Visitors at the Karshner Museum stepped back in time to the Civil War Saturday, June 7 at the museum.
Tom Melberg and other members from the Fort Steilacoom Association were at the museum dressed in Union and Confederate attire and displayed gear used by soldiers during the Civil War.
“It’s an enjoyable thing to do,” said Melberg, who was dressed as a Union soldier. “You have a captive audience. If they weren’t interested they wouldn’t be here.”
Elizabeth Riley, her family and friends made the trip to the museum for the Family Day event because her brother is interested in the Civil War.
“We decided to come and learn some history, which is really interesting,” she said.
One thing that they learned that seemed unbelievable was that as many as seven soldiers would share a small tent to sleep. Soldiers lay closely together, like sardines in a can.
“I sat in there and I couldn’t imagine sharing it with seven people,” Riley said.
The soldiers would use a spooning formation in the tent to fit, said Gideon Pete, from Fort Steilacoom. He was dressed as a confederate soldier for the event.
“The tent is actually bigger than it looks,” he said.
The floor space is more than 30 square feet and 7 feet tall.
While the reenactment soldiers made camp outside of the museum, inside visitors were treated to the likes of special guest Abraham Lincoln, played by Puyallup School District Assistant Superintendent Jay Reifel.
The museum is one of a handful in the nation that is connected to a school district. It donated to the district by Dr. and Mrs. Warner Karshner in 1930 as a memorial to their son Paul H. Karshner.
Karshner was a collector extraordinaire, said museum director Beth Bestrom.
Karshner found the students interacting with history is a great way for them to learn.
“He realized kids learn so much from that kind of experience,” Bestrom said.
This past year, more than 400 classes in the district visited the museum, to learn about the area’s local pioneers and native cultures.
This year was the first year that different schools sponsored a Saturday Family Day at the museum with a different theme each time. The Civil War theme was the last of the school year, sponsored by Stewart Elementary which is next to the museum.
“It’s been a real good partnership,” Bestrom said.
As the collection changes students can experience history outside of a textbook, said Janice Ariza, with Friends of the Karshner Museum.
“And we have a lot of support form out district,” she said.
“It’s a unique gift really to the district,” Reifel added.
As a teaching tool the museum matches up with district and state curriculum requirements
Next school year, the Family Days will focus on “Science at the Museum,” with the first on Oct. 4 featuring archeology and paleontology.
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Karshner Museum
> For more information about the Karshner Museum, or joining Friends of the Karshner Museum go to www.karshnermuseum.org or call 253-841-8748
> The museum is located at 309 Fourth St. NE in Puyallup.
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