MONROE — Jerry Senner has a way for even the smallest child to fire up a 1920s-era mechanical logging saw.
Same goes for the 1930s-era John Deere corn sheller, which rips dried kernels from cobs.
The two antique machines are tied to a computer; with a mouse click, they roar to life.
“It feels good to walk up and be able to do that, using that mix of modern and old techniques,” said Senner, 65. “It’s making it happen so you can tell the story.”
After a dozen years, Senner’s labor of love, the Western Heritage Center Interactive Museum, is open for visitors. The rattle of noisy century-old farm and logging machinery fills a 2,200-square-foot building at the edge of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.
Most of the museum’s displays are up and running. Kids can gawk at noisy machinery, including an 1880s-era drill press powered by giant belts tied to a waterwheel outside the building.
If there were a river passing by, Senner would have used it. But an electric water pump had to suffice.
“It’s really important to hear the noise,” Senner said. “If the machinery breaks, we’ll weld up a part and make it work again. We can fix it. I’d rather see it working.”
The museum shows the history of Snohomish County and its fertile river valleys, a lesson that more people should know as the county grows, said Steve Rizzo, volunteer and docent.
“This is what it took to do farming, mining, logging and the railroad,” Rizzo said.
At every turn, the museum shows the taming of Snohomish County, when rugged men with moustaches and brimmed hats cut down trees as wide as they were tall.
And those were just the small trees, used for firewood to power steam engines to help haul out the really big trees.
“Every time one of those older people die, they take a library with them,” Senner said. The museum helps bridge the gap.
Senner was born in Monroe and grew up on a dairy farm and raised hay. He declared in his teens he would never milk a cow again, and then two years later bought an Elma dairy farm with his wife, Nancy.
Senner has sold real estate and worked construction over the years. Now he’s spending most of his time building the museum and its displays.
Since 1996, the museum group has had nonprofit status, but no permanent home. Over the years, Senner said he struggled with setbacks.
The county generously offered its maintenance building and some land to expand, he said.
“We’ve finally started to realize some of our dreams,” Senner said. “We’re excited about the future.”
Up to $300,000 is needed to hire staff and operate the center year-round, Senner said. About $20,000 has gone into remodeling the county building, including $13,000 from a summer fundraiser and $5,000 donated by the county farm bureau.
Senner has about 20 tractors of his own.
Senner said he hopes schools are drawn to the space for field trips.
Even bolder plans are in store. Supporters want to build a silo for showing educational movies, and add more than 100 feet to the building. Senner hopes for a windmill he can hook up to more machinery.
Plans are already in the works to build a pond for visitors to pan for gold, and work is under way to build an authentic model of how the railroad carried timber from the High Rock logging operation south of Monroe.
“Come in and watch us grow,” Rizzo said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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