February, 2022
For all of you wonderful people who have supported the Duggan House Museum in all the years it has been open, I give a ‘Heartfelt’ Thank You.
As you know, we have been closed for over a year now, due to the Covid-19 virus Pandemic and are trying our best to get going again. It will not be an easy thing to do, because the place is a ‘mess’, since no-one has been there to keep it clean. I would imagine it looks like an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of a cotton field, or worse.
In closing out Larry Sanderson’s property on Hall Ave., his daughters donated to the Museum most of the glass cabinets that were in the building. We are so grateful to have been given these cabinets, but after that building being closed for a while, and then the Museum being closed, the cabinets are really dirty. AND, in order to find places to use these wonderful donations, we have to clean the cabinets, and make many changes in the rooms themselves.
Since I started this newsletter from the Museum, so many other disastrous events have occurred, and I will try to list some, or all of them.
We opened the Museum in June, 2021 for the Book signing of “I’ll Tell The Moon” by Lisa S. McKinnon, a Littlefield native (her dad owned the Dodge-Plymouth automobile dealerships), and it was a welcome success, considering “Covid” still being around and even though we didn’t get the cabinets in place beforehand.
Then, still re-arranging, I came in one morning and there was water all over the floor, the pink wingback chair and many, many books so we had to close again trying to get the books and the floor dry, while praying the floor didn’t warp. We finally got them dry, but many were molded and had to be thrown away. Then, my husband got really scratched by a feral cat, and had to go to the VA Clinic about three times for antibiotics; then I tripped and fell and shattered my kneecap, had to have surgery and wear a brace for 3 ½ months. NO BENDING THE KNEE. Then, in November my husband develops a cough and congestion that won’t go away and the VA Clinic schedules a chest X-Ray and he has a respiratory infection; and they discover other things and schedule a CAT-Scan. They find lesions and they order a PT-Scan He goes in for that and they find cancer in lungs, liver and bone. Two weeks later, he is GONE.
Then on Thanksgiving Eve my brother in Midland passes away, another whammy, and we can’t have his Memorial Service because of the Covid Virus. On December 20, we finally have his service and all of us are still reeling. Then, we get back and Gaile, who kept our cat and dog while we were gone, calls the next day and she has Covid. So, we are kind of in Quarantine for two weeks and thanked the Lord that school was out for Christmas Vacation, because I have a third grader now and she needed to stay home. Service for my Lanny will be in the Spring sometime whenever his boys can schedule time off to take care of things. One son, Kevin is Band Director for the entire J. Frank Dobie school system in Houston, so you can see the problem. You can also understand how I just couldn’t be at the Museum running things.
As things stand now, we have no money coming in, repairs to make to the inside and outside and still have the cabinets to arrange. It looks as though we will have to close the Museum, since as I have said many, many times, we get NO support from the City of Littlefield or Lamb County and without being open and having “Money Earning Functions”, we just flat can’t survive. Many of our supporters have paid their dues and a little more and we are so grateful to get them, but, with the Utilities and the Insurance running a little over $500.00 a month you can see the problem. We will try to hang on for a little longer and pray for help from whatever, wherever and whomever.
You know, I have said many times that this, the Museum, is an integral part of the History of Littlefield, the ONLY House in the city that housed only one family, the Duggans and never anyone else until the Museum Board opened it up to the public. Maj. George W. Littlefield, a war veteran with Terry’s Texas Rangers before the War Between the States, is the Namesake of the town. There is a monument to Maj. Littlefield on the North side of the City Police Station if you have never read it. Maj. Littlefield purchased the “Yellow House Ranch’ part of the XIT Ranch, 312,000 acres, and deeded some of that acreage to build a town. Always trying to hire relatives to work for him, he hired Arthur P. Duggan, who was his niece Sarah’s husband to build the town, which he did, thus becoming the Father of the town. Mr. Duggan was always very active in the town, and was also a State Senator before his death.
We really want and need to stay open and continue to serve the city and the county so this history is never lost. I will say that it has been a Privilege to be a part of this Museum, and I am very proud of what we accomplished in the fifteen (15) years we managed to stay open. It has been a pleasure to serve you as Director of the Museum and meet all of the wonderful people who live here and in surrounding areas. This part of the History of Littlefield will be lost forever and greatly missed by those citizens who want and love the Museum “If” we have to close. Take care of yourselves, be happy and continue your prayers for the Museum and the growth of Littlefield. Miracles do happen you know.
wge