Artesia Historical Society Holds Sixth Annual Gala

By Jerry Bernstein

The Artesia Historical Society held its sixth Annual Gala Fundraiser Oct. 10 celebrating the city’s 50th birthday. The fundraising festivities were held in the Albert O. Little Community Center across from city hall with the organization raising $11,000. All funds raised will be used to continue the many programs of the Society, including maintenance and continued development of the museums, docent guided museum tours for school children, which officials said is in a continuous growing mode.
Greeting the guests was Society President Barbara Applebury who thanked them for their continued support. She said they had come a long way, with the Artesia museum a going concern and the restoration of old Fire Station #30 moving forward. Applebury called Past President Veronica Bloomfield to the podium and commented, “Veronica was president for 10 years. We owe a lot to her. I’ve been president for just a few weeks, and have thought about resigning twice.”
Bloomfield said when they first organized there were just two or three members who met in a member’s house. Eventually, as group grew, they started meeting in the Community Center. She related how they had begun going through the city archives and salvage many original pictures of the early days of the city and various artifacts.
Activities at the Gala included a silent auction and an Opportunity Drawing. Dinner was prepared by Vital Lourenco, who served Tri-Tip and Salmon. Will Donato provided musical entertainment.