Gordon MacQuarrie Pilgrimage

[Kevin McCormack]

Wow, what great stuff! I have been a museum freak for over 50 years and am lucky to live within 25 miles of Washington, DC, so have the "biggest and best" contenders in the museum world to visit (Smithsonian complexes, National Endowment for the Arts, National Portrait Gallery, Udvar Hazy Air Museum etc.). But in my experience the smaller museums in the hinterlands often hold much greater allure. Some of the very best I remember visiting are the Annie Oakley museum in Greenville OH (housed in the same mansion as the Lowell Thomas museum), the Islenos Museum in St. Bernard LA (dedicated to the Canary Islanders who settled there in 1778), and the Whalehead Museum in Corolla NC, dedicated to the waterfowling culture of the Outer Bank's Currituck Sound. Your excursion sounds like a great road trip! Neat way to wind up the summer!

[mobirdhunter]

Kevin, I could not agree more about the smaller museums and historical societies. A couple of years ago, I got permission to examine (and clean) an L. C. Smith Pigeon gun used by Fred Gilbert. What a wonderful collection the Dickenson County Museum has. I've done programs for some of our local historical societies, always a pleasure. We need to support these smaller venues that have sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to continue operation.

I'm proud to be a member of the Old Duck Hunters Association, Inc. (Inc. for Incorrigibles).

Support your local historical society! (And consider joining the Old Duck Hunters.)

Originally Posted by Kevin McCormack

Wow, what great stuff! I have been a museum freak for over 50 years and am lucky to live within 25 miles of Washington, DC, so have the "biggest and best" contenders in the museum world to visit (Smithsonian complexes, National Endowment for the Arts, National Portrait Gallery, Udvar Hazy Air Museum etc.). But in my experience the smaller museums in the hinterlands often hold much greater allure. Some of the very best I remember visiting are the Annie Oakley museum in Greenville OH (housed in the same mansion as the Lowell Thomas museum), the Islenos Museum in St. Bernard LA (dedicated to the Canary Islanders who settled there in 1778), and the Whalehead Museum in Corolla NC, dedicated to the waterfowling culture of the Outer Bank's Currituck Sound. Your excursion sounds like a great road trip! Neat way to wind up the summer!