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America’s
story is a tale told by a thousand tongues – of immigrants,
slaves, Natives, and refugees. Without their stories, we
would not know who we are or by what roads we have traveled.
We would not have learned any lessons. The stories contain the
sorrows and hopes, the shame and the daring of a nation, but they
do not come to us ready made. We owe a debt to those who
have listened to the stories; who have gathered the knowledge,
translated, interpreted and preserved it. This priceless
coin of our historical life blood is stored in banks we can all
draw upon.
Strawbery
Banke is one such repository. It celebrates its 50th
birthday in 2008, an era marked by a distinctively heroic tale of
persistent visionaries who were determined to preserve a
neighborhood slated for destruction. From its earliest days as a
tidal estuary inhabited by fishermen, boat builders, tavern
keepers and the like, to its days as a salvage yard, a red light
district and community of homeowners, tenants, shopkeepers and
factory workers, Strawbery Banke was home to a peculiarly American
blend of races, cultures and classes that shaped our national
destiny. Its authenticity and vibrancy as a living history
museum must not be taken for granted, nor can we afford to limit
its potential to move from preservation and interpretation to new
and innovative, inspirational and interactive learning
experiences. Indeed, all eyes are fixed expectantly on the next 50
years.
The
challenge to endow in perpetuity what thousands of donors have
made flourish requires leadership and philanthropy. To
launch education programs, to maintain buildings, to attract and
keep senior staff, to prosper the health and longevity of the
mission, requires building the endowment: augmenting the current
$4 million by $16 million. Such an endowment will carry a
third of the budget in less than five years. Such an
endowment will free the Museum to pursue with confidence its
mission to delight visitors with the discovery inherent in
history.
Endowment
supporters recognize that:
A
loyal staff cultivates fresh ideas, leadership, long-term
memory, innovation, confidence in their own abilities and love of
the work and mission of the Museum. We would endow a
Director of Education, a Curator of Landscapes and Horticulture,
an Archaeologist, a Curator of Fine and Decorative Arts, a
Preservationist, and a Preservation Carpenter,. In addition
we would seek support for interpreters and role players and
provide funds for interns, investing in hands-on experience for
tomorrow’s scholars.
Programs
are fundamental. Yearly exhibitions at our new Collections Center,
fresh education programs that meet state curriculum standards for
its 12,000 annual school visitors will combine to inspire high
visitation and gain visibility for the Museum as a center of
learning.
Special
Funds encourage innovation, enhance existing programs, and
augment staff. They offer openings for consultants and
surveys, the capacity to respond to unanticipated opportunities,
seed money for special projects, acquisitions, and conservation.
Strawbery
Banke’s 37 buildings serve as stages upon which its history
is performed. Their maintenance is crucial. It would be
impossible to endow them all within the scope of this Campaign;
however, the endowment will provide for regular and necessary
painting, repair and care of all historic structures.
In its role as
custodian of our common history, Strawbery Banke is responsible
for making the telling of that history fun, relevant, meaningful
and dramatic. America’s collective past resonates with
the harsh realities of slavery, racism, and war. Our
forebears suffered their own plagues and epidemics; and they,
too, bore the consequences of choices made about food production
and consumption, modes of transportation, and waste management.
In old songs, literature, and games we discover ourselves,
befriending the past as we change it. "If I have seen
further,” Isaac Newton famously said, “it is by standing on
the shoulders of Giants." Strawbery Banke invites you
to give generously so others can stand and see.
Campaign Chairman: Martha Fuller Clark
Campaign Committee Members: Zachary E. Slater, Bruce D. Montgomery, Katie W. Wheeler
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