Mystery donor offers matching funds

By Mardi Suhs

TUSTIN The quiet museum just off Main Street in Tustin is about to get noisy.

Glen Van Antwerp, president of the Pine River Area Historical Society, wants to shake things up at the museum. The group wants to improve the building and display its contents so they tell the story of Tustin's history.

A mystery donor wants to help. Someone pledged a $10,000 matching gift with a $2,000 bonus if they reach the $10,000 goal within the next nine months.

"We want to do a major upgrade to our building and our displays," said Van Antwerp, a woodcarving artist. "So we are having fundraisers and applying for grants to raise $50,000."

The museum is housed is an old potato warehouse with 5,500 square feet of space.

Right now, it's full of amazing stuff like a 1901 bicycle, a 1945 Dodge fire truck, an old river boat and more.

"We have 5,500 square feet of stuff but hardly any stories," he said. "I want to extract the stories."

Van Antwerp has two friends willing to advise him, both museum curators.

"I want to tell how farm families lived in this area, what kind of work they did," he said. "I want to tell the story of our immigrants...all of these stories. And my target age is 13."

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Mystery donor offers matching funds