PETEETNEET
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Colleen
Huff Wilson
The
Peteetneet Museum is staffed by volunteers who oversee the operation of the
museum. The volunteer tour guides are
some of the most important volunteers at Peteetneet. They are the daily face of the museum. These volunteers donate at least three hours
a week, some do even more, sharing their time and talents with the visitors to
the museum. The museum could not operate
without these wonderful people. One of
our outstanding volunteers is Colleen Huff Wilson.
Colleen has actually been a
volunteer for many years. She has
assisted her husband, Charlie Ray Wilson on the grounds each year. She has been there to help weed and plant the
flowers each summer. Her “green thumb”
has been evident when you view our beautiful flower beds and gardens.
Colleen was born and raised in
Payson. She is the daughter of Lewis and
Lois Huff. Lewis was involved in music
circles in Payson for many years. He directed the Payson City Band and oversaw
the Sunday evening band concerts each summer.
After graduation from Payson High
School, she attended Snow College and LDS Business College. She later married Charlie Ray Wilson in the
Salt Lake Temple. They made their first
home in Walla Walla, Washington while Ray served in the Air Force. After moving nine times and living in five
different cities, they returned to Payson to make their home and raise their
family.
Colleen worked as a secretary in the
health industry for most of her married life. She retired last December after 25 years at
Canyon View Medical Group. After having
back surgery in January, she decided she would like to become a Tour Guide
volunteer at the museum. However, she
still assists her husband helping maintain the grounds of the museum.
She became involved in the
preservation of Peteetneet. She first
served as a secretary to Gordon Taylor who helped spearhead the saving of this
beautiful old Payson landmark. She
stated she had nothing to do with the actual preservation of the building. She said she is totally amazed at the work
and effort that have made the Peteetneet the wonderful facility it is today.
She feels that each room of the
museum is phenomenal and so much of Payson’s history is on exhibit. Colleen has deep roots in Payson and the
Peteetneet. Her grandmother, mother, and
her children were all educated within the walls of this wonderful old
school. Her father organized the
Peteetneet Band in the 1960s.
Most of Colleen’s hobbies involve
music. She is a member of the Payson
Civic Chorale and she has played the flute and piccolo in the Payson City Band
for many years. She also loves her
Indian flutes (wooden flutes) and has a collection of about five of them. He latest one has a double barrel and sounds
really neat she states. She also helps
sponsor the Huff Music Contest at Payson High School. Her father began sponsoring the contest more
than 40 years ago.
Since retiring, she has taken up
knitting. She has also been teaching one
of her grandsons how to play the flute.
She even found time to teach four of her grandchildren in 4-H this
summer. She and Ray have two children,
April Jones and Rhett Wilson. They also
have eight grandchildren, four boys and four girls.
The Peteetneet Museum feels very
fortunate to have Colleen join our other great volunteers at the museum. She is here every Wednesday afternoon. Stop by and have her give you tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment