Baker Family Museum

I drove about 100 miles today, almost in a full circle, but I did end up a little further west, in Zanesville. I am taking it even easier than usual because Mother can't meet me in Omaha until June 4, to join me for the last part of the trip.

The gem for today was the Baker Family Museum in Caldwell. The more than 100,000 items in the museum were collected (accumulated?) over 70 years by a brother and sister who never married. The brother died a few years ago, but the sister is still living at age 94. A niece spent 4 years to pack and move the items from the 700-acre farm, catalog them, and set up the museum. There were over 1500 boxes. I am amazed that she did it that quickly, after what I experienced with my father's estate. Highlights:

• 1000s of pieces of glassware, much from local companies including Cambridge, Heisey, Fenton, Westmorland, and Degenhart
• pottery, including many pieces of art pottery, from Weller, Shawnee, Roseville, McCoy, and many others from around the world
  
• toys, large scale model trains
• glass oil lamps
• an entire case of pocket watches
• 3 cases of antique rifles and handguns
  
• hand painted porcelain, including a gorgeous demitasse set from R.S. Prussia
• an entire room of Americana

I asked about a lovely old china washbowl/pitcher set, painted with a large area of purple color. It was purchased from the estate of actress Agnes Moorehead, who grew up in the area. She had a house here, but died a year before she planned to retire to it. She loved purple. In every episode of "Bewitched" she wore some shade of purple somewhere.

It is hard to convey the quantity of items of each type without seeing the museum in person. Truly mind-boggling. It is easily worth millions. I rate this museum 2 3/4 rather than 3, only because the items are not identified to the visitor as to maker. Although that might be difficult to accomplish, given that each display case is quite full, and tags might be distracting.

I recovered after lunch and set off to see The Wilds, North America's largest conservation Facility, covering more than 10,000 acres of reclaimed surface-mined land, now home to over 25 species of Asian African, and North American wildlife. Think of the San Diego Wild Animal Park, with more land. I drove 6 miles on an access road to reach the "Welcome Center," only to find that it is open only on weekends in May. Bummer! On the way back out, I nearly hit a deer that ran out right in front of my car. So much for conservation. And to think I skipped seeing the "Big Muskie Bucket" in Miner's Memorial Park. It weighs 460,000 pounds empty, and its volume equals a 12-car garage.