Vol. 4, Issue 1
From the President’s Desk
As our membership has grown considerably over the past two years, I thought this, the beginning of a new year, would be a good time to recap some of the preservation and conservation steps Allison-Antrim Museum, Inc. has taken from the beginning.
When items are given or loaned to Allison-Antrim Museum, we are entrusted to take proper care of those items for future generations. In the beginning, the board of directors decided, to the best of our ability, to follow the standards set by the American Association of Museums. Safe storage concerns include adequate security, proper environmental conditions, selection of appropriate storage fixtures, and proper packing and support of artifacts in storage.
AAMI was fortunate when the house was bought that it already had an alarm system installed. It is old and will require updating in the future, but it does work and is connected to the First Alert security station.
The first decision by the board before we opened our doors was to safeguard all of the items in the house from the sun’s rays by installing protective window film on the inside of all the window panes. There are three bands of wavelengths that directly affect everything when solar energy reaches the earth. They are the ultraviolet band, the visible band, and the near infrared band. The ultraviolet band is responsible for 45% of damage to artifacts and furniture and causes fading. The visible band, the part that we can see, causes glare and accounts for 25% of damage. The near infrared band we cannot see, but we feel it as heat, is responsible for 25% of damage. The Vista film chosen for Allison-Antrim Museum blocks over 99% of the ultraviolet rays and reflects 56% of the heat from the solar energy that hits the windows. This aids not only in conservation but also in heating and cooling costs. Darkening blinds are pulled down when the museum is closed to block out any remaining rays. The Vista brand of protective window film is nationally known and has been used in such landmarks and historic houses as Sagamore Hill, the family home President Theodore Roosevelt; Mount Vernon and the Woodlawn Plantation, homes of George Washington; and the Biltmore Estate, to name a few.
Proper museum lighting that will prevent excessive damage to artifacts (including the Smith paintings) and archives that are on exhibit is also on our list of things to do. We have a study that was completed on the museum and the resulting recommendations from a professional firm in Washington, D.C. We hope to be able to initiate this project during the beginning of this year.
Temperature and humidity need to be monitored and controlled at all times for the proper preservation of the artifacts. Year round climate control is a big need. The house currently has an air conditioning unit that takes care of cooling the whole house during warm weather. One of the long-range goals is to have a climate-controlled system installed in the museum as well as construct an independent, climate-controlled building for storage purposes only.
One of our first gifts was the collection of Pennsylvania governors’ signatures. These archival pieces date back to 1715/16 and up to the late 1970’s. These pieces are on both paper and animal skin parchment. Archival pieces such as this need to be stored unfolded and flat. For preservation and storage of archives we purchased a conservation quality flat, five-drawer museum cabinet in which to store the documents. No adhesives are used during assembly and the finish is pressure-washed and heat cured to make sure there are no free reactive components that will interact with the documents. The ball bearings are special greaseless, nylon-rimmed steel that require no lubrication.
Archives and textiles should not be stored in anything made from wood pulp, i.e. cardboard, tissue paper, or newsprint, unless the storage material is marked acid free. Any document made from wood pulp contains lignin, a naturally occurring acid, which over time causes deterioration especially to cellulose-based materials such as cotton, linen, jute, and rayon. The following methods of care pertain to both paper and textiles, as both are either, usually, proteinaceous or cellulose based.
Cellulose-based archives and textiles should be stored in acid-free boxes and interleaved or wrapped in buffered, acid free tissue. The buffering agent prevents the transference of the acid in the document or textile to the item next to it.
Proteinaceous items such as silk, wool, and leather should be stored in acid free boxes and interleaved or wrapped with unbuffered, acid free tissue. Proteinaceous textiles can also be stored in washed cotton sheets or washed unbleached muslin.
Items such as the dry-plate, glass slide negatives taken by George Frederick Ziegler of the Greencastle-Antrim area also need special care. Each slide is stored in its own lignin-free, four-flap enclosure. The slides are then stored flat in sturdy polyfelt lined boxes.
I hope this has given you an idea of the conservation and preservation steps that have been taken and will be taken in the future to preserve our treasured history.
New Hand Railing at the Front Entrance
| Allison-Antrim Museum thanks Mrs. Hermione Brewer for her generous gift of underwriting the new wrought iron hand railing at our front entrance. Antietam Iron Works of Quincy did the handcrafted work. The design incorporates the symbol of hospitality, the pineapple, as finials and an old-fashioned boot scraper is to the left as you go up the steps. The hand railing makes it safer for all those using the front entrance. |
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First-time Exhibit of Pennsylvania
Governors’ Signature Collection
Our Pennsylvania Governors’ Signature Collection contains signatures of 40 of Pennsylvania’s 98 governors or 41% of the men who have served as governor of Pennsylvania. For the first time, we will exhibit the signature of each of the 40 men from our collection that served as governor of Pennsylvania. The documents contain the governors’ signatures while in office as well as outside their terms of office.
The main exhibit will be upstairs in the large bedroom. The signatures of Andrew Curtin (governor during the Civil War), David Porter, George Thomas, and James Logan (our oldest signature and document dated 1715/16) will remain in the display case in the dining room.
We are very excited to, also, have on loan to us from Tillie and John Wine, the signature of Benjamin Franklin that’s on a land deed belonging to Tillie’s family. The land is still in her family’s possession. Franklin was governor for two different terms – one beginning in 1775 and one beginning in 1785. The Franklin document will be in the dining room display case.
