ARCHER COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — The Archer County Museum and Arts Center is holding a Town Hall Thursday, February 23, for community members to have their voices heard on the future of the museum.

Callie Lawson from the museum joined our morning show Wednesday, February 22, to talk about what can be expected at the meeting.

Carney Porter: Callie Lawson is joining us this morning to tell us all about tomorrow’s town hall hosted by the Archer County Museum and Arts Center. Thank you so much for being here.

Callie Lawson: Oh, thanks for having me.

Carney Porter: So you have an important message to get out to the community tomorrow? So tell us a little bit about what that is.

Callie Lawson: Yeah. So as we start to reestablish the museum, it’s been closed since 2017 and was turned into a nonprofit in 2020. Since then, we’ve kind of been revisioning what the museum will look like and what we’ll be offering for the community. So it’s important to us to hold these town halls to get their feedback because it’s going to be a museum for and by Archer County, really.

Carney Porter: Right. Now, what are some things that you’re wanting to maybe propose or ideas that you’re wanting to kind of run with and move forward?

Callie Lawson: Yeah. So previously the museum was housed in the jail building and that we won’t be moving forward with. We’re going to be treating the jail as an artifact itself and the way a jail would have functioned back in that period of time and then have another building on the east of the property that will be HVAC controlled and hold all our artifacts and classrooms and workshops and things like that moving forward.

Carney Porter: Which isn’t a bad idea. People wouldn’t maybe know it, but jails and from those times especially have so much history that people don’t even realize. So it’s always nice to preserve that if you can. So when can these people – i know you’re saying it’s coming up tomorrow? For those who are interested in attending, when and what time can they be there?

Callie Lawson: So tomorrow we’ll be at Windthorst at the new KC Hall at 6 p.m. is when we’re going to start and it’ll be a 12-minute video presentation and we’ll open the floor up for comments and questions and suggestions and then we’ll finish it out with a meal.

Carney Porter: Gotcha. Now, are there any rooms? Are we kind of sticking with the ideas planned or is there room for suggestions?

Callie Lawson: There’s room for suggestion. Obviously, if this isn’t what the community wants or what they find would be most beneficial for them, then we’ll have to shift the vision and we’re okay with that. And we want to be transparent for the community.

Carney Porter: Well make sure you get your voice heard and head on down there tomorrow. Like she said, it’s at Windthorst in the new KC Hall. Cost – it’s free to attend. It starts at 6:00. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.