COLLECTING declining, not just collections

[Thomas Lammers]

At 02:14 PM 4/18/03 -0400, Ron Gatrelle wrote:
>It has also apparently not yet occurred to anyone that the pillaging was by
>the staff itself.  The first story was that it was just general looters and
>ignorant theives.  Now it is being reported that it was by professionals
>who knew exactly what they were doing as they had keys and fork
>lifts.  You bet they did.  I can't wait for the FBI to get there
>(replacing the press)
>as the first suspects will be THE STAFF!!!!!.   If it looks like an inside
>job - IT IS.  Ooops, I forgot, museum staffs are all angels though and have
>never stolen, nor would steal, from their esteemed institutions.

Yes, it was most likely the staff.  But perhaps they did it to SAFEGUARD
the objects?  Perhaps they were aware of rumors/reports of objets d'art
that American GIs carted home from Europe in WWII?  Were the Red Army
descending on my herbarium and I had the chance, I'd bundle up my types and
take them with me, just to be safe.  Perhaps the curators carted off the
good stuff and hid it, awaiting a more certain future.  I'll not judge them
till we have more info.


Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and biogeography
of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
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"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
                                                               -- Anonymous