Dear Friends:
The P. Buckley Moss
Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia, is celebrating its 20th anniversary
this year. I feel like a mother watching her child achieve a milestone
birthday.
The P. Buckley Moss Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary this
year. It’s pictured here after a recent snowfall.
Beautiful!
The Museum grounds are especially lovely when covered
in snow, and there is a wonderful view of the mountains from the backside
of the Museum. It sits on a hill that just begs for children to
bring their sleds and have a ride down.
I remember when the City of Waynesboro offered the property to me for
purchase and how excited I was when I first looked at it and saw its
potential. I almost changed my mind when construction started
in the fall of 1988, however. It rained and rained and rained.
Construction was delayed, and the hole for the basement was filled with
water. I visited the construction site with the Museum’s
first director Peter Rippe one day in late November or early December.
I wore my tall boots and heavy coat with a big fur collar. We
had to walk up the hill to the site, because any vehicle we may have
driven would have been stuck in the mud. We almost got stuck in
the mud on foot as it was! We all had a stressful Christmas worrying
if we would be able to open the Museum by our target date, which we
did. The Museum was dedicated on May 10, 1989, and we’ve
been going strong ever since!
The P. Buckley Moss Museum as it looked while under construction.
That’s me on the left and the Museum’s first director Peter
Rippe on the right.
As part of our 20th anniversary celebration, we have
decided to reward a monthly mystery guest with a prize of a $50.00 gift
certificate. The gift certificates will be given from February
through December, 2009. We have chosen in advance a day and a
visitor number for each remaining month this year. On that chosen
day each month, our receptionist on duty will count the visitors and
identify the visitor who matches the previously chosen visitor number.
For example, if February 19th is the chosen day and visitor number 6
is the chosen visitor, the receptionist will present the 6th visitor
on February 19th with a package containing the gift certificate.
The randomly selected dates and visitor numbers are known only to a
select few staff members—and they cannot be bribed! Of course,
they are also ineligible to win the prize.
In addition to our 20th Anniversary Monthly Mystery Winner, we will
also award a grand prize of a $500.00 gift certificate to the Museum
Gift Shop to the 600,000th visitor to walk through the front door of
the Museum.
So, come by often and visit. Maybe you will be the Monthly
Mystery Winner or, better yet, the 600,000th visitor and Grand Prize
Winner.
This weekend I’m hosting a meeting of the Board of Directors of
the P. Buckley Moss Society
at my home in St. Petersburg, Florida. The weather couldn’t
be more perfect for them, and I’m so much looking forward to seeing
everyone again. Board President Mary Lou McMillin and Secretary
Sally Gobrecht are coming two days early so we can do some talking and
exchange ideas. The Board of Directors are all volunteers who
give so much of their time, energy, and talent for the love of children.
I’m very grateful for their dedication.
The Society’s
group trip this year is a ten-day cruise on the Mediterranean that
will leave from Rome, Italy, on June 28 and return to Rome on July 8.
As many of you know, my daughter Becky lives in Cortona, Italy, and
I have a house there with an etching studio. I’m going to
fly to Italy a couple weeks before the cruise so that Becky and I can
work on some more etchings together. She’s my assistant
on etchings.
Last year we produced a monochrome etching of Pinocchio
that was inspired by Italian author Carlo Collodi’s story The
Adventures of Pinocchio that was published in 1883. I bet
most of you thought he was a Disney creation! I’ve been
remarquing some of the etchings while I’ve been in Florida, adding
color to the original monochrome theme.
I think the remarques have turned out really cute. I’ve
made Pinocchio’s jacket red and his hat and stockings yellow.
I’ve also been working on the painting for the
special print edition that will be released during my April
Barn Show and Museum Open House. It features Osceola
Mill in Steele’s Tavern, Virginia, which is near Lexington.
The water-powered mill was built in 1849 by Cyrus McCormick, who is
famous for inventing the reaper. McCormick also built McCormick’s
Mill, which I have featured in several prints. The Osceola
Mill was originally part of McCormick’s farm and was the largest
of seven mills. Only two of the seven mills remain. Osceola
was active as a mill from 1849 until 1969, when Hurricane Camille put
an end to its use as a working mill. Today, the mill is a bed
and breakfast and fine dining restaurant.
This work in progress features Osceola Mill in Steele’s Tavern,
VA, and will be released as a print during my April Barn Show and Museum
Open House, April 24-26.
Love,
Pat