Archives Kerosene Lantern donated by Reynolds Smith CURATOR'S CORNER by - Muriel Versagi Those of you who subscribe to the Tribune have been very generous with your appreciative comments of my every other Sunday history article. It is a lot of fun as I try to write about things that have not been published before. Four columns have been published to date. Speaking of the Tribune. . . . many of you know that Frank Versagi and a "Volunteer Angel", Joanna Becker scanned several hundred photos last summer at the Tribune office, they are now available for viewing on a computer at the Museum. These photos are categorized by decades. . . l890's, 1920's and so on. Please call me if you would like to come by and view our collection. We have the capability to add historical information to each photo and we need help from our visitors to identify unknown people and places. People keep bringing "stuff" to the "temporary'' Museum in Churchill Community Center. Reynolds Smith, former Wayne Oakland banker for over 40 years and now resident of Florida, continues to send items via his daughter Sharon Kugel. Reynolds' last gift to us is a most interesting metal lantern, powered by a small can that contains kerosene to be lighted. . . WOW! scary enough walking in the dark in a rural area, let alone carrying a "kerosene lantern.'' We currently have a small glitch in the ability of people to visit the Museum in Churchill. The School District has instituted a safety procedure requiring all outside doors to be locked. There are a few windows of time, when the preschools are releasing children to their parents, that the doors are open. But by 12:15 they are locked again. I'm in conversations with Pat Kolinsky, the Director of Churchill Community Center to figure out a way for Museum visitors to get into the building. STAY TUNED! As it stands now, if anyone is going to visit the Museum you must call me to let me know, then I will meet you at the door. 248.439.1501. Early this summer a "Volunteer Angel" named Johanna Schurrer visited us at the Museum. She wanted to help at the Fire Station. Well, Johanna set to work taking all of the doors off of the kitchen cupboards. Scrubbed out all of the cupboards, painted the insides white, and is now sanding and varnishing the doors. Some of the doors for the bottom cabinets were badly warped and stained, so she brought them over to my son's shop (ZI Custom) where he cut some new doors. My son is now making new drawer fronts for the kitchen, which Johanna will paint. She has painted all of the trim around the cabinets a 1920's green. It looks great. Chuck Button is just about finished with the sanding of the upstairs storage area. When that's done, he will polyurethane the floor. My first "Volunteer Angel" Susan Wolfrum is now helping Jay by putting together a new look for our web site. She will also maintain it for us. Back to Current News. |