Pennies Plus…

MEEKER I Last week, the Rio Blanco County Historical Society (RBCHS) invited its Pennies Plus junior ambassador, Sarah Welle, to help courier the accumulated buckets and bags of loose change to Mountain Valley Bank for a deposit. To ensure safety, Officer Phil Stubblefield escorted the unusual convoy through downtown Meeker from the White River Museum to Mountain Valley Bank.
Ellene Meece, RBCHS president, shared the significance of this milestone, “This past year, we have been steadily raising money to pay off the book loan that was incurred with the reprinting of ‘This Is What I Remember’ books, stories published from our own people of what they remember about this area and its colorful history. The original loan debt totaled $38,000 with Mountain Valley Bank. In 2011, after not being able to make a full payment one month, the board rallied and started the Pennies Plus Project, to pay off the final $10,000 owed. With all our root beer float and bake sale fundraisers and the faithful contributions in our penny buckets around town, we are happy to report that we have collected more than 500,000 pennies making us more than half way to our 1 million penny goal!”
The “This is What I Remember” books are sold at the White River Museum, which is open daily. This Saturday, the Rio Blanco County Historical Society will be selling root beer floats and homemade baked treats in front of the garrison building during community appreciation day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will also have a sale of donated antiques and vintage collectibles in the courtyard between the garrison building and the main museum.