Menard's 244th Birthday Celebration

Sunday, October 3rd, from 1pm-4pm the Friends of the Menard Home will be celebrating Pierre Menard's 244th birthday on the back porch of the home. Historically dressed volunteers will be helping to celebrate by serving refreshments, while giving tours of the home, gardens and summer kitchen.

Please come out and see the wonderful changes that have taken place at the Menard Home this year. The Home has received a new lighting system, the chimney work has been completed and the front landscaping of the home has a whole new look. It’s a very exciting time to visit the home and see the changes that have taken place this summer.

Just a Quick Reminder

We just want to remind all of you that the Menard Home will be hosting the 3rd Annual Garden Walk this coming Sunday, May 2nd, from 1-4 pm.  As an added bonus members of the Mississippi Valley Art Guild will be on hand displaying their artwork of the Menard Home. 

As always this event is solely sponsored and paid for by the Friends of the Menard Home. 

We hope to see all of you on Sunday! 

Third Annual Garden Walk and Art Show

The Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site would like to invite you to attend their third annual Garden Walk and Art show on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 from 1-4pm. The date has been moved up by one month in hopes of catching the garden at its absolute peek and a new twist has been added. The home will sponsor an art show displaying works of art of by the Mississippi Valley Art Guild. Members will be present to explain their artwork which depicts scenes of the Pierre Menard Home. Members have used various mediums including, pencil sketches, acrylics and photography to name just a few.

The herb garden, which should be resplendent in the late spring afternoon, will provide the backdrop for a wonderful event with all of the herbs representing those plants that were used in the 19th Century not only for seasoning food, but also for medicinal purposes as well as clothing dye, cheese making and additives for wine. This event offers an inviting afternoon of education, learning and fun. The Friends of the Menard Home will be dressed in period clothing and offering refreshments to visitors as well as giving tours of the garden, home and summer kitchen. Everyone is welcome to come out, take a step back in history and enjoy an afternoon and a glimpse at a bygone era and enjoy the wonderful artwork of the Mississippi Valley Art Guild.

Colonial Gardening Program at Chester Library

The public is invited to a free program at the Chester Public Library on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. Robert Mueller, President of the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, will present "Colonial Gardening and Agriculture in the Mid-Mississippi Valley”. This presentation explores mid-Mississippi horticulture before 1820 based on travelers’ descriptions to the area. Hear how colonial gardening techniques still impact present trends.

Mr. Mueller is very interested in the early history of Ste. Genevieve and surrounding area. He is also a genealogist with a special interest in the Germans of Ste. Genevieve County and a member of the Ste. Genevieve County Master Gardeners, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Missouri.

For more information about this program, please call the Chester Public Library at (618)826-3711. For information on the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, please visit http://www.historicstegen.org/

Third Annual Garden Walk and Art Show

Art work from the Mississippi Valley Art Guild is starting to trickle in for the May 2nd, Garden Walk and Art Show. Various mediums are represented in the artwork from photography, pencil sketches, oils and acrylics. All of the artwork represents scenes from the home or the grounds.

Please mark your calendar and make... plans to attend a fun afternoon at the Pierre Menard Home to enjoy the garden and lots of interesting and beautiful artwork.

New Chimneys!!!!!

The outside work on the chimneys, both on the home and the summer kitchen have been completed. Now we're waiting on a little work to be finished inside the summer kitchen to make it operational and we'll be back in business and once again we’ll be able to cook and bake in a fully operational kitchen!

Unacceptable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our apologies if you were unfortunate enough to have tried to get into the Menard Home last week and were greeted with this sign.

Due to poor management and lack of resources the Pierre Menard Home was closed when our Site Services Specialist contracted a nasty case of the flu. Because of budget issues the home has one full time employee and when he’s ill or on vacation the “campus” approach is supposed to take over. This means someone from Fort de Chartres or Fort Kaskaskia is supposed to come and work at the home on those days. However management didn’t do their job and would not return our phone calls or emails pleading with them to get someone to cover the home.

If you find this as unacceptable as we do, PLEASE call Senator Luechtefeld and Representative Reitz and Governor Quinn. Their contact information can be found in the left hand column of this Blog.

A Huge Thank You!!!!

We would like to thank everyone who came out and made our first Eagle Watching Day such a huge success. We had friends, fellow birders and history lovers from a vast area come to the home to look for American Bald Eagles and lots of the song birds too.

We could not have done this without your support and we are very grateful.

Reminder about the Eagle Watching Day

We just wanted to send out a quick reminder that we're hosting an eagle watching day this coming Sunday, February 7th from 9am-5pm.  Please feel free to bring out your cameras, spotting scopes and binoculars.  Dress for the weather and if you get chilled we'll have hot coffee available to warm you up. 

Progress!!!!!!

Work started last week on emergency repairs to replace the chimneys at the home. Lack of use, time, poor management and an absence regular and routine maintenance had started to take a toll on the chimneys.  They were starting to deteriorate at a very rapid rate, endangering visitors as well as the saftey of the home. It was decided to repair the parlor and master bedroom chimneys and seal them off so no fires will ever be lit in the home again. However, the chimney in the summer kitchen will be replaced and put back in working order so that events can once again take place in that part of the home. This also means that the bake oven, which is a very large indoor oven and a very valuable part of the home will once again be operational. This will be a boon for the home and the volunteer staff, and will allow for kitchen programs to start taking place after the repairs have finished.

Eagle Watching

Please plan to attend a new event which will take place at the Pierre Menard Home for the first time next month. On Sunday, February 7th, 2010 from 9am-5pm, you may come out and from the front porch of the home spend the day looking for American Bald Eagles as they soar across the Mississippi River and roost in the trees around the home. Please feel free to bring your cameras, spotting scopes and binoculars as you look for eagles and the myriad of song birds which inhabit the trees and undergrowth in and around the property. Feel free to walk around the property and observe the many finches, cardinals, woodpeckers, jays and a whole host of other birds to numerous to mention that frequent the grounds.

Dress for the weather; however coffee will be served downstairs in the museum if you get chilled. And please make sure you take a tour of the home, museum and view the audio/visual presentation while you are there to learn more about the First Lt. Governor of the State of Illinois.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone next month for this fun new adventure.  See you then!