By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY

Staff Writer

The Mountain History Museum will be open for the final month of its summer season through the end of October. The month is filled with spooky activities, a tour and a documentary on top of its regular displays and videos.

The museum at 27176 Peninsula Drive is open on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. and weekends from 10:30 a.m. to 4 :30 p.m.

The first special event occurring in October is the showing of an often-requested documentary, The Boles Family Murder by Davey Porter. This documentary that explores the murder of the entire Boles family will be shown at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8. The documentary, which is not recommended for children due to the topic, researches the unsolved mass murder of the family in their new home in Crestline in the summer of 1965. Other world-changing events kept the attention of the media and kept this mass murder from being at the top of the news cycle for months. This murder was almost forgotten and the murderer was never apprehended.

During Russ Keller’s presentation of “Murders with a Crestline Connection,” this local murder is one of the stories that always attracts a lot of interest. Come see the documentary that brought this cold case back into the spotlight and learn who the suspected murderer is from the hostess for this showing, local historian Rhea-Frances Tetley.

On Oct. 14, the first walking tour of Camp Mozumdar this year will be presented by the historical society. With the new caretakers in place, they have been able to clear the debris from the damage the camp suffered from the snows last winter. The docents from Rim of the World Historical Society will lead a 2 p.m. walking tour of the whole camp, from the amphitheater to the Temple of Christ, then a tour of the temple itself, inside and out. Walk along the roof and see the views of Silverwood Lake and hear the stories of Prince Mozumdar’s life and why he built what is thought to look like a building that resembles the Taj Mahal.

This historic location in Cedarpines Park is a former religious retreat of Mozumdar and his followers, and then it was a YMCA camp. It is now privately owned and the church that owns it does not often allow the public to visit. Built by Prince Mozumdar, a man who combined the Hindu, Buddhist and Christian religions to form a living philosophy and religion that still has followers today, the charismatic Mozumdar was one of the first immigrants from India to America to preach in the early part of the 20th century. He sold his retreat to the YMCA for use as a children’s campground prior to his death. The walking tour is only $10. To RSVP, go to Mtnmuseum.org as soon as possible as there are only 40 spaces available for this year.

Beginning on Oct. 21, the museum will be transformed into, for the second year in a row, a Spooky Museum. There will be children’s crafts and mysterious personalities in the museum on Saturday and Saturday. Docents will have seasonal crafts where the kids will paint and construct various fun objects for Halloween at the craft table in the natural history room. Children are encouraged to come in costume to add to the fun.

The video It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will be shown all weekend in the theater with popcorn to enjoy for those watching the classic Charles Schulz show. There will be hot apple cider to help set the autumn mood and to wash down the popcorn. All these autumn activities in the museum are free. The spooky displays are child-friendly with some photo selfie locations.

The spooky displays will continue the weekend of Oct. 28 and 29 but without the crafts as it is the last weekend of the summer season. The museum will reopen for its winter schedule of one weekend a month, weather permitting, on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. They will be open the Sunday after the Blue Jay Christmas parade on Sunday, Dec. 3 and then in January on Martin Luther King weekend, on Presidents Day weekend in February and one weekend a month in March and April, until its reopening on Memorial Day weekend in May for the summer season, which lasts through the end of October.

However, the museum is not entirely closed as it offers group tours to those who preschedule tours for education, Scout, church, senior and other groups. See their website at mtnmuseum.org or, if you have questions about a tour, call them at (909) 744-8625. The volunteers will also be working on new displays and those interested in volunteering should stop by the museum and express interest or call the phone number and leave a message.

Their Christmas dinner party and installation of officers has just been announced and anyone is invited to attend. It will be held at the San Moritz Lodge in Crestline from 5 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 9. The theme is the “Swinging 60s in the Swingingest Town in America-Crestline.” Celebrate the era of the 60s from the beatniks to the hippies, the greasers, mods and surfer dudes and dudettes, as they dance to the music of that swinging era of music led by Steve Valentine. RSVP on their website mtnmuseum.org at $59 for members and $69 for non-members. The Club San Moritz was a swinging spot during the 1960s.