It's BOOK RELEASE DAY!!!

Wow, so much to post about today!

Today is the release date for my new book Canton Entertainment!  I'm in the midst of signing my first stack for the Museum Shoppe:

The book is available "wherever books are sold," but I sure do hope you support our Museum Shoppe and buy your copy here!  Don't forget -- museum members get a discount!  And if you're not a member, you don't have to pay admission if you just want to visit the Shoppe.

I'm going to be doing a book signing on December 6 at our Holiday Open House from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.  All of my books sold in the Museum Shoppe are always signed by me, but at the book signing you will have the chance to have your book personalized for yourself or to give as a gift.

Canton Entertainment features 216 photographs of FUN in Canton's past!  You're gonna LOVE IT.

Highlights from A Secret Gift

Thank you to everyone who came to the exhibit opening and Soup at Six preview event last week!  We were thrilled with the turnout, and we hope you enjoyed looking at A Secret Gift in a 3D way.

Before guests went up to view it on Thursday night, I told them what I had told Gary Brown of the Repository the week before.  Ted Gup looked at some letters and saw a book.  Frank Motz read the book and saw a play.  Eric Benjamin read the book and heard music.

I read the book and SAW AN EXHIBIT.  I found myself checking off artifacts in the collection in my mind as I read it:

"We have the sign from Fairmount Children's Home."

"We have a bottle from Superior Dairy."

"We have a feed chopper from Dick's Manufacturing."

And so the idea was born!  Then in 2011 Ted donated the letters and checks, and I officially put the exhbition on my Keller Gallery schedule for 2013, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Sam Stone's remarkable gifts.

I'm not an artist, so it can be difficult for me to get my ideas out of my mind and onto paper for people to see ahead of time.  One of my favorite parts of the creative process is when I'm able to bring my vision into reality by setting up the gallery.  That's when my ideas become "sharable" with others!

And let me tell you, this exhibition looks exactly the way I envisioned it!

Here are some highlights:

The suitcase where Ted found the letters

Full sized Dick's Manufacturing feed chopper from our collection

Salesman's model of a Dick's feed chopper
On loan from Sally Dick

1930s era paint set

Shirley Temple doll

A sweet bear from our collection

McKinley High School yearbook from 1923 opened to the page with Sam's wife Minna's picture

1930s era radio from our collection

A re-creation of Sam Stone's office
All of the furniture belonged to him and is on loan from Ted
It is "staged" with artifacts from our collection

Photo highlights from our collection from the 1930s

The sign from the Fairmount Children's Home with related letter writer panels underneath

Some of the letters, thank you notes, and checks

1930s women's dresses

Some "context" artifacts, including Hoover presidential campaign items, a Superior Dairy milk bottle, 1933 McKinley High School yearbook, and a 1933 Ohio license plate

If you weren't able to come to the opening or the Soup at Six preview event, the exhibit is on view through Sunday February 2, 2014.  Our hours are:

Monday - Saturday
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Sunday
Noon - 4:00 PM

 

Complete list of B. Virdot letter writers from A Secret Gift

As I've mentioned in previous posts, not all of the letter writers were included in Ted Gup's book A Secret Gift.  We were able to add one letter writer -- Lester Rice -- to our exhibition because Archivist Mark Holland recognized him as his great uncle.

We'd love to be able to add "the rest of the story" to the B. Virdot Collection in our archive for more letter writers!

If you or someone you know is related to any of the names on this list, please contact us.  Remember the letters are all handwritten, and sometimes difficult to read, so there may be slight spelling errors in the names.  Don't rule out a connection just because it isn't spelled exactly like you'd expect it to be!

If you'd like to view any of these letters, contact Mark at 330-455-7043 to make an appointment, and he will have the letter ready for you.

Here is the list:

• Ackers, Marie
• Albrecht, Mrs.
• Allen, Lottie
• Aman, Ruth
• Ammeck, Bessie
• Anderson, R.E.
• Bailey, Mr.
• Baum, Edward
• Beggs, R.M.
• Billings, E.J.
• Black, Mrs. Harold
• Blackburn, Mrs. A.R.
• Bonnafield, Allen C.
• Boyer, Mrs. John
• Boylan, P.C.
• Brenner, Thelma E.
• Brigham, Mrs. W.L.
• Brown, Mrs. Clara
• Brown, Theodore
• Brown, D.
• Brownlee, J.A.
• Brunner, Mrs. Walter
• Bunt, Elizabeth
• Burson, E.
• Burson, James E.
• Calhoun, Mrs. A.
• Carlin, George
• Carlin, L.W.
• Carnes, Ethel V.
• Carpenter, Vance J.
• Christian, James
• Clark, Dorothy
• Coldren, Geroge D.
• Colombo, Mrs. Ralph
• Compher, Oscar B.
• Conway, Mrs.
• Cook, Clark
• Cooper, Harry
• Cottrell, P.E.
• Criswell, Mrs. R.E.
• Cunningham, Mrs. Joseph
• Deckman, Mrs.
• DeHoff, Mrs. Rachel
• Denhoff, James
• Dennis, Mrs. Harry
• DeWalt, Anna
• Dick, Frank
• Dickerhoof, Walter
• Dierdorf, V.M.
• Dreher, Mrs. Marie
• Dugan, C.R.
• Ecrement, Harry
• Emmerling, Robert
• Englant, Johnny
• Evans, Willis
• Everett, Mrs. Paul
• Everhart, Carrie
• Fach, Mrs. Delbert
• Felton, Frances
• Gaffney, Edith
• Garber, Mrs. Clara M.
• Gatschet, John F.
• Gissiner, J.S.
• Gray, Bill
• Hasper, Joe J.
• Haverstock, Bertha
• Hayes, Ellen
• Henninger, Charles
• Heusel, George
• Hillman, Mrs. Paul
• Hoffman, Mrs. Mary
• Jackson, William
• Jacobs, Walter
• Jones, Mrs. William
• Jones, Howard
• Jordan, D.H.
• Jury, Mrs. Donald R.
• Keener, Mrs.
• Kendzora, Paul
• King, Mrs. Bessie
• Kuhn, Hazel E.
• Long, David
• Margo, Mrs. L.
• Marks, Mrs. Carl J.
• May, Edith
• McClain, L.B.
• McCort, A.C.
• McCoy, J.D.
• McMahon, C.L.
• Miller, Catherine
• Miller, Ella
• Miller, Mrs. M.
• Minor, Charles
• Moezek, Bernard
• Monnot, George W.
• Moore, Marry
• Myers, Mel
• Neff, Archie
• Neiss, Erwin
• Nelson, H.C.
• Nickalaz, Josita
• Nixon, E.H.
• Olds, Arlen (Helen)
• Palm, Helen
• Pryor, Freeman
• Pugh, Walter
• Reese, John
• Rhoads, Roy
• Rice, Lester
• Richards, J.
• Rogers, Joseph P.
• Rolfi, A.
• Romesburg, Nora
• Saal, George A.
• Saunders, Edith M.
• Schaub, Edna
• Schrader, Alice
• Schuck, Margaret
• Seery, Raymond
• Sell, Charles C.
• Shane, Jessie
• Sipe, Ann
• Slentz, C.E.
• Sommers, Howard
• Stamm, Myra
• Stanley, Harry
• Stein, Katherine
• Stewart, C. Leroy
• Stovor, L.A.
• Tausch, Paul P.
• Taylor, Betty
• Teis, Roy M.
• Tierman, August
• Tuck, L.
• Uebing, Mary
• Van Calhoun, Frank
• Vaughn, John G.
• Vogt, George C.
• Volzer, Clyde A.
• Wagner, Mrs.
• Waidman, Albert M.
• Welsh, John A.
• White, J.L.
• Winters, Charles A.
• Winters, Ray J.
• Wise, Charles
• Woodburn, Clarence
• Wright, Mrs. A.
• Young, Chester A.
• Zirley, George W.

And it's beginning to snow...

I am not a winter person.  I was born and raised in Central New York, so I know a thing or two about snow.  Canton winters are a cake walk in comparison!

