Cottonwood Chronicle

It will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with museum admission by donation only. Historical characters will be stationed within the museum and on the grounds allowing visitors to talk with Mother Johanna Zumstein about her journey to America, Sr. Alfreda Elsensohn, the museum’s founder as well as several of the museum’s “Fascinating Lives” characters like Polly Bemis, Winifred Rhoades Emmanuel and Buckskin Bill.
The Cottonwood Lions and The Hangout will provide food. There will also be ice cream, beverages, our famous raspberry shortcake and raspberry products booth.
For additional entertainment, there will be live music on the lawn, a vintage sale, and an art show. We hope to see you there!"

Taylor Wilkins portrays Winifred Rhoades-Emmanuel. Born in Denver, Idaho, Winifred was a child music prodigy, playing the organ in both theaters during silent movies and with the Kopczynski band, and later performing for audiences in Seattle and Tacoma. When she passed, her husband had a gallery added onto the museum in her honor.

Portraying Frances Zaunmiller Wisner is Pat Cloke (upper photo) of Lewiston. The lower photo is the real Frances working in her garden. Frances was a 40 year correspondent for the Idaho County Free Press. She lived at Cooper’s Ferry and eventually got Senator Dworshak to build a bridge to replace the ferry. She also got aerial hunting banned. She is another character who you can meet at Sunday’s Raspberry Social.

Jeff Wilkins is shown as Engelbert Gier, the Monastery’s architect. Mr. Gier immigrated from Germany and built churches and altars with his brothers including Saint Mary’s church at Mount Angel in 1912. He fell off a ladder and broke both his wrists which ended his building career, and he switched to working as an architect. The sisters contacted him to design their Monastery just a few years later. He’ll talk about some of the design elements of the Monastery and the work that Joe Stang performed thirty years later when the brick annex was added.