A Visit to the Museum – XVII
Amazingly, we are rapidly reaching the end of 2024 and the Museum continues to burst at the seams with donations. As the collection continues to grow, so have the expenses relating to the upkeep and maintenance of all the contributions. The recent addition of the entire photographic collection of Moe Knox has required the rental of a climate-controlled storage area as efforts continue to sort, organize, and categorize this massive collection.
As a result, Curator Bill Ives and the entire staff of the Museum (which continues to also grow as more volunteers are stepping forward to help preserve the marching pageantry legacy) are starting to feel the pinch of storage space and the cost to maintain it at the Archer-Epler VFW post in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Among these costs is the expense to insure the collection from loss in an aging facility.
For many months, Bill has been communicating with members of the local real estate sales community in an effort to relocate the museum contents to a permanent home. With many business closings and bankruptcies seen in recent months, more options are coming into view. But not without a cost.
Those options include the rental of a property, the purchase of such a property, the cost of renovating and maintaining such a facility in the long term, legal fees relating to the zoning or rezoning such a property, insurance, and any tax ramifications. And while the Museum is indeed a Federal tax exempt foundation, such exemption may not apply to acquisition, property, and other related taxes.
The problem, of course, is the Museum’s revenue stream. And while everyone connected to the Museum is pleased with all the cash contributions received to date, it’s not like someone has dropped seven figures of lottery winnings into this effort.
Since we are, at this writing, in the season of giving, it is appropriate that we acknowledge those who have generously made a financial commitment to the museum in chronological order:
Roman Blenski - $650.00
Chris Maher - $10.000.00
Larry Hershman - $2,000.00
Cathy Chandler - $750.00
Carol Sojka - $25.00
Paul Dachille - $50.00
Bob Granbois Research Fee - $50.00
Hanover Lancers - $50.00
David Helms – $100.00
Maryland Drum Corps Hall of Fame - $50.00
Roman Blenski - $500.00
Bob Cook - $1,500.00
John Hannigan - $1,000.00
Mark Dombroski - $250.00
Ed Gibbons - $300.00
Paula Holton - $200.00
Paul Zito - $119.00
PAL Alumni Association - $100.00
As noted below, the Museum is Federally tax exempt. As we approach the end of the year, we ask that you please consider a donation as many do. We hope the benefit you receive on April 15th, 2025 is supplemented by the good feeling you’ll receive knowing you have contributed to a worthy cause and helped preserve the legacy of our beloved activity.
Notwithstanding monetary donations, the individual contributions of many hours of “sweat equity” by a growing number of people cannot be minimized. Were it not for their efforts, the Museum’s mission could not possibly be maintained. It would be difficult to place a monetary value on the thousands of hours spent each year organizing the thousands of individual pieces that are in the current collection.
Ernad Sisic continues to update the Museum web site at http://www.mpamuseum.org. His work during the year to bring the web site to life has also been priceless. He continues to add these articles as they have appeared here in Drum Corps World. Future plans include the addition of select photographs and audio and video clips following remastering and editing – a job being tackled by Tom Norton (tjn123@gmail.com). His job, applying his technical expertise, has also been a huge asset to the Museum. You’re invited to check into the web site from time-to-time and watch its progress!
A few items have been received at the Museum during the past month. Among these was a box containing many pieces of memorabilia received from Nancy Goettel, daughter of the late Dan and Nancy Goettel, who were active with the Archer-Epler corps from the 1940s through the 1980s. Among the items received were several American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars service caps, newspaper clippings, photographs, program books from several national conventions and convention contests, and posters.
The package also contained a program book from the Wind Gap (PA) Blue Eagles’ indoor show from 1966 and rule books for competing units from the AL and VFW. As many remember, both DCA and DCI were founded, in part, due to differences in the rules between these two organizations and what was seen as their inflexibility in implementing rules changes requested by the corps.
Michael Linton contributed a bass drum from the Rochester Grey Knights. The Grey Knights, as we remember, evolved into the Rochester Crusaders, a DCA powerhouse in the late 1960. The Crusaders won many contests over the years, but none as big as the American Legion Senior National Championships in 1965 and 1972. Many remember the days when bass drum heads were adorned with the corps name and logo and often their AL or VFW affiliation.
One final note from all of us connected with the Marching Pageantry Arts Museum: We thank all of you who have supported the Museum with cash and material donations during 2024. We wish everyone a happy and joyous holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2025.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum is currently located at the historic Archer-Epler VFW Post 979, 6736 Marshall Road, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. Bill Ives is President, CEO, and archivist of the museum corporation, an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable corporation. Donations of drum corps, marching band, and color guard memorabilia are always welcome. Cash donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and may be made payable to:
Marching Pageantry Arts Museum
c/o Bill Ives
1024 Second Avenue
Media, PA 19063
The museum, a member of the American Alliance of Museums, is currently open on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 10:00 PM by appointment only. Bill can be reached by e-mail at ivesbill@mac.com or by phone at (610) 937-6555.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum – “A story worth telling and worth knowing”