Last year, 96 athletes participated in the Tri-Avalon race, including Nikolas Pattantyus (pictured), who took trophies in all three race segments for Seven Mile Island Massage. This year, Pattantyus will race in the same event, renamed to honor museum co-founder, Jean Losch.

The Avalon Museum, 215 39th Street, has been up and running for seven years, and on June 14 residents will be up and running in memory of the museum’s co-founder, Jean Losch.
According to museum director, Bruce Tell, Losch, who died two years ago, was the force behind the creation of the Avalon Museum, as well as the go-to gal for the museum’s successful events.
“Pretty much anything that worked out well here at the museum, she was the one behind it,” Tell said. That’s why, this year the annual race that she started has been renamed “The Jean Losch Tri-Avalon Race” in her honor.
The race, which is comprised of bike, kayak and running segments begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends back at the museum. The race kicks off a full day of events, including a Lion’s Club pancake breakfast for $6 at the Avalon Community Hall, 3001 Avalon Avenue.
At 1 p.m. the Old House Tour begins, giving participants a peak at the town’s rich history that Losch worked so hard to preserve.
As you drive around the town and see its many modern homes and elaborate mansions, Tell admits it’s hard to imagine the island the way it used to be.
“I’ve had people come into the museum and ask if there were ever trees in Avalon,” Tell said. That’s when he shows them the pictures from 1890 that show well-dressed folks posing on the truck of a tree in a forest.
“People don’t realize that the island was once mostly 50 to 60 foot dunes with a forest behind them,” he said.
The island was named, with a nod to the legends of King Arthur, by Reverend Charles Bond, a brother-in-law of Joseph Wells, one of the island’s first developers. Wells contributed to the construction of the island’s second church, Wells Memorial Presbyterian Church, in August 1892. This year that church is included on the tour in addition to six Avalon houses, built between 1892 and 1920. Brochures will be distributed at the museum for the self-guided tour, and volunteers will be on site at the houses to welcome guests.
After the tour, the museum will welcome participants back for refreshments and a chance to follow-up on some of the things they learned, thanks to the efforts of Jean Losch legacy.
“The Old House Tour was her baby, too,” Tell said.

For more information on the Avalon Museum and its events, call 609-967-0090 or visit avalonmuseum.org.