To enhance the collection, we are gathering copies of illustrations, paintings, or photographs of each of the 40 men to accompany the signature pieces.
It is our assumption that this collection is the largest Pennsylvania governors’ signature collection outside the one belonging to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Please visit the museum on Sunday, January 14, 1-4 p.m. or on Thursday, January 18, noon-3 p.m., or by appointment, to see this very unique and historic collection that was given to us by Tom Brumbaugh.
"Museum Open" Signs
Thanks to the donation by Harry Myers of the metal signs and the talent of Emily Burns, daughter of Steve and Ann Burns, the museum now has four signs that can be posted at strategic points in Greencastle directing travelers to the museum during open house hours.
Open House Expands to Include Thursdays
We will initiate one of the long-range plan goals of having the museum open one additional day per month besides the regular second Sunday of each month.
The day chosen, after researching what other local museums and historical societies do, is Thursday. It was decided that being open the same Thursday as our board meetings plus the monthly evening meetings would be too much. So it will be either the Thursday before or after the Sunday open house depending upon how the calendar dates fall. Always check the "Calendar of Events" for details. The dates for the first three Thursday open houses are January 18, February 15, and March 15 from noon to 3 pm.
We will try to have the special monthly exhibits on display, when at all possible, on Thursdays also. Please stop by and support your museum. And, as always, if the regular open house hours do not suit your schedule, an appointment can be made for a private tour by calling the museum at 717.597.9010 and leaving a message or by calling Bonnie at 597.9325.
A Bit of Pennsylvania Trivia
Do you know the derivation of the word "Penn" and its meaning? Penn is a Welsh word meaning "head" as in Penmanmoire in Wales and Penn in Buckinghamshire, the highest land in England. What does Pennsylvania mean? It not only means Penn’s woods in honor or Admiral Penn but appropriately so from the derivation of the word Penn, it also translates to describe the geography of Pennsylvania – the high or head woodlands.
Have You Seen…
the extradition papers of one Daniel Washburne that dates to the era of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Bob Cratchit, and David Copperfield?
The answer to November’s "Have You Seen…" is pipe stems. Two pieces of the same pipe were found at one dig site and the single long one was found at another site. Kaolin pipes can be dated by how big the hole is in the stem. The smaller, the older it is.
Web Site Inquiries
- An inquiry about the McCleary family searching for information on Matthew McCleary whose father is buried in the Brown’s Mill Cemetery.
- An offer for a free, permanent listing with a link on their site at www.killerinfo.com from KillerInfo, a new special interest Web site directory.
- Information and copies of our archival pieces on Pennsylvania Governor George H. Earle, governor from 1935-1939, was sought from one of his granddaughters who found our Web site. She plans a visit to the museum in January during our exhibit of the Pennsylvania governors’ signatures. Both she and we will share our information thereby increasing our resource data.
- A tenth grader looking for his family surname’s coat of arms. His last name is Shockey.
- A resume from a man in Bulgaria was received concerning a job as a restoration expert.
If at any time, any of you might have information or a lead on any of the genealogy inquiries mentioned in the newsletter, please let us know.
What’s Been Happening
- November 8:Museum Tour, 7:30 pm, St. Mark’s Parish Council of Church Women
- November 22: Bonnie gave a private tour of the museum to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Souders of Hagerstown, Md., and their daughter and son-in-law who were visiting from Florida for Thanksgiving. Mr. Souders’ mother was a Crunkleton and they were interested in seeing the Crunkleton land deeds that are now on display in the library.
- December Open Houses: Posies and Pretties donated a beautiful flower arrangement in a basket for visitors to enjoy.
Recent Acquisitions
- One business advertising piece – a Zeger’s thermometer
- Campaign pieces – one six inch ruler blotter of Howard D. Gingrich for tax collector and seven pencils of A. G. Crunkleton for county commissioner
- A Greencastle Little League champion patch – all gifts from Mark Divelbiss
Calendar of Events
Thursday, January 11: Monthly meeting, 7 pm, Evangelical Lutheran Church social room; Dan Gallagher presents "The History of Letterkenny Army Depot"
Sunday, January 14, 1 – 4 pm and Thursday, January 18, noon – 3 pm: Open House; First-time exhibit of AAM’s collection of Pennsylvania Governors’ signatures; State and local dignitaries have been invited to attend.
Thursday, January 18: Williamsburg Electronic Fieldtrip – "Buying Respectability"; Learn how clothes indicated and affected a colonist’s social standing in the New World.; WETA – check the listings.
Thursday, February 8: Monthly meeting, 7 pm, Evangelical Lutheran Church social room; Elwood Christ speaking on "Presidential Performances at Gettysburg – Lincoln through Carter"
Sunday, February 11, 1 – 4 pm and Thursday, February 15, noon – 3 pm: Open House; An exhibit of antique Valentines from the collections of Shirley Baker and David Thomas.
Thursday, February 15: Williamsburg Electronic Fieldtrip – "Flames of Freedom; Explore how African Americans resisted slavery. Frederick Douglas narrates this history of slave rebellions from colonial times to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry; WETA – check the listings.
Thursday, March 8: Monthly meeting, 7 pm, Evangelical Lutheran Church social room; Mercersburg resident, Karl Reisner presenting a living history portrayal of "James Buchanan – Franklin County’s Native Son"