Our museum is kicking off a "Find Our Hidden Treasures
"campaign for the month of July. This concerted effort of the Curatorial
and Collections Management departments at the museum is a result of increased
"finds" brought to the museum in the last few months. The museum is
trying to create awareness of what treasures might be hidden in storage areas
and attics of in our neighborhoods. With aging veterans, their families
might not be aware that their personal records, scrapbooks and letters may have
priceless value to museums.
Most recently Pete Brabant, a
Riverside resident, brought in a tattered scrapbook that his neighbor rescued
from the top of a trash bin. It contained the GI's original WWII photos taken
on Okinawa, the Phillipines, and Formosa, an original Goldfish Club membership
card, and 1944 issues of Inside Japan.
Thomas Barnidge, a Moreno Valley resident
brought in his father's original 1947 "Permission to Marry" documents
that were necessary when his Air Force dad wanted to marry a Chinese citizen.
It shows a world very different from today.
An original telegram was
recently donated by Mike Avooski of Moreno Valley. It was his brother’s way of
telling the family he was on his way home. "Please wire seventy-five
dollars. Discharge Wednesday. Fishing Thursday. Broke Now. Letter
Follows."
Two years ago a box of letters was
dropped off at our admission desk. The cardboard box contained ninety
personal letters written during WWII. The museum was unable to locate any
surviving family members. For the museum's curator, Jeff Houlihan, this was a
tremendous "find'. "The letters cover SSgt Rogers experiences
as a young airman in the Second World War. Intimate and uncensored, the letters
give a candid view of army life, training, flying and the gradually increasing
awareness of the terrors of war. By preventing the letters from destruction the
museum has been afforded an opportunity to preserve the legacy of the common
Army Air Force service members of World War 2, all through the first person
voice of SSgt Rogers," says Houlihan. Interns from Cal State San
Bernardino have assisted the museum in creating an exhibit that will open fall
of 2013.
"Many people have items that they
do not know what to do with them or how to properly take care of them. They are
stored away in closets, attics, boxes, trunks or other places collecting dust
and developing irreversible damage. It is our job to preserve such items
for future generations' education and enjoyment" says the museum's
Collections Manager Michelle Sifuentes. The museum is encouraging
everyone to be on the lookout for some of these "hidden treasures"
and save them from destruction. Anyone with items may contact jeff@marchfield.org, michelle@marchfield.org, or call Patricia
at 951.902.5599.
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