• Sonny Long •
• Originally published July 9, 2009 at 4:54 p.m., updated July 9, 2009 at 11:55 p.m.

• SHOOTING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

  The second annual Gulf Coast Mounted Shooters Lavaca Historical Museum Benefit will be held Friday through Sunday, Aug. 21-23, at the Wilber Baber Expo Center.

  Friday features a beginner's clinic from 6 to 8 ...

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SHOOTING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The second annual Gulf Coast Mounted Shooters Lavaca Historical Museum Benefit will be held Friday through Sunday, Aug. 21-23, at the Wilber Baber Expo Center.

Friday features a beginner's clinic from 6 to 8 p.m. The clinic is for those who want to learn more about this growing equestrian sport. The cost is $10.

Saturday and Sunday shows begin at 10 a.m. with a $5 admission. There is no charge for those ages 12 and under. The show features a timed competition among mounted riders in period dress using period weapons. A raffle will also be held with the top prizes of a Cimarron 1866 Yellowboy carbine and a Cimarron Revolving Carbine. Tickets are $20 each.

For more information about the fundraiser, call 713-557-1515; for donating to the museum building fund, call 361-798-4113. To learn more about the Gulf Coast Mounted Shooters, visit www.gulfcoastmountedshooters.com.

HALLETTSVILLE - A new home awaits the Lavaca Historical Museum if $100,000 can be raised. Planners hope to build on County Road 200 near the Wilber Baber Exposition Center.

The current museum is in a residential neighborhood in the 400 block of North Main Street not far from downtown, but the aging structure is no longer adequate for the growing museum.

"One of the reasons we are trying to get a new building near the Expo Center is because we are trying to bring the Texas High School Championship Rodeo Museum here," said Deborah Foyt, a member of the museum's board of directors and chair of the fundraising committee. "We don't have enough room where we are. The new museum will have an entire section dedicated to Texas High School rodeo."

Foyt said the high school rodeo originated in Hallettsville until it outgrew the town's facilities and is now held in Seguin.

"A lot of people from here were either in the rodeo or their parents were in the rodeo. It's only appropriate that the museum be here," said Foyt. Plans for a new museum include construction of a 4,800-square-foot building said Cheryl Walker, board secretary. Walker said the museum board has received a grant from the Dickson-Allen Foundation and some private donations, but needs at least $100,000 more for the construction of the building.

"We need a place where we can take better care of the items we have. We don't have proper storage or the temperature control we really need," said Janice Saunders, museum administrator. Saunders said that the current museum, which has been in the house since November 1990, features exhibits including the South Texas Old Timers Baseball Hall of Fame, veterans' room and medical room depicting much of the history of the medical industry in the area.

The new facility will expand the size of current museum and allow it to also display the history of Hallettsville and the area, including the local founders, the courthouse and agriculture-related exhibits.

Saunders also cited problems with storage, lighting, maintenance and parking at the current location.

"We need a place that was built to be a museum, not a residence," Saunders said.

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