PENNSYLVANIA: Embattled Civil War Museum Sees Tourism Rise
HARRISBURG, Penn.- The embattled National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg attracted more visitors in the last year than any year since 2009, according to museum officials.
Wayne Motts, the chief executive officer of the museum, said 42,785 people visited the museum in Reservoir Park during the fiscal year that ended in June. That figure represents an 11 percent increase from the previous fiscal year when 38,688 visitors passed through the doors.
Museum Board Member Gene Barr believes the bump in attendance was due to expanded programming and events that appealed to an ever-widening base of supporters.
Still, the attendance pales in comparison to annual projections when the museum was built of 85,000 visitors.
This “Moment of Mercy” sculpture by Terry Jones seats in front of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pa., July 15, 2015. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com
The museum came under fire last summer when Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse asked Dauphin County commissioners to cut off hotel tax money intended to promote tourism in the city that flowed directly to the museum.
After commissioners refused, Papenfuse stepped up his attacks, most recently after the museum’s founder, former Mayor Stephen Reed, was charged for alleged public corruption.
A review of the museum’s recent tax filings revealed mixed financial indicators. The museum ended the 2014 fiscal year with $113,000 more in cash compared to the prior year, according to Internal Revenue Service Form 990s posted on website Guidestar.
But despite bringing in more contributions, the museum logged nearly $29,000 less in overall annual revenues compared with the prior year.
The museum’s profit margin was thin. It recorded $1.14 million in revenue and $1.03 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 2014.
The documents listed the museum’s highest paid employee as Motts, who earns $94,415 annually. Motts’ salary in the prior year was listed as $57,169 because it reflected just nine months of employment in his first year as executive director.
The museum paid $325,126 in other salaries in fiscal year 2014, which doesn’t include benefits. The museum reduced its salaries by about $20,000, compared to the 2013 fiscal year, according to the documents.
The Form 990 for the 2015 fiscal year, which ended about six weeks ago, was not available.
Visitor Total by Fiscal Year (July 1 – June 30)
- 2001-02: 96,169
- 2002-03: 75,976
- 2003-04: 58,351
- 2004-05: 54,944
- 2005-06: 50,607
- 2006-07: 45,256
- 2007-08: 43,872
- 2008-09: 43,355
- 2009-10: 38,655
- 2010-11: 39,552
- 2011-12: 38,716
- 2012-13: 40,766
- 2013-14: 38,688
- 2014-15: 42,785
–Pennlive.com
###
TENNESSEE: School District Can’t Stop Students From Displaying Confederate Flag
SMYRNA, Tenn. — A Tennessee mother is questioning the freedom students have to openly display the Confederate flag while on a high school campus, WKRN-TV reports.
A Confederate flag flown from the back of a pickup at Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna, Tenn., with the words, “Heritage not Hate” – WKRN-TV
The mother, who is black and wants to remain unidentified, contacted the news station because she was concerned about her son’s safety at Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna, Tenn.
According to the report, the 14-year-old boy approached his mother and said that children were wearing battle flag T-shirts to class. Later in the week, the mother witnessed the open display herself as she dropped her son off at school. Students were flying the battle flag from the backs of their trucks.
“I felt sad and hurt when I saw that,” she told WKRN-TV. “I just don’t think it should be in schools.”
“I don’t think it is the appropriate place for my child to be subjected to this,” the mother added, saying that the flag is a symbol of hatred for her and that she fears for her son’s safety.
The mother contacted the school district, but officials said there was nothing to be done.
“As a school district, we can’t prohibit such items unless it is causing a disturbance at school,” Rutherford County Schools spokesman James Evans told WKRN-TV, adding that students have a right to express their beliefs under the First Amendment.
-WKRN.com
###
TEXAS: Sons of Confederate Veterans Challenge Statue Relocation
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin planned to relocate a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson Saturday morning, but the Sons of Confederate Veterans filed an order Friday afternoon blocking the move.
Jefferson Davis was a Colonel in the U.S. Army, U.S. Senator and President of the Confederate States. Now, he’s the center of controversy on the University of Texas Campus.
“I do not think Davis was a racist. I think you cannot compare history to today’s morality,” said Marshall Davis of the Texas Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans.
“There’s no doubt that he was a racist and the question is really, in a society, in a democracy where you have all kinds of races and ethnic groups, why embrace something like that?” President of the Austin NAACP Nelson Linder asked.
A debate over Confederate symbols sparked nationwide after a man, who posed with the Confederate flag, was charged for a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston that killed nine church members.
Several UT students joined the fight and campaigned against having statues of Confederate figures on campus.
“This should have been done years ago and thanks to a tragedy, it reminded people that these symbols are still alive and they do inspire people to do wrong things. So I think, despite being late, you can always do the right thing,” said Linder.
“This is certainly, clearly an example of political correctness run amuck. Removing all things Confederate from public view will not change the fact that Texas and 12 other states formed the Confederate States of America to protect states’ rights,” said Davis.
