Hartsville Musem feels pain of vandalism

It is never easy to figure out why some people are so absolutely STUPID. Why would anyone with any kind of thought process find it amusing to destroy. The people who help preserve Hartsville’s past are trying to figure that out. Thom went into the Hartsville Museum on Saturday and found that the “Byerly Baby” statue had been horribly vandalized. Today, when you go by the garden between the Museum and the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce you will notice the head missing from the statue, which used to frolic in the Rose Garden at The Byerly Hospital.

In this blog the subject is community building and community thinking and one thing we all understand is that our community is strong because of the links to our past. Those at the Hartsville Museum are protectors of this past and they feel, as I am certain do a great many people in the community, a sense of betrayal by the senseless vandalism. These kind of senseless acts bring out the not-nice side of some of us, wishing that we might be able to use those who do things like this as punching bags for an hour or two or three or… In my case, I am thinking of a Twilight Zone type of retribution that has the spirits of the Byerly babies haunting the person’s nights so that every time they close their eyes for sleep another macabre scream shocks them awake. I know, too much thinking about retribution takes away from the continued building that needs to be accomplished.

The trip over to the Museum did uncover a great deal of activity that is ongoing in the efforts of protecting and promoting our past. Penny Anthony said orders are coming in for a book the Museum has published called Postcards from the Hartsville Museum Collection. The books will be available in November and they are selling for $22.95.

Kathy Dunlap, Director of the Hartsville Museum, also noted that progress is now being made on the annex the Museum is developing across Fifth Street from the Museum. The Hartsville Design and Review Board has signed off on the plans for the new façade and the Museum is going forward with the renovation of this space in two Phases. Fundraising has provided enough funds to get Phase One off the ground and the Museum personnel are confident that they will also be able to raise the funds for Phase Two in the near future. Their renovation plans for the buildings took a hit with the economic downturn and this news that things are again moving forward is good news for the community.