While the weak economy is stressing the pocketbooks of many Oklahoma residents, it has proven beneficial for two Pauls Valley museums.
Each year many visitors stop by the Santa Fe Depot Museum to look back into the history of Pauls Valley and Garvin County.
Depot museum attendant Hattie Vickers said the economic crunch has resulted in more people visiting the museum instead of traveling out of state for vacations.
“There has been a definite increase this year in visitors at the museum. We don’t keep an exact count but I know it’s safe to say it’s up by at last 5 percent over last year,” Vickers said.
About two blocks away from the Santa Fe Depot Museum, at the Toy and Action Figure Museum, visitation also continues on the upswing.
Museum Curator Kevin Stark said attendance at the toy museum has increased every year since the unique museum opened in 2005. Stark said attendance this summer is up between 20 and 30 percent compared to 2008.
Both Vickers and Stark say the economic downturn has helped boost visitor traffic at their facilities.
“A lot of people these days are going on what has come to be known as ‘staycations.’ In other words, they are staying closer to home to save money instead of traveling to other places out of state,” Stark said.
Vickers shared a “staycation” story. She said a woman from Oklahoma City visited the depot museum with her daughter and grandkids. “They said they couldn’t afford to go out of state on vacation so they chose to ride the train to the depot and look around instead,” Vickers said.
The low admission price for the toy museum and the free admission to the Santa Fe Depot Museum are attractive selling points to many visitors, Stark and Vickers said.
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Related Photos
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Santa Fe Depot Museum attendant Hattie Vickers stands beside a vintage horse-drawn buggy on loan to the museum. Vickers said museum visitors enjoy checking out the buggy. (PVDD photo by Jim Richardson)
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