August 2014 - Page 16 of 17 - Auction Central News

Oregon’s only Frank Lloyd Wright house right for art

The Gordon House by architect Frank Lloyd Wright located in Silverton, Ore. Andrew Parodi at en.wikipedia image. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

SILVERTON, Ore. (AP) – People who appreciate inviting, glass-framed living rooms, subtle red concrete floors and custom fretwork see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gordon House as a piece of art. Wright, however, envisioned the two-story residence as a place for art.

The Gordon House in Silverton, the only Wright building in Oregon and the only one of his residences open to the public in the Pacific Northwest, has towering walls and plenty of clean-lined spaces that serve as perfect backgrounds for captivating contemporary art.

The concrete-and-wood house, designed by Wright in 1957 for Evelyn and Conrad Gordon, was built from 1963 to 1964 on the Gordons’ farm on the Willamette River near Wilsonville. In 2002, the dwelling was dismantled and moved next to the Oregon Garden.

Evelyn was a weaver and artist who saw her home as an accommodating sequence of galleries to display her paintings, prints and sculptures.

Original paintings, many by Northwest artists, hung on every wall, including in the kitchen where cinder blocks rose 15 feet to meet a skylight.

She had Native American weavings, a metal sculpture by James Shull and – sharing Wright’s passion for Japanese art – a Haku Maki woodblock print.

Roger Hull, curator emeritus of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, is helping the nonprofit Gordon House Conservancy reacquire Evelyn’s collection and return it to her beloved home.

One of her pieces, a Charles Heaney oil painting, prompts Hull to say that Wright and Heaney, who moved to Portland as a teenager, were both inspired by the American West and its spacious landscapes that allowed for an interplay of architecture and nature.

Until the collection is reassembled here, art appreciators can view changing exhibits. The upcoming “Wright Angles . . . Home is Where the Art is” features two dozen oil paintings, caricatures and cartoons by Larry Kassell of Silverton.

Like Heaney, Kassell is attracted to relics, from derelict homes and barns to rusty trucks and tractors.

Kassell’s original works will be exhibited from Aug. 3 through Sept. 1 at the Gordon House, 869 W. Main St., Silverton. An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 9.

The exhibit can be viewed for $5 from noon to 3 p.m. every day except Tuesday when the historic house is closed. Guided tours are $15.

In another exhibit, Roycrofter artisan CJ Hurley of CJ Hurley Century Arts will present his collection of paintings paired with poetry in the Gordon House Living Room Gallery Sept. 6-28. There will also be a reception Sept. 13 for “Houses, Landscapes, Flowers & Dreams, The Poetic Art of CJ Hurley.”

Year-round, art appreciators can sit the in the built-in library seating and take in Wright’s well-preserved creation, which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Wright was an artist before he was an architect, says Molly Murphy, the Gordon House executive director, “and colored pencils were his famously favorite medium.”

He produced a colored pencil rendering of buildings he designed, including the Gordon House, that represented his vision of the project after an introductory interview with the client.

The original renderings are protected at the Taliesin West archives and his original pencil set is part of the collection at his home and studio in Spring Green, Wis. But the Gordon House sells a 9-inch-by-26-inch art print of the residence’s rendering onsite and on-line for $20.

Wright also enjoyed sketching the flora and landscapes of the natural world, adds Murphy. “He called these his Nature drawings. Some of his fans refer to them as the ‘weed sketches.’”

She continues: “His organic architecture concepts marry the building to the site as though they were always meant to be together. The Gordon House is a wonderful example of this at both its original and current location.”

Wright collected art, especially Japanese prints, which he sold off to support his lifestyle when money was scarce. To help tell this story, Murphy says the Gordon House displays traditional Hiroshige and contemporary Haku Maki artwork.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

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Federal judge to decide fate of Elvis’ acoustic guitar

An Elvis tribute poster. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Heritage Auctions.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A man who donated to a South Dakota museum a slightly damaged acoustic guitar played by Elvis Presley that is at the center of a custody battle insisted Thursday he had the right to give it away because he owned it.

The instrument’s fate is now in the hands of a federal judge in South Dakota tasked with determining whether blues guitarist Robert A. Johnson owned the guitar when he donated it to the National Music Museum last year along with a guitar made for Johnny Cash, one of Bob Dylan’s harmonicas and other objects.

The museum, located in Vermillion, S.D., insisted in a federal lawsuit that it is the legal owner of the broken Martin D-35, which “The King” played during his 1977 tour and gave to a fan in St. Petersburg, Fla., after a strap and string snapped. But collector Larry Moss argues that Johnson agreed to sell the guitar to him before it was donated.

Johnson and Moss, both of whom live in Memphis, Tenn., are each listed as defendants in the museum’s complaint.

Moss had the opportunity to buy the guitar in 2007 but did not pay for it in full, Johnson told the Associated Press Thursday.

“Since Larry Moss never paid for the guitar, I had the right to donate the guitar.”

A payment agreement dated in 2008 shows that Moss agreed to pay Johnson $120,000 for various guitars including the one in dispute. The agreement is part of the exhibits filed in a libel and defamation lawsuit that Johnson initiated against Moss in state court in Tennessee in January.

The court records also include a check Moss wrote to Johnson for $70,000 in connection with the payment agreement, as well as an email Moss sent to the museum in December 2013 claiming ownership.

Federal court records show Johnson has not responded to the lawsuit in South Dakota as of Thursday. Johnson’s attorney did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

In court filings, the museum argues that even if Moss was the owner of the Elvis guitar before Johnson donated it to the facility, his ownership ended when the museum acquired it. The complaint states that if Moss feels he was wronged, he should sue Johnson for damages.

“Johnson had possession and control of the guitar apparently for many years during which time Moss purports to have been the owner of the guitar, yet Moss took no action to assert his alleged rights in the guitar,” the museum’s attorney, Mitchell Peterson, wrote in the complaint.

On loan from Johnson, the broken instrument was on display for about two years beginning in late 2008 at the Memphis Rock `n’ Soul Museum.

Johnson, who played with singer Isaac Hayes and the band John Entwistle’s Ox in the 1970s, donated the Elvis guitar and other items to the museum in April 2013. At the same time, he received $250,000 for his 1967 Gibson Explorer Korina wood guitar, formerly owned by Entwistle, who is best known as a member of The Who.

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‘Phantom of the Opera’ poster brings $203,150 at Heritage Auctions

Formerly from the Nicolas Cage Collection, the 1925 'The Phantom of the Opera' poster sold for $203,150. Heritage Auctions image.

DALLAS – A scarce original one sheet poster for the 1925 horror classic The Phantom of the Opera – formerly from actor Nicolas Cage’s collection and one of only four known to exist – sold for $203,150 in Heritage Auctions’ Vintage Movie Posters Signature Auction July 19-20.

The $2.3-plus million auction saw strong interest in prewar movie posters as a rare Charlie Chaplin six sheet for Sunnyside, from 1919, sold for $71,700.

“It was very gratifying to watch 10 bidders vie for a chance to own The Phantom of the Opera one sheet,” said Grey Smith, director of movie posters at Heritage. “Collectors know they have to respond when rarities like this come to market and I know it will be heading to a very good home.”

A stunning and highly sought-after insert for the cinema masterpiece Casablanca – a collector favorite from 1942 – sold for $83,650. Another rare survivor from one of the world’s most critically acclaimed films, a German poster for the 1931 unnerving classic M, sold for $50,787 following interest from 18 bidders.

Collectors of classic film images disregarded the $15,000 estimate for an Italian foglio for La Dolce Vita. The gorgeous poster measuring 55 inches by 77 1/5 inches hammered for $47,800. Likewise, a rare, 1941 insert for The Wolf Man quickly cleared $47,800 against a $30,000 estimate.

A stunning Italian 2 foglio for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, depicting what many collectors consider the most fetching image of star Audrey Hepburn, sold for a strong $35,850. Another Italian 2 foglio for The Lady from Shanghai – featuring Rita Hayworth as a blonde femme fatale – sold for $31,070.

The auction’s most valuable half sheet is from the 1953 classic The War of the Worlds; the rare style B version sold for $35,850. A full-bleed, style B one sheet from The Song of Songs, the 1933 Paramount classic, ended at $28,680; and an insert from the incomparable Citizen Kane closed at $26,290. A French grande style A poster for King Kong ended at $25,095.

Additional highlights included:

A spectacular six sheet for the 1955 generation-defining Rebel Without a Cause: Realized: $22,705.
A previously unknown German magazine advertisement for the 1921 vampire classic Nosferatu: Realized: $20,912 against a $6,000 estimate.
A rare World War I propaganda recruitment poster “Destroy This Mad Brute”: Realized: $15,535.
The only known 9-foot by 20-foot billboard for Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Realized: $10,755.

Upstate NY Antique Boat Museum holds its 50th annual show

CLAYTON, N.Y. (AP) – The Antique Boat Museum on the St. Lawrence River staged its 50th annual show and auction over the weekend.

The Watertown Daily Times reports that the museum’s first boat show in 1965 featured 18 antique boats and a small exhibition. Approximately 125 antique boats took part in the weekend’s festivities at the museum in Clayton, in the Thousand Islands region along the Canadian border.

In the early 1970s, a permanent museum was constructed to host the annual boat show. It was called the 1000 Islands Shipyard Museum. But in 1990, its name was changed to the Antique Boat Museum.

It features more than 300 preserved boats and thousands of recreational boating artifacts.

The museum’s Raceboat Regatta will take place this coming weekend.

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Information from: Watertown Daily Times, http://www.watertowndailytimes.com

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Mass. business amasses millions of vintage musical scores

Dated 1850 California Gold Rush sheet music score. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auctions.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (AP) – After 75 years, a little-known music publishing business is still chugging along in a nearly forgotten former elementary school in the hills of northern Williamstown.

Housed inside the classrooms and hallways of what used to be Broad Brook Elementary School on White Oaks Road – now the home of Broude Brothers Ltd. – are hundreds of thousands of classical musical scores, many of them published in the mid-to-early 1900s. Some of them rare, some of them facsimiles of the original first editions, and almost all of them are not available digitally elsewhere.

Ronald Broude isn’t sure how many different pieces of music are stored here.

“I wouldn’t even want to try and guess,” he said.

Broude is president of the firm, although he said it’s a “glorified,” title as he pitches in just about everywhere, including driving the delivery truck.

And since there are few dealers in these types of publications, the old school building has become a repository of musical history and knowledge, cataloged and stacked from floor to ceiling, waiting for someone somewhere to seek out that knowledge, possibly to make it audible again.

“This is a last stronghold of paper – we are paper people and book people,” Broude said.

With only a simple website and just 10 employees, Broude Brothers Ltd., publishes, sells and rents these often obscure, sometimes rare classical musical scores, and does not take orders over the Internet. They do all their business by phone. Publications are engraved and edited here as well. As a result, the sales staff has to have extensive knowledge of the music publishing business and all the different editions of all the symphonies by all the composers, and all the different instrument parts of the different scores.

“This is probably the only place in the country you can find any volume listed in the Musica Britannica that you might need,” said Broude, referring to the authoritative national collection of British music.

The Broude Trust, a nonprofit, is also operated out of the former school and publishes specialty collector’s volumes called critical editions. They cover aspects of specific composers’ works for particular instruments and contain a wealth of historical data about the music – where it has been played and by whom, and when and how it may have been changed over the years for different performances.

It is a daily, intensive practice of musicology, says Broude, who is the son and nephew of the two brothers who founded the business in 1929 on 57th Street in New York, across from Carnegie Hall.

The Broude brothers set up a little shop for used books of music, which soon became a mecca for the orchestral musician community. Having a flare for finding rare copies of music, they soon began supplying musicians and orchestras with particular pieces they needed, and later began publishing such scores.

In 1982, a few years after Broad Brook Elementary had closed down, the company bought the 50-year old school building for $750,000, and moved the operation from New York to Williamstown over the next several years.

A member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association, Broude said the operation hearkens back to another time.

“We are very much like an 18th-century music shop – we do a bit of everything,” he said.

Their customers are professors, orchestra librarians, colleges, conductors, collectors and musicians – roughly 3,500 of them on the books. As such, Broude Brothers is a hidden gem in the Berkshire County cultural economy.

Tanglewood has dealt with Broude Brothers a few times as well.

“A few years ago,” Broude said, “they needed something that evening, and we had it for them.”

Broude has few worries about the future of his business, as what he sells has been popular for hundreds of years.

“It’s not a question of having something new to sell every year, but having something that’s sold well throughout the years,” he said. “Beethoven ain’t going to go out of fashion.”

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Trucker killed crashing into ‘M-A-S-H’ Ohio hotdog eatery

Tony Packo's Cafe in Toledo. Image by Stephan Brown. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – Authorities say a tractor-trailer driver has died after he crashed into Tony Packo’s, the Ohio hot dog eatery made famous on M-A-S-H.

Police are still investigating the crash. No one was inside the restaurant at the time.

Toledo Fire Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld says firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 7:15 a.m. Friday. He says the driver had to be extricated from the vehicle. The man’s name has not been released.

Hertzfeld says the restaurant has significant structural damage to its front and will have to be stabilized.

Tony Packo’s became a household name in the 1970s when actor Jamie Farr portrayed a homesick U.S. soldier in the Korean War who longed for Packo’s hot dogs.

The original Packo’s remains a tourist destination and is decorated with M-A-S-H memorabilia.

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Tonya Cameron taps Back Bay brownstone for auction Aug. 24

Henry Wyatt portrait of a young woman, oil on board, signed and dated, 1821, 19 x 17 inches overall framed. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000. TAC Estate Auctions Inc. image.

WAKEFIELD, Mass. – Tonya A. Cameron Auctioneers Inc. will sell nearly 200 lots of period antiques, decorative items and collectibles at an auction Sunday, Aug. 24, at beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Auctioneer Tonya A. Cameron says the items are from a “Boston Back Bay brownstone,” one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the country.

Highlights include 17th, 18th and 19th century British, European, Asian and American antiques; signed Royalty autographs and photographs; fine jewelry and coins; many items in sterling silver; and 19th and 18th century paintings.

For information phone 781-233-0006 or email info@tacauctioneers.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Romero Britto ‘Lion King’ commissioned artwork, oil on board, signed and inscribed on verso by the artist, 27 x 23 1/2 inches overall framed. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000. TAC Estate Auctions Inc. image.

Antique Delft portrait plate, William of Orange, circa 1690; 8 1/2 inches. Estimate: $400-$600. TAC Estate Auctions Inc. image.

Pear-shape diamond engagement set, 14K, approx. 2 1/2 carats. Estimate: $1,500-$2,200. TAC Estate Auctions Inc. image.

Wallace sterling silver flatware service, including serving pieces, 116.10 troy ounces, without knives 86.48 troy ounces. Estimate: $1,300-$1,500. TAC Estate Auctions Inc. image.

LiveAuctioneers launches YouTube channel with Graceland coverage

NEW YORK (LAPRS) – Graceland is hallowed ground, not only to those who revere the memory of the man who made it famous – American icon Elvis Presley – but also to millions of fans worldwide who still think of Presley as the one and only “King of Rock and Roll.” Interest in authenticated items that belonged to the superstar entertainer, or were worn by him onstage, has never waned. This has led to an extraordinary, first-time event: the Aug. 14, 2014 auction of a famous Elvis collection, to be held on the grounds of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

Immediately after Graceland Authenticated’s marketing team confirmed that LiveAuctioneers had been chosen to provide Internet live-bidding services for the auction, the Manhattan-based company started formulating a plan that would combine a trip to Graceland with the formal launch of its new LiveAuctioneers YouTube channel .

A three-person video crew selected by executive producer and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lilibet Foster traveled to Graceland, where they toured the 1939 mansion’s rooms and grounds, and also viewed items from the auction, many of which were consigned by Australian super-fan Greg Page. (Note: None of the auction items are from the Graceland Archives, which remain the property of Lisa Marie Presley.)

The exciting Graceland videos produced for LiveAuctioneers’ YouTube channel offer viewers a privileged look at highlights to be sold in the Aug. 14 Auction at Graceland.

“During our video team’s visit to Graceland, they interviewed Angie Marchese, who is Director of Archives at Graceland,” said Foster. “Angie spoke about the history and backstories of several key items in the auction – a Tupelo, Mississippi library card with the earliest known Elvis signature, a 1975 Martin D-28 guitar that Elvis gave to one of his bodyguards, Elvis’ signed military-leave pass from when he was stationed with the US Army in Germany, and stage-worn jewelry, including a fabulous gold, diamond and ruby lion pendant. The pendant was one of Elvis’ favorite pieces of jewelry. He wore it during a 1970 visit to The White House, when he met President Nixon.”

Each item in the auction is accompanied by a letter of authenticity issued by Graceland Authenticated.

Over the next two weeks, several additional videos from Graceland will be accessible via LiveAuctioneers’ YouTube channel. Among the topics to be featured are:

• A Private Tour of Graceland – LiveAuctioneers’ team tours the fabled interior of the white-columned mansion Elvis called home, including a visit to the Hawaiian-themed Jungle Room, where Elvis relaxed and enjoyed the company of family and friends; and the Racquetball Building, which is filled with Elvis’ many awards and beautifully showcased stage outfits.

• Elvis’ Cars & Motorcycles – Auction Tip: See Lot 62, the 1977 maroon and silver Cadillac Seville V-8 Automatic that was the last personal car Presley purchased for personal use and the last Cadillac he ever drove)

“If you’re an Elvis fan – and who isn’t – you’ll love the YouTube videos we’ve prepared from our team’s visit to Graceland. It’s a sneak peek at some amazing artifacts and an exploration of the Graceland mansion with the Graceland staff,” said Julian R. Ellison, CEO of LiveAuctioneers.

Ellison added, “I can think of no better way to launch our YouTube channel than through our coverage of the preview and events leading up to the Auction at Graceland. Even today, almost 37 years after his passing, Elvis continues to capture the imagination of fans everywhere. He is an American institution, and LiveAuctioneers is deeply honored to have been chosen by Elvis Presley Enterprises to work with them as a marketing partner for their first-ever on-site auction.”

LiveAuctioneers’ YouTube channel is a professionally produced online entertainment resource whose current and soon-to-be-added shows include The Daily Bid, which focuses on fascinating auction discoveries and other auction-related topics; plus other regular shows about high-profile auction houses and headline-makers from the art, auction and collecting world.

View the fully illustrated online catalog for the Aug. 14, 2014 Auction at Graceland and sign up to bid absentee or live online as the sale is taking place at LiveAuctioneers (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/58613_the-auction-at-graceland/page1). For a free subscription to LiveAuctioneers’ YouTube channel, log on to www.youtube.com/LiveAuctioneersTV .

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New postage stamp depicts Civil War Siege at Petersburg

The Petersburg Campaign stamp. Image courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service.

PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) – The U.S. Postal Service is issuing a Civil War stamp depicting the 1864 Siege at Petersburg.

A dedication ceremony was conducted Wednesday at the Petersburg National Battlefield for the new stamp.

The ceremony was held near the site of an underground explosion that took place 150 years ago and created a huge depression in the earth. That led to the battle being named “Battle of the Crater.”

The stamp depicts the 22nd United States Colored Troops engaged in the June 15-18, 1864, assault on Petersburg. The Petersburg Campaign stamp is a reproduction of an 1892 painting by J. Andre Castaigne.

The stamp is part of the Postal Service’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which claimed the lives of more than 620,000 soldiers.

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Volunteers transform former Ill. courthouse into museum

The Effingham County Courthouse in Illinois. Image by Gerald Roll, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

EFFINGHAM, Ill. (AP) – If the walls of the old Effingham County courthouse museum could talk, they would tell of a rich local history. Delaine Donaldson and his group of tireless volunteers want to the give the historical structure a renewed voice, one that will preserve the county’s shared history for years to come.

“It is a grand history that we have to tell in Effingham County, and we are showcasing that,” said Donaldson.

After a lengthy battle to save the historical structure built in 1870-71, the courthouse reopened on Nov. 11, 2012 as a museum. Since that day, the Effingham County Cultural Center and Museum Association has showcased the transformation of the main floor from a functioning courthouse into a functioning museum.

“The thing that I have noticed is whenever people look at our museum, they say, ‘This is really nice,’” said Donaldson. “They say, ‘Who put this together for you,’ and we say, ‘This is all volunteer, we did it ourselves.’ People are amazed.”

First-floor features share the history of transportation through a large model train and roadway display; the prominent history of military service by area veterans; historical figures like Ada Kepley, who was the first woman in the country to earn a law degree; the 1949 St. Anthony’s Hospital fire; Effingham native George Bauer, who helped write the G.I. Bill; and many other stories and displays.

Donaldson and the 50 or so volunteers who make the operation of the museum possible have now set their sights on the second floor of the old courthouse. Donaldson hopes to repurpose what was originally the main courtroom into a meeting area to hold everything from class reunions to wedding receptions.

“We want to make that second floor a place where we can generate funds to run the courthouse,” said Donaldson. “From day one we have had people say, ‘My daughter is getting married. Can we have the wedding in the courthouse?’”

For the last several months, volunteers have been unearthing the original design of the second floor, which was renovated into office space for courthouse officials over the years. Much of the Formica and old carpet from the last major renovation in the 1960s has been removed to reveal the rustic stately beauty of the era.

“This is like archaeology for a building,” said Donaldson. “When we pulled up the carpeting, we could see the cut marks for the curves in the original flooring.”

With significant work needed in the space, Donaldson and fellow volunteer, Jim Lange, approached the Effingham City Council recently to request the city’s financial assistance for the project. Donaldson asked the council for $75,000 in assistance, which would be put primarily toward restrooms on the second floor.

During the council meeting discussion, Mayor Merv Gillenwater expressed optimism about the city’s assistance, but informed Donaldson that that amount of money wasn’t figured into this fiscal year’s budget. Commissioner Matt Hirtzel suggested a multiyear assistance package for the project, which would stretch the $75,000 over several years. The issue is being considered by the council and will come back at a future meeting for a vote.

Donaldson did inform the council that the museum is exhausting all possibilities to generate money for the project. The Effingham County Board pays the utility bills for the museum, which reach over $10,000 a year, and the museum is considering corporate sponsorship.

Ideally, ECCCMA would like to have the project completed by Christmas, but that “totally depends on the cash flow,” said Donaldson.

The expansive second floor is a step back in time and space. Completely open after the recent removal of a drop ceiling and office partitions, a large amount of work is clearly needed.

“We plan on putting the original courtroom back the way it was,” said Donaldson. “From historical records, people in the area were most proud of this space.”

Volunteer carpenters have rebuilt the raised area where the court proceedings were held, said Donaldson. He added that two old banisters, found by a volunteer, will help complete the look.

“We don’t have any pictures of how this looked,” said Donaldson.

Donaldson pointed to the cost of the banister posts, which were priced at $75 apiece for 150 of them, as an example of the cost of the building.

Other work includes repainting the tin ceiling throughout the second floor and refurbishing plasterwork in the dome, which was uncovered when the drop ceiling was removed. Donaldson said Dr. Ruben Boyajian has offered to paint murals of local historical scenes in the large domed area, which reaches to the peak of the three-story building. Hardwood flooring, fire safe doors, a side room renovation for a catering space and many other features are in the works. Donaldson said a contractor assessed the project before volunteers started on it, and the total cost to renovate the space was an estimated $350,000. He added that price will continually be reduced by the massive amount of volunteer hours.

“We are working diligently to showcase this area,” said Donaldson.

As part of his rationale for the city providing funds for the project, Donaldson pointed to the tourism dollars generated in Effingham by the existence of the museum. In 2013, 2,160 people from around the state, country and world visited the courthouse museum. Donaldson said about a third of those who visited didn’t sign the guestbook.

“We had about 3,000 visitors last year, and we are on track to meet that again this year,” he said, noting that mobile displays will be featured on the second floor for regular museum visitors. “People tell us they want to come back and see the museum again when the second floor is finished.”

For Donaldson, who taught history and sociology at Effingham High School for over 30 years, the incalculable hours he and other volunteers have put into the project are completely worthwhile.

“One of the things that sociologists look at is that in a lot of towns across America today, especially in towns along the interstate, is that they all have the same feel to them,” he said, calling the trend “Generica.”

“The thing that is very important is that we don’t do that. We aren’t a generic community. We are so much more than what sits along the interstate exits,” he said.

Having a strong sense of local history and community is also what creates value in locals’ minds.

“I taught sociology for many years, and the thing that I have found in terms of what attracts people to live in a community is that it doesn’t have a generic sense,” said Donaldson. “That when people leave the town, they have a sense they lost something. The courthouse museum helps provide that feeling.”

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Information from: Effingham Daily News, http://www.effinghamdailynews.com

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