County museum gets new sign

What started out as one man’s idea of using his time and talent to create a sign as a donation to the Castro County Historical Museum, evolved into a community project culminating in a mini reunion for the DHS class of 1975.

Class members working on the project were Daniel Perez, Dudley Wooten, Kurt Wales, Brad Sanders, Jerry Annen, Kim Hays and Leta Dennis.

Before retiring, Perez was a draftsman for Guadalupe Valley Electric Co-op in Gonzales, Texas. Finding he has a little more time on his hands, he has been creating signs for different businesses in Dickens, where he now lives.

According to Leta Davis, he contacted her asking if the museum would like a sign similar to the one he made for the Dickens museum. Always happy to accept donations for the museum, and because the facility was needing a sign, she accepted Perez’s generous offer.

Perez also reached out to Dana Harman Nelson, also a DHS graduate, and she generously donated the materials needed for the sign.

Saturday morning, Perez picked Brad Sanders up in Lubbock and headed for Dimmitt, More specifically, to Dudley Wooten’s shop at the airport.

The sign was quickly attached to pipe, donated by Levi Lunsford, for installation. Lunsford also furnished the tractor. At the museum, the group was met by Curt Bills, the tractor and post hole digger.

Davis thanked Lunsford and Bills for assisting their elders!

With the sign in the ground and needing time for the concrete to set up, the group went to Subway for sustenance and more visiting before returning to tour the museum house and outbuildings.

Stopping by to check the progress and offer a little moral support were Rex Wooten, Kay and Ronnie Gfeller, Matt and Mandi Gfeller, Bill Sanders and Roy Thomas.

Davis said future plans for the Castro County Historical Museum include relocating the flagpole from where it is currently hidden by trees, to the open area near the sign.

Improvements currently being done are focused on the Veteran’s Building. The building is a former POW barrack given to the museum by the Flagg community. The barrack was one of many that was built during WWII to house Italian POWs. After the war, all the barracks were auctioned off and served different purposes all over Castro and Deaf Smith counties. This particular one became the community building for Flagg.

Though the museum does not currently have regular hours for tours, they encourage anyone wanting to tour to stop by while they are there working on improvements, or to call for an appointment. The phone number is 806- 681-9261.

A big ‘thank you’ goes out to all who have helped breath new life into the museum house, buildings and artifacts.

"There is still a long way to go, but we have made excellent progress,” said Davis. “We can use help with everything from running a dust rag to skilled carpenters.”