Citizens Rally 'round Cabots

By Alta Hester

Alta Hester ~ When citizens of Desert Hot Springs learned that Cabot’s Pueblo Museum would be without a manager due to the recent city layoffs, they came out in force Wednesday night to offer help. At a meeting of the Cabot’s Museum Foundation board, 20 concerned residents attended, and many expressed their desire to help the museum through its current transition.
During the public comments section of the meeting, representatives of the Desert Hot Springs Historical Society expressed their wish to discuss merging with Cabot’s Museum Foundation to provide a broader view of DHS history. Other individuals came forward offering their expertise in advertising, public relations and other museum-related skills.
The museum is a property of the City of Desert Hot Springs, and the Foundation is a separate non-profit organization for fundraising and promotion purposes. City Manager, Ann Marie Gallant, stated that the City still has adequate funds for capital improvements at the museum, but that the “people energy” was needed from volunteers. She encouraged the merging of the 2 historical entities, and also proposed that two board members consider applying to the Community and Cultural Affairs Commission to maintain close liaison with the city.
A volunteer work party calling themselves “Cabot’s Cleaners” will meet to begin a general cleaning of the museum and grounds on September 9, at 7:30 a.m. Persons interested in volunteering either for the cleaning or for Docent or other roles may contact Marsha Perez at 329-0222.