NDGA National Glass Museum - Move-in, December 2011

December 1, 2011 was the first day for the NDGA National Glass Museum. A volunteer crew, listed at the left, arrived at the Museum and immediately began the task of moving 23 display cases into the empty building. The cases were purchased from an antique mall in Ohio that had consolidated its three locations into one. The cases were purchased at an extremely favorable Museum front window rate and had to be moved almost immediately from the mall. Danny Cornelius and Don Jones managed to get a large, (26'), rental truck, and with the help of Carolyn and Glen Robinson loaded it with eighteen cases, then loaded their vans with the remaining five cases. All three vehicles were tightly packed, that's for sure.

All of the display cases were unloaded on December 1, starting in the afternoon and continuing until well after dark. The following day, December 2, the crew began the next step of a very busy weekend. Using the truck as well as a van or two, plus a pickup and trailer, the two storage units containing the National Glass Collection were emptied and moved to its new location. In moving the collection we also had to move some seriously large storage shelving units built by Fred Meyer and his crew previously. It took two trips from Wichita, (where the collection had been stored), to Wellington to empty those storage units and transport all of the contents to the Museum.

With everything transferred to the Museum, the next step, (December 3), was to reconfigure the storage units in such a way that they would fit in the new building, which was obviously not shaped like the storage units. A crew supervised by Fred, began working together to partially disassemble, cut, and reconstruct the units so that the National Glass Collection could be properly stored in its new home.

A few shelves still needed to be reconfigured by the end of the day on December 3rd, so the project continued on the 4th to completion. We still need to do the following before the Museum is opened to the public; all of the display cases still need to be rewired for lighting to be compatible with the Museum set up, then placed and leveled, and then clean all of the glass doors and shelves. The initial move-in was accomplished in four long days, and the NDGA National Glass Museum is that much closer to being a reality for us all to see.

Here is another slide show, featuring photographs taken during the initial move-in. You'll see the display cases being hauled in, and the over 300 tubs containing the National Glass collection being shuffled from storage units to the Museum. You'll see the many folks who volunteered their time and energy to make it all happen, including some Wellington citizens who showed up unsolicited. (Ryan Hilt and sons Adam, Isaac and Nathan, and Frank and Wendy Johnson, Amanda Parmenter and Jeremiah Dupuy.) The "coast to Coast" move-in crew included Linda & David Adams from Nevada, Carolyn & Glen Robinson from South Carolina, Pam & Fred Meyer from Texas, Danny Cornelius and Don Jones from Ohio, Sarah Van Dalsem from Oklahoma, the Wellington locals, and other 'locals' Carol McEwen and Linda Bredengerd from Wichita.

The last few slides, as well as the photo at the top of this page, were taken in the week following the initial move-in. Cabinets were moved to their proper place, the shelves for storage were completed (they're behind the display cases at the back of the room) and the containers were moved onto the storage shelves. The place is looking a lot more like a museum, but there is still a whole lot of work to be done before the grand opening. Meanwhile, enjoy the show.

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NDGA National Glass Museum - Move-in, December 2011