North Lincoln County Historical Museum (NLCHM) is excited to host 25 Years of Finders Keepers, a new exhibit in collaboration with Explore Lincoln City. Historically, the Oregon coast has been one of the best places to find unique glass fishing floats. The ocean currents would bring the most unusual and unique shapes to our beaches, which would bring visitors from all over to treasure hunt. NLCHM is proud to have one of the largest collections of original glass floats, which have inspired collectors and glass artists for over 100 years.

Once the Japanese fishing industry started replacing their hempen rope with plastic, fewer and fewer floats washed up, until it was nearly impossible to find any in the late 1990s. In 2000, a group of artists and community organizations worked together to celebrate the new millennium and renew the joy of finding floats on the beach. The Finders Keepers program has kept that tradition alive for 25 years and has inspired, supported, and brought together phenomenal glass artists from all over the Pacific Northwest. 

25 Years of Finders Keepers will walk visitors through the history and development of the program, show a unique example from each year since 2000, and celebrate the glass art community that has developed around Finders Keepers. The exhibit will be on display on the second floor of NLCHM from November 16th, 2024 to November 15th, 2025. On display will be 25 different floats, original posters from each year, glass making tools and instruments, videos showing the glass making process, interviews and photos of artists that have been involved in the program, as well as photos that have been shared by people who have found these treasures! There will be an opening reception for the exhibit on November 16th, 2024 from 1pm-3pm with refreshments, we look forward to seeing you there!

Join us at North Lincoln County Historical Museum (NLCHM) for Home Movie Day 2024 on Saturday, October 19^th, 2024 from 12PM – 3:30PM. This event is free and open to the public!

Home Movie Day is celebrated worldwide. It is a fun interactive event, where you can learn about different small gauge movie formats, get your own movies inspected and repaired by a film archivist, learn how to preserve and protect your films, and get recommendations for digitization. The best part is watching your own family’s precious memories on the big screen! NLCHM will also be projecting films from their own collection, including footage of Lincoln City and other Oregon Coast locations in the 1950s and 1960s.

8mm, super-8mm, and 16mm films are accepted day of on a first come, first served basis. If you want to guarantee a spot, you can drop off your films at NLCHM, 4907 SW HWY 101, Lincoln City, Wednesday – Saturday 11AM-4PM. If you are interested in getting VHS, hi8, MiniDV or other media inspected and screened, please contact NLCHM as soon as possible!

If you would like more information or are interested in volunteering at the event, please email: director@nlchm.org.

We hope you can make it to our Annual Meeting open house on Saturday, June 22nd, 2024 from 11am – 1pm. Come meet members of our Board of Directors, vote for our new Board member in person, and see a slide show of the years trials and triumphs! We will have goodies and refreshments. Come see what we are all about and help us shape NLCHM’s future.

Photograph of a Schooner Creek School Picnic, August 1909. Names on back note that members of the Saaranpaa, Immonen, Hill, Erickson, Bone, and Waino families are reperesented

If you cannot make the meeting, you can take a look at the PDF of our annual meeting slideshow: