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Sheet metal crossing guards sponsored by Coca-Cola protected children walking to school during the mid-1900s. Image courtesy of Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Collectibles.

Kentucky city would like to have part of Coca-Cola museum

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

Sheet metal crossing guards sponsored by Coca-Cola protected children walking to school during the mid-1900s. Image courtesy of Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Collectibles.
Sheet metal crossing guards sponsored by Coca-Cola protected children walking to school during the mid-1900s. Image courtesy of Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Collectibles.
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) – A tourism official in Elizabethtown is hoping she can keep some of a valuable Coca-Cola memorabilia collection headed for auction together as part of a permanent local display.

Sherry Murphy, executive director of the Elizabethtown Tourism & Convention Bureau, has approached the head of the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia about the possibility of donating some items for a display at the Hardin County History Museum.

The museum’s collection is valued in the millions and includes one-of-a-kind posters, rare serving trays, century-old lithograph calendars, unique bottles, colorful jewelry, lighted signs, vending machines and toys. The Schmidt family recently closed the museum and decided to auction 80,000 items piecemeal, beginning in mid-September.

Murphy said the tourism bureau has received numerous calls about the museum since it closed. Murphy told the News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown that the Schmidt family was receptive to the idea of putting part of the collection in the history museum.

“The museum would be willing to give them space,” said Susan McCrobie, president of the Hardin County History Museum’s board of directors. “That was an important industry (for many years).”

McCrobie said she planned to meet with Murphy today.

The family collection started in the early 1970s when Bill Schmidt, a third-generation Coca-Cola bottler, picked up some memorabilia to decorate offices at his bottling plant in Elizabethtown.

Schmidt, who died four years ago, and his wife, Jan, amassed a treasure trove rivaling the company’s own vast collection. Their items fill a museum and warehouse covering 32,000 square feet.

The museum drew about 30,000 visitors annually before closing in April. The family plans to create the Schmidt Family Foundation, which will give to local and national charities.

Mayor Tim Walker said the exhibit is appropriate to honor the Schmidt family’s contributions to the city.

“I believe it keeps a part of the Coke museum in the community, and we could tell a little story that (illustrates) the history of the museum,” he said.

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Information from: The News-Enterprise, http://www.thenewsenterprise.com

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-06-04-11 1617GMT

 

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Sheet metal crossing guards sponsored by Coca-Cola protected children walking to school during the mid-1900s. Image courtesy of Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Collectibles.
Sheet metal crossing guards sponsored by Coca-Cola protected children walking to school during the mid-1900s. Image courtesy of Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Collectibles.