John Larson, director of Polson Museum, can’t wait to show the public the work he and his staff have done these past three months. The wait is almost over, because on Saturday, it’s back open.

“We’ve been closed, well basically we did the car raffle in December,” Larson said. “And then through the months of January, February and March, the museum was shut down. The big things we wanted to accomplish was in the main room, we took our steam machine and stripped every bit of the old wallpaper. There were two layers of wallpaper back there. You didn’t notice it … but we went right down to the plaster, we restored all the plaster.”

In addition to a lot of other work, like with old electric components from yesteryear and outlets, they were able to add more components for the museum. It’s a sight to see, because it’s all clean, and furnished so there’s always something else to see on each wall of each room, but it isn’t cluttered.

“We have places now where we can put up slideshows and movies that are part of the exhibits,” Larson said. “In this room we added the two televisions, and then you’ll see in the library we added another. That’s allowing us to be a little more modern, if you will, in our approach to telling historical stories.”

In just a couple days, people will be able to see more of the mansion restored, as well as three new exhibits at Polson Museum — 1611 Riverside Ave., in Hoquiam.

The centerpiece exhibit is “The Spectacular Vanishes: When Horses Left the Harbor”, which has been in the “planning stage for nearly two years and is an immersive look into the evolving transportation world on the Harbor between 1900 and 1930,” according to Polson Museum’s Winter-Spring newsletter. The evolution included a “full transformation” from horse-drawn to combustion engine equipment “took place in nearly every facet of our personal, commercial and industrial worlds.”

In looking at one of the photographs inside the exhibit, Larson pointed out how people can see bicycles, horse-drawn vehicles, an old street sweeper — powered by a horse, plus an automobile. If you head there you can see it too. It’s almost as if the people then knew historians such as Larson would want to see all of the ways of land transportation in one photo. The photo shows the intersection of Heron and H Street in Aberdeen. There are other photos that show downtown Hoquiam and other parts of the more “central” area of Grays Harbor.

The second exhibit is called “Made in Grays Harbor.” It’s a permanent exhibit “designed to periodically evolve as we showcase the myriad of durable goods manufactured on Grays Harbor, both past and present,” the newsletter states.

“Located in the mansion’s Sun Room, the exhibit is geared to provide Harborites and tourists alike with an informative and eye-opening view of products originating here,” the newsletter states.

The third exhibit is called “Maritime Grays Harbor.” That is in the museum’s library. It “features a stunning illuminated gallery of our most cherished maritime-related artifacts,” the newsletter states. The exhibit shows the history of shipyards, vessels, bridges and navigation aids “that once graced Grays Harbor’s waterways.”

Teamwork

Larson knows he can’t do this by himself. He had great things to say about the staff with whom he works.

“My team is everything to this job,” Larson said. “You can hear them and see them. … There are all these different people around here. And everybody’s got their specialty. As I like to say, ‘If you’re a volunteer at the Polson, you come here, first and foremost, to have fun,’ because the work that we’re doing should be fun. If you find your niche, which all these folks have, they keep coming back week after week to make this museum an inviting place for the general public, and one the community can be proud of. It’s key to have that core group of people who keep coming back and doing the work that’s important to the museum.”

In addition to the public opening on Saturday, an event for members, and their guests, happens on Friday, from 5 to 8 p.m. At 6 p.m., Larson will share details about the work done this winter — for both the building and displays. The guests that night will receive refreshments and finger foods. In addition to existing members, anyone interested in joining is welcome to attend as well.

“We look forward to welcoming you back,” the newsletter states.

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.