David.Curlee Wrote:
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> No worries on the spelling. I've been called much
> worse! haha
>
> I was happy to put it together and even happier to
> see museums benefit from it. The total funds
> raised was about $2,100. That amount isn't going
> to make or break any museum, but every dollar
> counts and it opened up a lot of shelf space for
> me.
>
> As was mentioned in the flyer, railroad museums
> all over the country are starving for manpower.
> Someone at the show Saturday summed it up best,
> saying "history is a recurring nightmare if you
> let it be". He was referring to preserved history
> becoming history itself if nobody is willing to
> care for it.
>
> The railfan community (myself included) needs to
> realize that most railroad museums aren't likely
> to survive another five or ten years at the rate
> things are going. Younger generations (myself
> included) need to become more involved. Mechanical
> skills and/or historical knowledge aren't
> necessary to have a meaningful impact. Lots of
> museums need people to do basic tasks such as
> groundskeeping, public outreach, or designing and
> maintaining a website.

Hi David and Everyone..
The only exception to your comment, David, regarding Museum longevity: ("The railfan community (myself included) needs to realize that most railroad museums aren't likely to survive another five or ten years at the rate things are going.") might be the Western Railroad Museum (WRM) at Rio Vista Junction operated by the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association (BAERA). This is because that organization has a HUGE support base of railfans, friends, Corporations and even the heirs themselves of Francis Marion Borax Smith of Key Route fame ! They were also blessed by an absolute MONSTER endowment financial bequeath from the estate of one of their former Board Chairman !!
So, in other words, they are probably more financially solvent than ANY other Museum around that I can think of !!

Cheers.

KRK