Donation will allow Saxonburg Museum to focus on historic preservation
Preserving history isn’t easy — or cheap. For example, the Smithsonian Institution’s 2024 budget was $1.09 billion, which it uses to protect and preserve 156 million artworks and artifacts and fund its programming.
The Saxonburg Museum doesn’t have quite that amount of responsibility. Nevertheless, those working on the ground to keep the borough’s history alive no doubt feel the weight of that obligation.
A malfunctioning HVAC system has made their work more difficult, according to reporting by Eagle staff writer William Pitts. Artifacts not stored at the correct temperature or humidity level are subject to deterioration, a concern voiced by folks at the museum recently.
The current system is so old it’s a struggle to find refrigerant for it. (It’s no longer available commercially because it’s been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.)
Soon after borough council decided in August to again repair the limping system rather than fix it, it gave out. Since then, the museum’s artifacts have been subjected to damaging heat and humidity.
But now — thanks to a $10,000 donation from two local attorneys — the persistent air conditioning problems at the Saxonburg Museum soon will be a thing of the past. They finally can replace the air conditioner and furnace.
“This will help preserve everything inside the museum and provide a more comfortable atmosphere for tours and events,” said Brooke Wamsley, vice president of Friends of Saxonburg Museum, a nonprofit that operates the museum.
The funds donated by Tom King and Tom Breth, of Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter & Graham, came from the Evelyn Rodgers Trust and the Glenn Logan Trust, with $5,000 coming out of each fund.
Preserving history allows us to understand where we come from and where we’re headed. When historic preservation is strained, it becomes difficult to maintain.
This donation will allow museum leaders to focus on other endeavors such as preserving the Brooklyn Bridge replica and stopping John Roebling’s original wire rope workshop from sinking.
— RJ
