Sound familiar??
HBC
>>________________________________________________________________
>>Billings Gazette 11/30/99
>>State museum refuses to give up historic pistol
>>Donor's son claims gift wasn't permanent
>>
>>Associated Press
>>MALTA (AP) - One of the ivory-handled Colt .45s used by a
>>turn-of-the-century horse and cattle rustler is the center of a dispute
>>between the state and the family of the man who provided it to the Montana
>>Historical Society years ago.
>>Jim Watkins, 78, says his father, Alfred Watkins, obtained "Dutch" Henry
>>Ieuch's revolver as a gift from Ieuch in 1905 and sent it to the historical
>>society in 1962. A few months ago, Watkins decided it was time to
>>retrieve the pistol so it
>>could be displayed at the Phillips County Museum in Malta, but the
>state-run historical society won't return it.
>>Administrators say the elder Watkins provided the pistol as a permanent
>gift, not a loan. They have suggested that the younger Watkins talk to the
>>society's board of trustees, which will meet on Jan. 13 in Helena.
>>"I just know Dad would've never given it away," Watkins said. "He wanted to
>>keep it in the family. It was such a prized possession to him it was
>>inconceivable to assume he would part with it permanently."
>>The Phillips County Historical Society and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
>>have formally voiced support for Watkins. State Rep. Sam Kitzenberg,
>>R-Glasgow, has written a strongly worded complaint to the state historical
>>society about how it has handled the matter.
>>The state's records indicate the gun was a permanent gift, but none of the
>>documents contains a statement or signature from Alfred Watkins to that
>>effect. "This item belongs, in our view, to the state of Montana, and you
>>can't
>>simply give away assets," said the society's director, Arnie Olsen.
>>"We want to do right by the family, but on the other hand we simply can't -
>>just because somebody asks for something - just take it out of the
>permanent collection and give it away."
****************************************
Henry B. Crawford Box 43191
Curator of History Museum of Texas Tech University
[log in to unmask] Lubbock, TX 79409-3191
806/742-2442 FAX 742-1136
Website: http://www.ttu.edu/~museum
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