CSS Jackson All I Wanted Was A Small Piece Of Wood.

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I took my 87 years old Dad to my brothers in Statesboro Ga. for Fathers Day. When we left yesterday I told we were NOT going back thru the Atlanta traffic. He said we were so I had to hold my breath and pitch a hissy fit but in the end I won. We came home thru Columbus as I was on a mission. I have been trying to acquire wood from the CSS Jackson for almost 4 years to no avail. When I talked to them on the phone and sent emails I was told no, so I tried a different approach. When we got there I got my dad setup in a power scooter and we toured the museum. After getting him tooling around I went and saw the director and I ask her how would I go about donating 3 to 4K a year to the place. I had her attention:D. I explained to her the way Dr. Gary donates the Civil War Witness pens free of charge to the various museum to sell in their gift shops as long as the money goes to preservation. She listened ask a few questions and then called the conservator to come in the office. I went thru it with him and he said come on let me show you our latest project. He took me out back to a big building and there lay the fantail. The are getting ready to preserve it and he said the needed funds, BAM I set the hook. Long story short when they start on it he said he believed there would be some wood to use for the pens. Its not like they don't have the wood.
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Sound like a good deal, I know I'd love a pen made of wood from a Confederate ironclad.

But to be honest, I've never understood how they could leave that piece out there for so long. If its been out there a long as they've had CSS Jackson indoors its a disgrace, especially when you look at the extremely costly Water Witch fiasco.
 
Mr. Smooth strikes again and using your Father to grease the skids was pure genius...:thumbsup:

They thought I was trying to get wood to make pens to sell them for myself, I told them that neither me nor Dr. Gary need to sell pens and loading Dad up in his 65k car didn't hurt either:D
 
As a CSN historian I'm going to stick my oar in here and say that CSS Jackson's timber should stay right where it is, worthy though your intentions may be. I'll also agree that the money spent on the "Waterwitch fake" would have been far better spent on full research into the origins, construction and conservation of the Jackson.
In that context, if I were you ,I would make absolutely 100% legally binding that any monies you donated would be used for a particular purpose.
 
As a CSN historian I'm going to stick my oar in here and say that CSS Jackson's timber should stay right where it is, worthy though your intentions may be. I'll also agree that the money spent on the "Waterwitch fake" would have been far better spent on full research into the origins, construction and conservation of the Jackson.
In that context, if I were you ,I would make absolutely 100% legally binding that any monies you donated would be used for a particular purpose.

I understand you position but if you had seen what I saw out in the storage building you might change your mind. There was wood stacked everywhere and the conservator said they didn't really know where it went. They need funds to restore the fantail which IMHO they should have done that before the Water Witch boondoggle. The fantail is gorgeous and should be preserved. I would gladly cut off a finger to save my hand:D
 
I understand you position but if you had seen what I saw out in the storage building you might change your mind. There was wood stacked everywhere and the conservator said they didn't really know where it went. They need funds to restore the fantail which IMHO they should have done that before the Water Witch boondoggle. The fantail is gorgeous and should be preserved. I would gladly cut off a finger to save my hand:D
"The conservator said they didn't really know where it went" I am totally gobsmacked. All I can say is Robert Holcombe, come back out of retirement PLEASE. Is there any one in the benighted place who actually knows what a CSN ironclad is for F*****S sake?
 
In his defense there were small pieces 2 - 4 long 3 to 4 inches thick with broken and burnt ends that were stacked up and how you would know where they actually went on the boat is beyond me.
 
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