 2.0: Museum Building at the Missouri Botanical Garden
After the overwhelming popularity of the post on our recent trek through the St. Louis Transit Company Electrical Substation, we’re going to try making Urban Exploring a regular feature. This weekend we had the chance to get inside the Museum Building at the Botanical Garden, a structure that’s closed to the public. A blog post featuring pictures of the Museum Building and Tower Grove House is coming this week.
That’s just some of what is happening at Campbell House. Check back with us for some exciting news on house painting (!), the 2012 Freedom’s Gateway Signature Event, and our Spring Members Party. From the Campbell family to yours, have a stellar week!