There is always something exciting going on at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center in Weatherford, where lately people have been overcome with cases of cabin fever, leading to excitement and anticipation of the future.
Lorraine Crutcher, pictured center, is the marketing and events manager for The Doss. She spoke at Wednesday's weekly Rotary Club of Mineral Wells meeting to talk about the Doss, and in particular development of its Pioneer Cabin Park, located on about 2 acres of property acquired from Weatherford College on the west side of the DHCC, located at Texas Drive and Santa Fe Drive.
The village has been in development since 2014. Ground was broken in February 2016. The first cabin, the McDonald Cabin, was moved to the park last Sept. 14th. Two weeks ago, DHCC received its second, the Strain cabin that was moved from the Brock area and through Weatherford on Santa Fe Drive.
Crutcher said they hope to add two or three more cabins and complete the park by 2020.
She told Rotarians the cabins are fascinating parts of Parker County history that will be restored and preserved, even used as educational displays. She said the Strain cabin was first built as a corn crib before it was converted into a home and was built with double doors. She said those will allow the cabin to be accessible for people with physical disabilities.
Crutcher said one of the interesting things about the cabins are seeing how the families that built and lived in them have spread out across the county and area, she said.
Along with its museum housing collections of historic artifacts, the Doss provides meeting and conference rooms and is a popular wedding venue.
Crutcher also talked about the 42 Tournament slated for Feb. 23-24. The dominoes game was created in Trapp Springs – Garner today – in 1887 developed by William Thomas, 12, and Walter Earl, 14, both of Trapp Springs, in present-day Garner, after they were caught playing cards – which was not allowed by their devout Baptist parents. Dominoes, however, was a game they could play and they came up with the game of 42 as a way to play cards using dominoes.
Among the Doss' exhibits is a permanent gallery devoted to Mary Martin, the Weatherford born-and-raised actress known for her movie role as Peter Pan, and her son, Larry Hagman, who enjoyed stardom on television in the shows "I Dream of Jeanie" and then as J.R. in "Dallas."
Crutcher said a special upcoming event is planned to honor Martin and talk about her career, featuring a person who has a collection of Martin memorabilia, including some photographs that have never been made public.
The mission of the James and Dorothy Doss Heritage and Culture Center is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Parker County through cultural and educational events that raise community awareness and pride in our western heritage. For more information and operating hours visit http://dosscenter.org/ or find and follow DHCC on Facebook for more information.
Pictured with Crutcher above are Mineral Wells Rotary Club President David Cairone and program chair Janette Green. Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at noon at Holiday Hills Country Club for lunch, networking, updates on club news and events and a program of interest. Come join us.