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Gus recently galloped down the block — well, on wheels anyway — to his new home on Main Street, and the community is invited to celebrate the horse’s move at a welcome party this weekend.
The shiny equine sculpture, a longtime mascot at Christesen’s Western Wear, now greets patrons at the Museum on Main after Christesen’s owner gave Gus to the museum upon the historic retail store’s closure last fall.
“Gus has been very popular, and it’s really gratifying to see how many people have come up to see him since he’s moved down to our front yard,” museum curator Ken MacLennan said in a statement. “As popular as he has been, we felt a Main Street icon like Gus deserves a big welcome party.”
Attendees at the community party on Saturday morning can take photos with Gus on the museum lawn, as well as enjoy fun, games, treats and of course, a little local history to boot.
Gus the horse greeted passersby outside Christesen’s starting in 1975, introduced to Main Street not long after Stan Janes purchased the western apparel and supply store from the original owner’s family.
The shop had been a mainstay in Pleasanton since being founded by Danish immigrants Peter Christesen and Andrew Greve in 1929, initially as a men’s and boys’ clothing store before Christesen bought the building next door in the 1950s to expand his inventory to include tack, riding gear and western attire for men and women, according to the museum.
With the Janes family making the decision to close Christesen’s in September after 92 years in operation, many people were left wondering what would happen to Gus. Rory Janes, Stan’s son, soon answered that question, making arrangements for the museum less than a block away to adopt and preserve the “icon of Main Street’s history,” museum officials said.
“Gus moved to the museum in February and since then has greeted visitors to Main Street each day from his new perch in the museum’s front yard,” officials said. “He is wheeled out each morning and wheeled back into the museum in the evenings, just as when he was at Christesen’s.”
The museum is ready to bring out the welcome mat publicly for its newest addition this weekend, with a community party set from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday on its front lawn at 603 Main St.
The celebration will include photo opportunities with Gus, crafts including wooden horses and horseshoes to color, horse crowns and a horse racing game with prizes.
Meadowlark Dairy, another downtown staple, has donated tokens for a free ice cream treat, which will be given out by drawing to a select group of attendees at 11 a.m. — and at that time, museum officials will give special recognition to Christesen’s and Rory Janes.
Baughman’s Western Outfitters, Rory Janes’ store in downtown Livermore, will have a promotional booth at the event. The museum will also partner with Big Bay Ray, a local nonprofit that raises money to support local horse rescue organizations, to offer sales of its popular tote and wine bags sewn by local volunteers out of recycled animal feed bags.
To learn more about the welcome party, visit www.museumonmain.com or call 925-462-2766.
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