Historical Museum at St. Gertrude

06/01/2026

The museum and gift shop will be closed this Friday, June 5th for meetings. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

05/31/2026

Mars here:

Every once in a while, a piece in the Monastery stops me in my tracks—and this painting is one of them.

This beautiful work was painted and donated by local artist Shane Chapman. At nearly 3 feet by 2 feet, it’s large enough to command attention, but somehow it still feels peaceful and quiet.

Whenever I go into the Monastery to run errands, I find myself slowing down to admire it. The light from the stained-glass window, the stillness of the chapel, the sister at prayer—it feels like stepping into a moment of calm in the middle of a busy day.

I have a theory that the colorful reflections on the floor are nature’s version of stained-glass confetti—proof that even sunlight likes to celebrate.

05/28/2026

Look who’s back in a jam! We are so incredibly thankful to welcome Pat Alfrey back to the kitchen. She’s kicking things off with a massive first batch of 130 jars of raspberry goodness. Get your spoons ready, because things are about to get delicious!

05/27/2026

Thank you Camron Settlemier for pointing me to your video taken just two years before the Camas Prairie Railroad quit operating. Your footage is beautiful.

Camron Settlemier explains the motives and techniques of using video, rather than still imagery, for capturing some of the Pacific Northwest’s dying short li...

05/26/2026

UPDATE: We have our train. Thank you to all who replied. Now we need someone to build the trestles. NEEDED: An old train set (does not need to work) donated with cars that are between 5” - 10” long. We are planning a permanent Camas Prairie Railroad exhibit. Can you help?

05/25/2026

We are closed Monday for Memorial Day. We hope to see you tomorrow!

05/22/2026

Don’t forget the health walk that begins at the museum Saturday and that we will be closed on Monday!

05/22/2026

Sr. Rose Marie has been making suncatchers for the gift shop with donated pieces of jewelry, crystals, prisms, colored glass and small crosses. If you own and no longer have a use for these types of items, please think about donating them.

05/20/2026

Heartfelt thanks to everyone donating vintage religious items to our gift shop! Every beautiful piece you give finds a new home where its story continues—and the proceeds directly support our museum's daily operations. These pictures were donated by Cleta Bogner.

05/13/2026

More Information About This Picture:

A couple came through from Seattle. They said that at the Boeing plant where they built an entire fake neighborhood on the roof during the war, they lined the streets up perfectly with the real streets so it would all look normal from the sky.

But here’s the part I can’t stop thinking about…
They said there was grass planted up there. On the roof. And cows. Real cows. Grazing. On top of a factory.

I have so many questions. How did they get them up there? What if one wandered off the “yard”?!

Anyway, if you ever feel like you’re just going about your day… just remember there were once cows casually helping win a war from a rooftop in Seattle.

History is wild.

Mars