Museum support

To the editor:

I am writing in regard to the situation at the Watkins Community Museum.

After hearing Steve Jansen speak at two recent events on the history of the Oread Neighborhood, and again on Langston Hughes’ boyhood years in Lawrence, I am convinced that a great mistake would be made if the Lawrence community allowed this man to be removed from his post at the Watkins Museum.

Steve Jansen is not only a community treasure, he is also a good and decent man who has selflessly devoted his time and energy to the research and preservation of the history of Lawrence-Douglas County. Together with his equally dedicated mainly volunteer staff, he has kept an invaluable, irreplaceable community resource available to citizens and tourists alike.

Should he leave, I fear that Watkins Museum would no longer be a non-profit entity but a business venture, operated by business-minded people without the knowledge and concern for the body of work contained in the museum that Mr. Jansen currently brings to it.

There are steps that can be taken to prevent this. Along with increased donations, letters to the current president of the board of directors in support of Mr. Jansen could open the door to encouraging the decision-makers to think more seriously about their budget operations. Grant-funding and foundation monies are surely available for museums like ours. Annual fund-raisers can bring in much-needed dollars and focus attention on the importance of the museum.

Has the board even tried?

Marilyn G. Roy,

Lawrence