Museum makes improvements in 2002 years ago
Marion Historical Museum had a busy season this year, director Cynthia Blount told city commissioners Monday at their regular monthly meeting.
Projects included new displays of dresses and military items, carpet in the antique dress display area, storage of all photos in archival-quality sleeves, indexing of an 1885 county land atlas, installation of case and track lighting, cataloging and cleaning of items, and hosting various group tours.
Numerous items have been donated. Some of the more unusual included more than 200 78 rpm records, 38 pairs of shoes from the early 1900s, and several high school yearbooks (used for genealogical research).
The shoes are unusual because they are "new" pairs that were never sold, Blount said.
Visitation totaled almost 1,400, down from the recent average of 1,500 to 2,000. The percentage of visitors from the local area has increased, Blount said. Visitors from 28 states, Germany, and Ireland signed in, she added.
Visitation is greatest in September, due to Art in the Park and Old Settlers' Day.
Plans for 2003 include changing exhibits to include only copies of photos. The originals will be indexed, numbered, and placed in storage. Also, the remaining Marion County land atlas books will be indexed.
Donated funds are modest, Blount said. The museum receives $20 to $30 in voluntary donations per month, she said. Admission is not required because they want people to stop and visit, she said. Since the museum often is the first place for visitors to town, a rack of promotional material on local services and businesses is maintained.
