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Show PAGE 30 THE ZEPHYRJULY 1991 feedback the readers respond Dear ; Jim: As members of the Board of Directors of the Dan O'Laurie Museum, or, more appropriately, the Southeastern Utah Society of Arts and Sciences, Inc., commonly referred to as the Museum, we would like to respond to your article, Controversy at the Dan O'Laurie Museum, which appeared In the June 1991 Issue of The Zephyr. The purpose of our response is to give your readers some background Information we feel they need In considering our "controversy". To begin with, in terms of the acquisition of collections, the primary goals, as stated in the Museum Policies are, "artifacts will be collected from within 100 miles of moab. Exceptions will be made only with artifacts that would enhance exhibits from within the museum's primary area of interest". We Interpret this to mean that the Museum collections are meant to be oriented towards the history of Moab and Grand County, as well as the cannot fall to Impress physical environment of the area. A visit to the Museum exhibit-hall- s the visitor of our emphasis on, and compliance with, the stated goals of the Museum Policies. A second point to consider is the obligation of the Museum to care for and exhibit those artifacts which make up the collections of the Museum. We feel that we have a very strong obligation to care for the collections we have been entrusted with. When received, artifacts in each collection are accessioned, cleaned where necessary, and prepared for storage or exhibited depending on the exhibit needs at the time. Storage requirement for individual artifacta are carefully accessed to prevent damage to the artifacts during storage. In some cases specialized storage techniques or facilities are constructed to provide the required level of protection for artifacts of fragile design or construction. Given a very limited storage space, the Museum can accept for acquisition only artifacts and collections that can be stored within the parameters of our existing storage area. We do not feel that outside storage of artifacts and collections meets with our obligation for protecting those collections. We presently have neither the space nor the security for such storage. The deacquisition of collections is not an unheard of event at any museum. All museums have standardized procedures for deacqulsitioning and our museum Is no exception. Our operating policies are printed and may be reviewed by any member of the Society or other interested parties. The Dan O'Laurie Museum is somewhat unusual in that our policies specify that no collections may be deacquisitioned without approval of the Board of Directors. Hence no one person can act to deacquisition a collection, or part of a collection, without the approval of a quorum of the Board. It is unfortunate that you came away from our last Board meeting apparently feeling that we are not meeting the provisions of the Museum Policies and the bylaws of the Society. You imply In your "Controversy" article that we are not interested In accepting collections from residents of this area, or perhaps that potential donors should think twice before donating historical materials. That ia unfortunate since we are definitely Interested in historical materials relating to this area, providing we have the required means to appropriately care for them. Artifacts which, because of size or specialized preservation needs, we cannot care for, we would be remisa in our responsibilitiea by accepting. You also state that we have no plana at this time to acquire better storage facilities in the future. This statement is true, of course, as far as it goes. The Board haa, however, researched the potential for future storage facilities. The storage requirements of a museum are not adequately met by attics and spare closets. Factors that must be considered include, but are certainly not limited to, humidity control, heating or cooling mechanisms, security, access, and rodent control. It would be hard to imagine an existing structure that could be taken over for museum storage purposes without extensive modifications. The Society at present does not have access to the kind of funds necessary for such modifications or construction of new storage facilities. Nor are our financial supporters, the members of the Society as well as Grand County, presently capable of supplying more funds. As with others in this area, it will probably be some time before we can find the funds to obtain better facilities than what we have. That does not mean we are not interested in new sources of funding, however. Anyone with ideas along this track is certainly welcome at our board meetings. We would, in fact, love to hear from you. At this point we would like to respond to statements made in the fourth paragraph of your article concerning our recent deacquisition and subsequent sale of a sheepherder wagon. To begin with, Mr. Uoyd Pierson, a former curator of the museum collections, states that if we needed information concerning this wagon "all they had to do was call". Any first semester student of museology could tell him that there should have been no reason for us to have to have called anyone. The information should have been properly recorded at the time of the original purchase in November of 1980. An exhaustive search of the Museum records did not produce such records. The curator at the time was apparently remiss in their duties. Secondly, Mr. Pierson has been consulted in the past concerning Information pertinent to collections from the time in which he was associated with the Museum. He has not only been unable to provide consistently reliable information, but he has been discourteous to those making the inquires. Hence, why should we consider him a source of information? We would