There's nothing like trying to prove the intent of a dead person.
>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
>****** Living History . . . Because It's There ******
>
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