on Albany Timber Carnival

Saturday open house will showcase nearly 300 donated items

People dressed in plaid shirts and Levi’s will be in downtown Albany on Saturday to celebrate the return of the Albany Timber Carnival.

The Albany Regional Museum that day opens its newest exhibit — a salute to the World Championship Albany Timber Carnival that was the community’s signature Fourth of July event for more than 50 years. The official carnival garb during those years was plaid shirts or blouses, jeans and red felt hats.

The celebration began in 1941, recessed for the World War II years, and continued from 1946 through 2000, and was sponsored by the Albany Junior Chamber of Commerce service group that later became known as the Albany Jaycees.

A new Timber Carnival event, by another group of volunteers, is planned this July 4-5 at Timber-Linn Memorial Park.

The museum exhibit is scheduled to open at noon and will continue through the summer. An open house on Saturday is planned for the public, former Jaycees and those who contributed to the celebration — past and present.

Tami Sneddon, the museum administrative coordinator, said cake, coffee and lemonade will be available until 4 p.m. Saturday. Most of the items on display, which number nearly 300, are from the disbanded Jaycee organization and other individuals that participated in the celebration over the years.

Items include red hats, buttons, clothing, pictures, printed programs, videos, belt buckles, ribbons, posters, bumper stickers and scrapbooks.

A first-person account of the 1958 carnival by Gary Kingston is published in the museum’s summer newsletter. Free copies of the newsletter will be available.

Sneddon thanks past Jaycee officers and museum members for providing the exhibit material. She especially noted museum member and former Jaycee George Rowlett, who assisted in organizing the exhibit and gathering materials.

The Albany Regional Museum is at 136 Lyon St. S. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The museum’s web address is www.armuseum.com.

Democrat-Herald