also like to know why Mr. Pierson should be incensed over the sale of the wagon to an out of town buyer. Especially given that it was purchased somewhere in Colorado, once again we have no record of where other than the state, presumably outside of the Museum's sphere of interest. It is also interesting to note that Mr. pierson feels that a wooden wagon stored outside without any benefit of restoration or preventative care, as well as being the object of vandalism, would appreciate in value rather than depreciate. According to the notes of previous Board meetings, the wagon was used once after it was purchased, in a Pioneer Day parade in 1981. When the wagon was moved to Its final outdoor storage place in 1988 it was necessary to transport it on a trailer because the undercarriage would not support it in order to tow it At least a part of the blame for this degradation must be laid at the feet of Mr. Pierson as he was the curator during the majority of the time the wagon was owned by the Museum and, hence, the responsibility for Its care was his. In closing, we would like to agree with, Jim, that our link with the past depends In a large part on those everyday artifacts, photographs, and writings produced by those who came before us. Few of us stop to think of the value the mundane tools of our lives will have to those who follow us, If only for their intrinsic value. The fact that many of the items in our collections reflect the early history of Moab only adds to their value. It would Indeed be a tragedy for these items to end up at the bottom of the landfill. We would like to encourage anyone who has such artifacts to consider donating them to the Dan O'Laurie Museum. We assure you that the practice of the past of accepting for curation everything that la offered has been abandoned. We will only accept those collections and artifacts that we know we can adequately care for. We hope to continue helping to preserve the history of Moab for quite a long time to come. We would also like to solicit Ideas for exhibitions, creative storage management, or any other Ideas the citizens of Moab and Grand County can come up with. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to extend an Invitation to all to become supporting members of the Society. We would sincerely appreciate your help and Ideas. Sincerely, Mark Bond, Patrick Flanigan, and Keith Montgomery Moab, Utah Dear Jim, fascinated by the current Laddering! craze. At the same time, I am awfully frustrated at how cumbersome my 18' extension ladder continues to be. Thanks to your Informative article, I have acquired the appropriate attire, and this has significantly helped my ability to maneuver my ladder; but I yearn to do some real Freestyle Laddering! So I am waiting in anticipation, until I am in possession of the Ladderl that Friendly Dave has placed I on am for me. this summer, my dream Is to take my Ladderl into some remnants of Old Growth Forest (I wonder if my Ladderl will be allowed into Wilderness Areas?) Everyone knows that trees & laddersl were made for each other. Perhaps such usage of the Ladderl will stimulate the C02-0-2 cycle In a manner as How exciting . Just in case the Industrial Revolution is not the panacea that unseen. yet Ms. Jane Jones proposes that It may be; It's heartwsrming to know that we may have Recreation to fall back on. Ms. Jones has done her homework very well. In admiration of that fact (there Is little doubt that she has spent hours pouring through books). I would like to extend an invitation to her, for a personally guided tour through clear-cfragments of the remainders of America's Great North Woods. I would be thrilled for her to experience, first hand, the supposed renewal & vitality of these, our Industrial legacies. Perhaps the experience will enable her to see the forest from the trees. Tatsy Guild lay-a-w- ay For ut Moab, Utah Editor, Zephyr: Re: Recent Malathion fracas on Powerhouse Road. Them wimpy pseudoactivist bleeding-hea- rt over on Powerhouse Road make me want to puke. Jane Jones Is right Because they couldn't find the time to stop our mosquito abatement program before It began, then, hay, I think they should shut up. They should have to deal with the pain, with the wrongness of bureaucratic machinery trampling their desires, of being sprayed with poison. It should gnaw their insides and sting their eyes and maybe next time they will do what they're told. Harassing a duly authorized agent of local government who Is Just doing his Job is wrong. The driver of the poison fogger truck had to call in the robocops before he was allowed to deal with the filthy pests. He knew it wasn't over till the fat lady sang. When residents disobeyed her orders to leave their yards and go cringe In their closets, his boss ordered him to fog the pests despite their cries of rage. Hay, MMAD was Just doing Its Job. We've got to stand behind our government entities. In our society we choose public servants who make decisions In our best Interest If they decide to poison the citizens, If they decide to dump contaminated soil or y aludge from sewer plants In our red rock wastelands, if they try to tell us that It's OK to hire a lawyer from elsewhere to legally repreaent the county but Castle Valley folks are Jerka to choose a Board, then, hay, they must be right. Your leaders choose what's best for you. Hay, It's downright criminal to actively oppose the agents of the county In the execution of their duties when they're Just following orders. Civil disobedience should be dealt with harshly as we Implement a final solution to the mosquito question. We ought to know what we're doing and should stand by our decision and take the consequences without flinching. Our County, Right Or Wrong I SiegHeil, orgo-crunchl- ng law-break- big-cit- M. Joseph Young from tom and marcy till |
