Currently at the Memorial & Museum
Preserving History...
Museum Artifacts Tell a Story
February 18, 2011
The Museum’s Gallery of Honor highlights the individuals who were killed in the bombing. Family members were asked to provide a photograph and an item from their loved one’s life to be placed in a shadow box. Each photograph and object offers a small glimpse of that person’s life, but these artifacts are vital to telling the story of the bombing.
Displayed in the box of J. Colleen Guiles is a handwritten recipe. Daughters Lorri Thomas and Lanna Carpenter said the family chose this recipe for the box because, Mom loved to bake especially for family, friends and co-workers. Everyone at HUD always received a cake or pastry for his/her birthday from her. Whenever she found a good recipe to jot down, she would grab a scrap piece of paper out of her purse. Deposit slips were her favorite. This recipe was one of our favorites and we wanted to share it with you.
Over the years this treasured recipe began to show signs of fading. Both natural and artificial light are very damaging to documents and artifacts. Light can cause paper to bleach, yellow, or darken, weaken and embrittle its cellulose fibers, and cause media and dyes used in documents, photographs, and art works to fade or change color. Light damage is cumulative and irreversible. For preservation, Archives staff removed the recipe and replaced it with a reproduction. The original handwritten recipe is now stored for safekeeping in acid-free paper in an acid-free folder in the Museum’s climate controlled collections storage room.
As part of the Memorial Museum’s five year conservation and exhibits plan to ensure the long term preservation of sensitive artifacts and documents on exhibit, a schedule is in place to systematically rotate paper artifacts that have been on display with other artifacts from the collection.
Visit the Memorial Museum and experience the story of One City, One Nation, One Resolve.
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