We Miss You, Monday Crew...
Millman and longtime Monday Crew leader Charlie Connell standing in front of the Swallow Mine stamp mill.
Greetings AMMNRE Museum friends! We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now. Normally our volunteer group, the "Monday Crew," would have been meeting regularly to work on the mining equipment and help with other aspects of museum development. However due to current circumstances we have suspended volunteer activities, so they are certainly missed! Over the past few years, the Monday Crew members have generously helped us complete a variety of important tasks, including cleaning out the museum, moving and relocating material, servicing and repairing equipment, assisting with the mineral collection move, and organizing minerals and sorting inventory. We value their input as stakeholders and supporters of the museum and want to share some of our favorite photos from the past few years below. We miss you, Monday Crew!
Let's kick off these photos with a highlight of two of our most dedicated volunteers, Doug and Shirley!
When we reignited the Monday Crew group a few years ago, one of the first tasks was to clean out the museum. Many items had been stored here over the years while it was closed.
Who'd have thought filling up a dumpster could be so rewarding? Group shot!
The Monday Crew has also helped with a lot of heavy lifting, moving important items from storage back into the museum...
...including many heavy display cases!
Perhaps one of the most notable things that the Monday Crew does is maintain, service, repair and run the outdoor mining equipment.
This is not always an easy task. It requires specialized training and handyman skills.
But our volunteers have been up to the challenge!
Here are some millmen before our Fall 2019 event, standing in front of the stamp mill. Ready to run!
The mine mucker is another important piece of equipment that requires regular maintenance.
Nice view from the stamp mill platform. Volunteers working on the rail and incline!
Another group shot, this time with UA Risk Management! This one was taken in the hoist house.
Maintaining the equipment requires different types of jobs and tasks. Here, volunteers put together a board to cover the stamp mill table when not in use.
In November 2019 we hosted reporter Arren from the Arizona Capitol Times, who published an article about the museum's progress. Here volunteer Bill is showing Arren our equipment and how it runs!
One big project we also completed was organizing and moving the Boneyard material in spring 2019. This involved several weeks of Monday Crew involvement to prepare and ultimately transport the material.
Group shot after sorting rocks all morning!
Did someone say sorting rocks? We've got plenty of those inside as well!
In fall 2019, the Monday Crew volunteers assisted with one of our biggest challenges yet - moving the collection material from storage in Tempe back to the museum building. Group shot after a day of packing!
And a shout out to volunteers who assisted at outside events like the Flagg Mineral Show (January 2020).
The Monday Crew members are important stakeholders and we strive to maintain constant and efficient communication with them.
We thank you, the Monday Crew, for everything you all have done! You are the backbone of the museum and we wouldn't be making progress without you.