Thursday University President Gregory Fenves announced the Davis statue would be moved from its current location at the heart of UT’s campus to the Briscoe Center for American History.
The statue of Davis was to be part of an educational exhibit about the Civil War. The statue would have been removed Saturday morning. Then Friday the Sons of Confederate Veterans filed a restraining order in a Texas district court.
“We don’t understand the rush for removal. If that statue has stood in that place for 82 years, we feel that it can stay there until we can decide the legality, and who will have stewardship, and where that statue will be during the interim until it is in display somewhere else,” said Davis.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans said the statue was originally a gift from George Littlefield as part of a tribute to the Civil War. And they aren’t sure the University has the authority to move it without approval from the Legislature, the Texas Historical Commission or the State Preservation Board.
“I think that’s a fraudulent and false argument. I think it’s a last ditch effort to drag out the situation. I think clearly, authority rests with the University on their property,” said Linder.
The University agreed to delay moving the Davis statue until after a court hearing next week, but a spokesperson for the school said they have the authority to move it and they fully intend to do so.
A statue of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson will also be moved from the center of campus. That is only to maintain symmetry on the Main Mall. Its new location has not been determined yet.
The University has decided to leave statues of other Confederate figures where they are, including one of Robert E. Lee.
###
GEORGIA: Local Sons of Confederate Veterans Donate Magazines
CALHOUN, Ga. — Blue & Gray Magazine, a Civil War periodical in its 31st year of publication, has featured the Battle of Resaca in its latest issue. Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 915, located in Calhoun, have donated copies of the publication to the local high schools, and to the Calhoun-Gordon County Library.
Nyala Edwards, Calhoun-Gordon County Library Branch Manager, stands with Stanley Chambers, Camp Commander of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 915, with a donated copy of Blue & Gray Magazine.
“I think this is very exciting for our area,” said Stanley Chambers, Camp 915 Commander. “The articles in this issue are very accurate. The publisher consulted with Ken Padgett, who’s a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, he’s the President of the Friends of Resaca Battlefield, and he’s involved with the Historical Society.”
“We appreciate the donation from the local Sons of Confederate Veterans,” said Nyala Edwards, Branch Manager of the Calhoun-Gordon County Library. “A lot of our patrons will find this beneficial as they do research. We have updated our Local History/Genealogy room, which is where the copy of the Blue & Gray Magazine will be housed. In the near future, we will be offering some basic classes in ancestry research.”
As for donating to the local high schools, Chambers feels that it is important for students to know local history. “I’m not sure there’s much teaching of history these days,” said Chambers. “It’s important for students to know their local history.”
The Sons of Confederate Veterans donated copies to Calhoun High School, Gordon Central High School and Sonoraville High School.
“There seems to be an effort lately, and over the past 30 years, to eradicate anything concerning the Civil War and the Old South,” said Chambers. “It’s history, it’s our history, and you can’t change it just because it wasn’t a pleasant time.”
According to their website, the Sons of Confederate Veterans are the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers that fought in the Civil War. It was organized in Richmond, Va. in 1896.
“It’s a heritage organization to preserve our history,” said Chambers.
All Camps of Sons of Confederate Veterans are named after historic figures, including the Calhoun camp. “Our local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp is named after General Stand Watie,” said Chambers. “Watie was a Cherokee Indian born in Gordon County. He was moved out west along with the other Cherokee’s, but he made the rank General in the Army. He was the only Native American to make the rank of General on either side during the Civil War.”
The Sons of Confederate Veterans General Stand Watie Camp 915 meets at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Gordon County Historical Society, located at 335 South Wall Street in Calhoun.
–northwestgeorgianews.com
###
KENTUCKY: Civil War Museum Brings History to Life at Fort Wright
FORT WRIGHT, Ky. — History came to life this weekend as the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary during the annual Battery Hooper Days.
This past weekend, August 15 and 16, Battery Hooper Park in Fort Wright, was transformed into a Civil War encampment, complete with a cannon, field hospital, topographer, mapmaker, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and much more.
Re-enactors recreate camp life during Battery Hooper Days at the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum. (Photos by Jacob Lange)
History came to life this weekend as the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary during the annual Battery Hooper Days.
This past weekend, August 15 and 16, Battery Hooper Park in Fort Wright, was transformed into a Civil War encampment, complete with a cannon, field hospital, topographer, mapmaker, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and much more.
History came to life this weekend as the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary during the annual Battery Hooper Days.
This past weekend, August 15 and 16, Battery Hooper Park in Fort Wright, was transformed into a Civil War encampment, complete with a cannon, field hospital, topographer, mapmaker, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and much more.
O’Bryan also played Wallace in the film “Lew Wallace: Shiloh Scapegoat, Ben-Hur Bard” which is scheduled to be released in early 2016 on public television.
The James A. Ramage Civil War Museum is open Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The museum offers school and group organizational tours that can be scheduled by calling the Ft. Wright city building.
The museum welcomes new artifacts and memorabilia to be donated or contributed on loan for its exhibits and research.
–nkytribune.com
###
