(erielack) Historical archives

["Tupaczewski, Paul R \(Paul\)" <paultup_@_alcatel-lucent.com>]

Fred Stratton wrote:


> How about we all donate money, and lots of it from not only 
> members but EL fans and enthusiasts and build an Erie 
> Lackawanna Museum in which archives and donated items could 
> be displayed. I know this seems far fetched or perhaps a 
> dream but what are we going to leave the railfan community 
> after we are all gone and first or second generation EL'ers 
> who have had first hand contact with the RR are just a 
> memory. We need to do more than just talk, we need to show 
> what we feel. I'll donate money for a museum and would 
> actually help lay block, or nail wood or whatever it would 
> take, let's just all express ourselves and DO something 
> instead of just talk.
> There, I've added my 2 cents worth and now let the hate email 
> and negativity begin.



:) No hate mail or negativity here! I think we all want the historical
memory of the EL (and DL&W/Erie) to be preserved for future generations
to follow. The love of the roads seen on this list is tremendous, and
I'd love others in the future to know what fascinated all of us so much
about these railroads.

The people, the trains, the stories... all of these need to be
preserved. And frankly, I don't care if it's in the form of an archives
or a museum, but it needs to be preserved - period. It worries me, too,
when you see other well-intentioned efforts in historical preservation
that lose steam (pardon the pun) and slowly die off. This is something I
would NOT want to see with an archives, obviously.

I also think that people would be more willing to open their collections
of "stuff" for donation if they had at least a little say of what would
happen to it, and that they knew others would be getting the benefit of
their donation. I know lots of people who are hoarding nice collections
of stuff, but are loathe to give it to an archive. It's these people
that you need to get to donate, because once they pass on, often times
their collections get junked, and that would be a travesty.

	- Paul

	The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
	Sponsored by the ELH&TS
	http://www.elhts.org
	To Unsubscribe: http://lists.elhts.org/erielackunsub.html

------------------------------