Although I don't appreciate snow as much as a skiier or a child anxious to build a snowman, I admit I do love the very first snowfall.  I was watching the rain turn to snow last night, falling in the streetlight, thinking about how there's just something magical about that first snow.  And doesn't everyone, deep down, really want a white Christmas?  No blizzards, thank you very much.  But lightly falling snow on Christmas Eve?  That is just about perfect.

In truth, I can tolerate snow right up until New Year's Day.  Then I want it all to melt so I can go dig in my garden.

I love this photo of the Monument with a fresh coat of deep snow, untouched by a plow.  It is a gorgeous photo, even if you aren't much of a winter person.  I try to post it on the Museum's Facebook page on the first snowfall of the year. 

And I believe I used it for the Museum's Christmas card/invitation a few years ago.  This year, I used a photo of a family Christmas tree, taken by A Secret Gift letter writer Frank Dick.  I've planned an exhibit of his amazing photography for the Keller Gallery in 2015.  Stay tuned for more about that.  What a treasure trove of images from Canton's past!  Plus adorable portraits of his children, landscapes, still lifes and more.

Museum members will be receiving their invitations in the mail next week.  Our Holiday Open House is December 6, and is FREE for members.  Guests are $5 a person.  We ask that you bring a non-perishable food item to help those in need in our community, "in the spirit of B. Virdot."

Also, the Museum is already decorated for the holidays!  We know it's a bit early, but with a Christmas-themed exhibit opening in the Keller Gallery on November 15, we thought it would be nice to have everything finished before then.  It looks beautiful -- we hope to see you soon!

Deuber-Hampden bicycle!

I feel like the Holy Grail just walked in the door...

We just received a Dueber Grand bicycle!

This has been on our Wish List for YEARS. And someone just walked in the door and donated one. 

A quick internet search seems to indicate that Dueber-Hampden only produced these bikes for 5 years beginning in 1896. This model was $55 -- which translates to more than $1200 today! 

This is a ladies model, not only because there is no bar between the handlbars and seat to accommodate a skirt, but the back fender also has holes in it where there were strings across the spokes to keep a skirt from getting tangled up in the wheel! 

This is an AMAZING donation and we are so very thankful to G. Scott Wild for his generosity.

Here are some more photos of it:

Badge on the handlebar tree.

Some of the original painted decoration.

Holes in the back fender for the skirt guard strings.

 

What's left of the string.

The bicycle chain.

The seat.  We believe there was another covering over this that has since disintegrated.

The seat from the side view.

From the rider's perspective!

 

Would you like to bake cookies?

Do you like to bake?

If so, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Christmas is fast approaching, which means our Holiday Open House is right around the corner on December 6.

We have seen crowds of 1000 guests at that event, and we provide complimentary cookies as part of the festivities.

If you would like to bake and donate a few dozen cookies, we would very much appreciate your help!  Please call Stephanie Span at 330-455-7043.

We love all kinds of cookies.  They don't have to be fancy.  They don't have to be frosted.  Just bake your favorites!

If you're not a baker, but would still like to help, you can also make a cash donation for us to buy cookies.  The gingerbread men in the photo above are among the fabulous cookies that we purchase from a baker.

Thank you so much! 

I love that new book smell!

Me with all four of my books!

Last night a bunch of us stayed late to help decorate for Christmas.  When Chris and I pulled into our driveway, I saw a box on the porch.  I had no idea what it could be.  I ordered coffee on Saturday, but that would be crazy fast shipping!

When I picked up the box and saw it was addressed to Kimberly Kenney (AUTHOR), I knew right away it was the advanced copies of my new book!

Canton Enterainment looks FANTASTIC!  The team at Arcadia did great job with the layout. The photos are crystal clear.  And the cover?  It is PERFECT.

I'm so very excited about this one.  I think it's going to be very popular, because it includes pictures of just about every aspect of how generations have had fun in Canton -- from the Moonlight Ballroom to Mother Gooseland, and everything in between!

The release date is still November 18.  I expect we will have copies for sale in the Museum Shoppe by then. 

And the timing couldn't be more perfect, because this book will make a wonderful Christmas gift!!!