MARCONI MUSEUM GETS REPRIEVE

Thanks to all who showed concern, the Marconi Museum was granted a reprieve by the Bedford Town Council at its November 19th meeting, extending the date of eviction to August 1, 2004 if all required work is not completed by that date.

The Museum Lease requires that its building - a former four-room school, town office, court, and police station - be kept in good repair. The town notified Ray Minichiello, Museum Director, last July, that the building's exterior needed painting, and the "widows walk" railing on the roof needed repairs. Unfortunately the work being done by volunteers was never completed, so the Town sent the Museum an eviction notice on October 31, 2003, effective December 10th.

In its reprieve, the Council has instructed the Town Manager, with the help of professionals, to make a list of the needed exterior repairs. This list and the required quality of work will be provided to the Museum in an agreement to be signed by both parties by December 10th, with repairs to be completed by August 1, 2004, or eviction will proceed with no further notice.

The Marconi Museum is one of only two in the world, the other one being in Italy. Mr. Minichiello gathered this collection, inherited from his father, and began restoring the building here in Bedford in 1995. He repaired the roof and all interior damage, rebuilt walls, and constructed the exhibits and 3 new bathrooms. Currently, an exterior handicapped accessible ramp, estimated to be worth $60,000 when it is completed, is being built by Derek Worden as his Eagle Scout Project.

The Museum houses a priceless original spark transmitter built by Marconi in 1898, old photos, radios of many vintages, primitive radio tubes and batteries, and a huge library of documents dating from the late 1800's, for historical radio technology research. Mr. Minichiello's personal investment in this treasure is reported to be over $100,000.

BTA asks members and others worldwide who have an interest in radio history to consider helping the Museum in some way. This is not a political endeavor, and no political group is responsible for the Museum fundraising.

If you want to help in the Museum's building exterior maintenance project by donating labor, materials, or a tax-deductible contribution, please fill out the form below and send it to Ray Minichiello, Marconi Museum, 18 North Amherst Road, Bedford, NH, 03110. You may call him at 603-472-8312, or fax him at 603-472-3622, or e-mail him at raymin@marconiusa.org

I will help repair by donating: Quality Paint ___ Clapboards___
Lumber___ Nails___ Scrapers___ Paint Brushes___ Rollers___
Staging___ Trained Labor___ My Labor for Scraping___ Cleanup___
Hauling Items___ Raking___ Pruning___ Other______________
Monetary Gift: $5___ $10___ $15___ $20___ $25___
$50___ $75___ $100___ Other $________________

Name(s)_____________________________________Tel: ________

Address_________________________________________________

Please make check/money order payable to MARCONI FOUNDATION, USA.
All donations are fully tax-deductible.