Soup at Six - Aviation

What a great night!

I really enjoyed giving the program last night on Canton's Pioneers in Flight! We had the Charles Lindbergh scroll on display and everyone was really fascinated with it. We sold 9 copies of my book at the book signing afterwards, which was a wonderful number since there were 28 people who attended!

Randy's soup was great, as always -- chicken tortilla!!

Here are some video clips from the program. Chris took quite a few, so it was hard to decide what to choose for the blog. So there are more than I usually post!



Here I start the program by explaining how MOST people weren't experimenting with flight!



Frank S. Lahm founded the Aero Club of Ohio.



The Wright Brothers taught Frank P. Lahm how to fly.



William H. Martin invented the first monoplane.
(If the screen is black, just push the play button anyway)



Bernetta Miller was the 5th woman in the United States to earn her pilot's license. She is one of my favorite characters in local history!
(If the screen is black, just push the play button anyway)

Organizing photos

OK, I have FINALLY had it!

My photos are so disorganized!

Years ago when I started scanning photos from the archives, I would file them according to what project they were for. Some went into my book folder. Some were scanned on a certain date. Some were scanned for an exhibit.

And NOW, all of my photos are in cryptic folders and I can't even find them!

So, this afternoon, I am going to RE-ORGANIZE all of my photos so that they make sense when I need to find one.

The reason I was looking through them is because I had to convert my "Canton During Wartime" program into PowerPoint from an old-fashioned slide show. I have mentioned before that I used to use an old Kodak projector, until the thing was so out of focus I know my audience was wondering if they needed to pay a visit to the eye doctor by the time I was through!

I make all of my new programs in PowerPoint now, and I convert the old ones as they are booked. Most have been converted, but every now and then someone requests a program that is an "oldie but a goodie" and I have to convert it.

Since the last time I did "Canton During Wartime," I had scanned some interesting photos of Diebold's armored scout cars. So I was able to add them. I had also scanned a drawing of McKinley in his war room during the Spanish-American War for the new McKinley Gallery exhibit. So the program is much improved.

Now, I must go figure out a system that will make sense. Organizing the photos by topic will certainly make them easier to find! For example, I can make one folder of businesses, and then make sub-folders for Hoover, Timken, Diebold, etc.

Next time I need to find a photo, it will be MUCH easier!!

UPDATE:
I AM DONE!!! And it isn't even 3:00 yet! That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I organized my folders into broad categories: Aviation, Buildings, Businesses, Celebrations & Events, Cemeteries, Churches, Civil War, Entertainment, Homes, Hospitals, Maps, McKinley, Mellett, Meyers Lake, Monument, Museum, People, Schools, Social Clubs & Activities, Sports, Stores, Street Scenes, World War I, and World War II.

I should have done this a long time ago...!!

Roaring Twenties Review

Here is the program, as promised last week!

Charles Lindbergh

Gary Brown wrote another great story about a scroll that Charles Lindbergh dropped while flying over Canton in the 1920s.

Click here to read all about it!

The artifacts will be on display for one day only on Thursday night at my Soup at Six talk and book signing of Canton's Pioneers in Flight.

I work with artifacts every day, so it takes a bit more to thrill me than it used to. But when I saw this one, I was awestruck! It was great to feel that way, and remind myself that all of the artifacts under my care are unique and special. Artifacts connect us to the past in a way that no other medium can do -- not a book, a movie, or a website. I get to work with the "real thing," and that is just one of the many reasons that I love what I do!

Steve's beer

Here's a little sneak peek at next month's Soup at Six!!



The airlock at the top of the jug is bubbling as Steve's beer ferments.

The week in review

I'm working on so many things simultaneously, it's hard to keep track of everything! So I will just make a list of highlights this week:

• I am *almost* finished with the updated aviation program. I wanted to expand some of it and add new things I learned while writing Canton's Pioneers in Flight. I will be speaking about aviation at our next Soup at Six event on Thursday February 28.
  
• I went on CTC (Community Television Consortium) last night to talk about the bridal show. Five minutes go by in the blink of an eye! We have so many interesting stories to highlight this year. I'll be posting some of them soon. Chris also taped the show before mine, and he highlighted the 1920s programs that are yet to come.
• Speaking of 1920s programs, Steve began making beer this week for his Soup at Six program next month on "Homebrewing." It was a lot of fun to watch! It is currently bubbling and fermenting in a dark corner of the museum. I'm looking forward to his program -- and to tasting some of his beer!
  
• On Tuesday I met with Gary Brown to talk about a Charles Lindbergh artifact that we have here at the museum. The story will in Monday's paper, so I won't spoil it now. I'll post a link Monday.
• Susie Thomas called me this afternoon to come co-host her radio show on 95.9 next Friday morning. Of course I jumped at the chance! I really enjoy doing radio shows. So if you're local, tune in next Friday at 8:00 AM!
• We have the program all in place for the "Roaring Twenties Review" on Saturday March 15. I'm waiting for feedback from the rest of the Marketing Committee before I post it. That will be forthcoming next week also.
• My intern Erin continues to do a fantastic job. She has been helping catalog artifacts for the past couple of weeks. Next week she will start thinking about exhibit ideas for the first floor lobby. I've had piggy banks up for the duration of the penny campaign, and it is time for something else to go in there.
  
• Yesterday I gave my "Meyers Lake Revisited" program at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Massillon. They were a great group of seniors, and I think they enjoyed my talk! I was running a little late and when I got there I couldn't park anywhere near the church. I rushed in the door of the Parish Hall and followed the scent of lunch downstairs -- to an empty room! I panicked, thinking I had gotten my facts screwed up and was either at the wrong church or at the right church on the wrong date. I saw some ladies in the kitchen, who told me that everyone was in a church service before the program! I was much relieved.

So that's my week in a nutshell.

Looking ahead to next week, I will have lots of modeling appointments for the bridal show. It is always a little nerve-wracking as we search for dresses to fit the young ladies who have volunteered their time to be in the show. Obviously, you can't alter the dresses at all to fit the people. You have to find the right people to wear the dresses! I will probably begin writing the script the week after next.

I also would like to welcome our new librarian, Karl Ash! He started this morning and is feeling as overwhelmed as all of us have on our first day at this busy museum. I promised him that he would get the feel of the place quickly, and offered to do all I can to help him figure out anything he needs help with. Welcome aboard, Karl!

Volunteer Gary Blass

This morning I received word that museum volunteer Gary Blass passed away last night.

His wife called me on Monday and asked if I would come out to their house sometime this week because Gary had some McKinley items he wanted to donate. She told me he wasn't doing well and that Hospice had been called in. I asked when would be a good time, and she said they would be home all week. Since I had some appointments on Tuesday, I asked if Wednesday would work.

So we set up an appointment for 11:00 AM this morning. She said Gary would really like to see Joyce too, so we both planned to go this morning.

When I got in today I had a message from Janice Blass canceling our appointment, because Gary had passed away last night.

I was shocked. She called again later this morning to make sure I got her first message. I got to talk to her this time, and she said that they knew it was coming, but didn't expect it so soon.

Gary was a very active volunteer before Chris and I came here, but we did see him from time to time at museum events. I also went to his house to do my "Meyers Lake Revisited" program for his Sunday school class last summer.

Gary was very proud of the museum and always told Chris and me that we were doing a great job whenever we saw him. Although we didn't know him as well as we would have liked, he will be missed.