Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Getting to Know A Postal Museum Director

Gary Levitt of Delphos, Ohio is featured in an article titled "Getting to Know A Postal Museum Director" that appears on the Delphos Times Bulletin website.

Reporter Ed Gebert pens, "Levitt, a former Delphos postmaster, is now the director of the Museum of Postal History on Main St. in Delphos. The project began after a 60th anniversary celebration of that city's post office building back in 1993. A makeshift series of displays was assembled in the 2,200 sq. ft. lower level of the post office. "

Levitt remembered, "We didn't have any money. We took some two-by-fours, routed out a little edge and found some old storm windows, and that became the display case!"

According to the article, "The idea to begin a more traditional museum soon followed, and after two years of negotiations, Levitt got the approval to do it. After nine months of work, the original version of the Museum of Postal History opened in 1995. However, putting together displays quickly on an almost non-existent budget took its toll."

It goes on to say, "Today, the Museum of Postal History is housed in a 11,112 sq. ft. building, offering plenty of room for displays and improvements. Levitt freely says that there is much work to do still, but already there is much to see. There are stamps, of course, but the museum looks at how delivering the mail helped establish and expand this country."

"As with any museum," writes Gebert, "funding is tight. The museum has no admission charge, so to help raise the $32,000 in basic expenses for each year, Levitt takes off his museum director hat and puts on a travel agent cap, hosting motorcoach trips that offer special entertainment and information from one or more of Levitt's many friends and acquaintances."

Shown above, Gary Levitt.

To read the entire article, click here.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 AM