Little Boxes

 

newly arrived

Sunday, the 19th began about 7:30 a when I spent about an hour in the home’s basement working on the nearly done project of arranging aviation magazines that are not likely to be moved to the airport Museum until spring. About 8:30, I packed the truck cabin with the boxes of large resources I had begun filling in 1978 and placed them in the AeroKnow Museum’s Research room as they are pictured here.

a closer look

Bringing them to the Museum anticipates two new activities. One, that they will attract visitors who want to see and learn from what’s inside, and two, that AeroKnow support will increase commensurate with that use.

 

In 1978, I was working for the Order of the Golden Rule, the home office of an association of funeral homes and writing funeral advertising for members all over the USA. Local broadcasts of Paul Harvey News at noon were sponsored by OGR. We had a two-person graphics department which did the layout and PMT production of print advertising, and early into my time there I noticed the large orange film boxes they were using and subsequently discarding. I asked the department head to pass them my way, and she did. I took them home and began filing materials I had accumulated in the evolution of what was then AIRCHIVE. My only regret is that I didn’t gather more of them during my time there. If anyone in central Illinois knows where I might obtain more similar boxes about 12 3/4″  18 3/4″ x 1″ please let me know.

About 20 years after acquiring them and filling most to capacity, I moved to the house I occupy today and stored them out-of-the-way on the top shelf of a large closet and soon forgot they were there. A few days ago, I re-discovered them and today brought the last of them to out to the Museum. The point in sharing this story is to illustrate how AeroKnow is not just an impulsive enterprise engaged by a collector who suffered a nasty blow to the head a few months ago and decided to start a museum. The MISSION to do this has been an important part of my life since 1970!

by their labels ye shall know them

 

They contain color photograph center-spreads from aviation magazines dating back to the early 40s, full-size plans for flying and static-display models, articles from oversize magazines which could not be filed in our metal filing cabinets, original and copied 1/72 World War II identification model plans and drawings from aircraft companies, model companies an publishers. This material is not yet catalogued due to higher priorities with extremely limited volunteer support, but it will be as soon as circumstances permit.

The boxes will be relocated from where they were photographed this morning to another location in the Research Room where they are better displayed, more easily accessible but less photogenic.

We are still setting things up. We are still “getting here.” The AeroKnow Museum has not “arrived.” If you live in central Illinois and want to share your valuable time and aviation expertise with an organization that will make the most of it, tell me so in a comment or contact me at the numbers listed at the bottom of the home page of the AeroKnow Museum web site — www.aeroknow.com

If you don’t live in central Illinois help us by sending a proxy in the form of your check of support, made payable to AeroKnow and sent to the address included at the web site.

Thanks for your consideration. Happy Holidays to you!