40-rod

i would like to know how you know elton johns cats name--also sounds like you may be gettin upset-----you dirty dozen

Well put 40_Rod.

I have to put in a word of support for the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The Milwaukee Public Muesum now has a nice firearms display up in the area of the Streets of Old Milwaukee. The way things in general are displayed in nearly all museums have changed and that includes almost all things collected--be it stamps, coins, buttons, or firearms. Al Muchka, who is the curator, is a historian and is interested in the firearms, however, he has lots of other areas of responsibility. He can only display what he can convince the board to display. 
When the NRA convention was in Milwaukee, he was able to present a display of the best of the collection. Since then he has been able to do a couple displays of guns, but he does have to deal with others in management and on the museum board that do not like guns.
Cheers,
Laurie

JD our club was just like yours 400 members low dues and been on the same 480 acres for over 50 years.  However when you get into the "system" the bureaucrats find all sorts of things and they will not let go.  None of our issues were related to the original neighbor complaint on noise.  It was all use permit and regulations that had changed since our original permit for "a rifle range" 

However the point of all this is ASSRA and maintaining not only a magazine but valuable archives and a private range, all on 35 bucks a year from a finite and perhaps dwindling membership. The archives should be preserved cost the club almost nothing to maintain now and perhaps a very large amount in the future.

Boats

Re:  Milwaukee/Nunnemacher collection.

let me preface this by stating that for almost 15 years I was a musem director affiliated and trained in a number of national and international musem training programs.  I do know a little about musuems and archives.

At the NRA show in Milwaukee I had a chance to talk with the curator who was responsible for the nunnemacher collection.

As Laurie mentioned musuems have changed the way they display artifacts. Starting about 15 or 20 years ago they moved from large topical displays of related artifacts; as one would have seen with the Nunnemacher display all out in one hall at one time; to more topically integrated displays that have higher educational content.  this is called "interpretive" exhibits and it is still the current philosophy.  the old large complete displays were little more than open storage.
  I will admit that I too enjoyed being able to go to a museum and see ALL the guns or whatever, but in today's reality you'll only find that in small low budget museums unless you got specifically to a firearms museum where the museums statement of purpose is to display guns---period!!!!!   

For the NRA show they pulled out a smalle selection of Nunnemacher material and displayed is as a short term temporary display that they gave NRA attendiees a special discounted admission to see.   When the curator was visiting the ASSRA booth we discussed the exhibit and the whole Nunnemacher "problem"  I was warned that if I wanted to see single shots not to bother buying the ticket.  the combination of changing exhibit philosophy,  museum economics, and an increasing un-firearms oriented American population probably means that unless a major donor is willing to fund a special (very expensive) Nunnemacher exhibit no one will ever see the whole collection on public display.   As at most museums qualified researchers will probably be able to get access for study purposes

Well, I guess you're right, I didn't like the answer. Mainly, I ddn't understand that it was supposed to be an answer, I guess.

40_Rod wrote on Dec 15^th, 2007 at 9:27am:


Is that Your Final Answer? (VBG)
Regards, Joe

Not to belabor the archives situation, but I can state that members of the BofD and other interested parties HAVE been discussing possibilities and near-impossibilities for what we might be able to do to care for and have continued easy access to the archives.  This has been going on since before I started my term on the Board, went through my tenure, and AFAIK has continued.

Some of the ideas will involve a certain set of events occurring or some as yet undetermined individual coming forward to do that work that we cannot have done for pay.  Nothing has ever reached the point where it can be publicized, but it IS being thought of, and suggestions are being accepted and considered.  The magnitude of the job is staggering and the volume of data as well as the volume of correspondence which will be ongoing would come as a surprise to most folks.  If the BofD started spending the money that it would cost to professionally administer this huge volume of material, there would be a lot of noise about that huge expenditure of money...look at what has been said about money to maintain the national range.   

I will try to explain what this involves by saying that Rudi gets letters from all over the world for info, and the archives we have are very likely the premier such collection in the world, private or public.  It has been presented in discussions that I have participated in that the volume is on the order of a tractor-trailer load of paper and books.  This accumulation happened at first mostly by accident from random donations of materials from Association members, but for the last several many years it has been due to the labor of love by Rudi Prusok.  If the collection has a soul and a personality, they come from Rudi, and it will only be when someone else takes up the mantle from him that it will be able to continue, much less increase or change.  The only organization I can even think of administering this collection would be the NRA, and I'm not sure even they would be willing to take it on and continue the service that is now available.  JMHO, but the very idea of turning all of this resource over to a museum or library somewhere with the possibility of it getting squirrelled away from use by all of us is simply horrifying.   


Charlie Shaeff
Green Frog