"If at first you don't succeed, try try again" seems to be the rally cry/ motto for Mr. Cross. I'm curious, do the other members of the " friends" feel the same way or is this a one man band, so to speak. There has been good faith negotiation on this issue and all parties have reached agreement. At this point, I don't want my tax dollars going to defend another silly lawsuit brought by people who didn't like the agreed upon outcome. If Mr. Cross starts down this path, I would support a petition calling for the sale of the mansion. This is simply a fight that is costing the citizens of St. Joseph too much money, time and dividing our community. If the council, Musuems Inc, Friends of the Museum can't figure this out, let the voters decide.

i don't really think that joe blumberg is ruining his credibility, crazy. mr. blumberg has a well deserved and earned reputation for fair and surgically concise reporting. as to the museum contract, i do agree with mr. cross (rarely) on the issue of a non-competitive posturing with respect to the management of the WT. furthermore, i object to the allocation of funds to the nature center as proposed by the CM. it is of concern that on many occasions it appears that the CM and others in museums inc circumvent the oversight committee which is vital to the continued operation of the taxpayer supported corporation, and to the taxpayers.

Based on my personal experience, I think Ellis Cross is an okay guy. He certainly isn’t the complete and total whack job most people believe. Ellis is just myopic. He is under the mistaken impression that most citizens of Saint Joseph feel like him and his fifteen or so “Friends.” Even at its fervent peak the Tootle Mansion mess was a 10/10/80 deal. 10% of the population felt very strongly one way or the other while 80% didn’t know or care. Now I would say that percentage has dropped to 4/4/92.

Of course Ellis, who believes he is going to ride this crusade to the City Council, would say he is only trying to protect us from ourselves. If he doesn’t protect our heritage, who will? I say “Yawn.” I ask “Who is going to protect us from Ellis Cross?” Mostly Ellis reminds me of a little kid who has been turned down by Mummy. Time to go ask Daddy!! And if Daddy turns me down there is always Grammy and Pop Pop.

Let it go Ellis. Go back to curating your apartments. Your 15 minutes are over.

Why is this such a big deal?

lamplighter, the infamous reverter clause would come into play if the city were to discontinue the use of the mansion as a museum. the mansion would then be for sale by museums, inc, or the entity which is currently under contract to manage the municipal museum. that would not be satisfactory.

mayor allison, i can't believe i am about to agree with you. yes, there is a large faction which really couldn't give a darn about this issue. that group is also highly unlikely to vote. if mr. cross is planning a run for ms. starr's district, i believe that he may actually be making a good move in projecting himself as the poster child (i don't think so) for preservation. the local landmark district neighborhoods are becoming much more owner occupied, and slum landlords can't vote. the slum landlord's tenants are likely to stay home on election day. ms. starr has consistently backed her constituency, and i congratulate her on her championing of the poor. however, i am a bit tired of picking up the trash, dirty diapers, fixing broken windows on my home due to utter lack of parental supervision....... to coin a phrase of yours, "maybe i should run, how hard can it be?" oh, let me think..... no WAY.

How hard can it be indeed? I have, however, come up with a new tagline that better encapsulates my mayoral aspirations and qualifications. Henry Allison for Mayor: WHY THE HECK NOT?!

St. Joseph pettiness continues as it has seemingly forever. There were the Libarary Wars, and the Law Enforcement Center Squabble (Public Safety vs. Public Safety - brilliant!), and the entire City Manager vs. Mayor embarrassemnts. This Museum matter is yet another group of (hopefully) well-intentioned factions, each more interested in their own agendas than of the good of the city.

but henry, i only called you mayor because your namesake? was indeed a former mayor of stjo. come on mr. allison, might as well lay your cards on the table, or some people might want to change that slogan of yours to simply WHY?

Oh! St. Joe!

Wyeth Tootle history:

Will Goetz put up half the money to buy the property if the private St. Joseph Museum organization could raise the other half. The SJM did. The SJM deeded the property to the City with the provision that the SJM would receive the municipal tax money to run the municipal museum. If they either vacated the property because it was not feasable to have a museum there, or if the SJM did not receive the tax money the property would revert to the St. Joseph Museum (a private corporation.) Then, the SJM could do what they pleased with the property

There you have it. The property at 1100 Charles is ultimately an asset of the SJM. It was Will Goetz's way of providing stability to the private museum organization in case the City pulled the rug out from under them. That you can take to the bank, and the courts will back you up.

Mr. Goetz would be appalled that the W-T is still being used as a museumn after 60 years. Folks get over it and put all your leftover fireworks in it and conclude the feud.

A more constructive approach to this entire issue would be for everyone involve to find common ground and work on new solutions of progressing the Museums forward in increasing membership, visitors, and presenting more to display. Change the present paradigm on day to day business. All museums in St Joe are passing by on opportunities out there to market and sell themselves as one united organizational showpiece to become the "Smithsonian of the Midwest." Instead of attacking people and boards over issues that get nowhere, my suggestion would be to focus on what can be done for the future to move forward and increase the presence to encourage more of the public locally, nationally, and worldwide to visit.
I find it perplexing that out of a city of over 73,000, Museum Inc only has 250 in its membership. There needs to be a huge increase in public support as well to drive things forward.
Small groups while having good intentions also need to really engage the public as to what they are after and what is the ultimate goal.
So my questions to "Friends of the Museums" are these, What are you really after? What is your goal for all this? Are you really speaking for the entire public?

Maybe we could move all those museums out to the new mall....

;-)

I guess no one from the group really cared to answer my questions. Tells me they are on a specific agenda that is counter productive and in my view it is another attempt by a group of individuals to control things and hold progression back.

This is exactly why progression forward is very slow in this city. Friends of the Museum I am a member of the public and you do not speak for me when you address council and I will challenge your cause.