The Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa plans to re-open this spring, but it might not be around for long. According to a Des Moines Register report, the museum has less than $10,000 in the bank and fewer than 100 members.
“Unless we have some donors and some people who really want to step up, it won’t survive the summer,” museum board President Brandon Sawalich told the paper.
According to the article, Bob Feller was a driving force behind the museum’s fundraising efforts while he was alive. Feller was able to bring in other Hall of Fame members for autograph signing events at a reduced fee by agreeing to appear at their events. “With his passing, the business model is just not working,” museum board member Bob DiBiasio told the paper.
While officials are exploring options to keep the museum open, it sounds like anyone who wants to see it should make plans to go this spring.
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That’s a shame. It has been on the list of baseball attractions I want to visit for some time, but there’s just not a whole lot around there…hard to justify going just for that museum. I realize the purpose of the site, but perhaps moving it near Cleveland and possibly expanding the exhibits to include other players would help keep it open?
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Wow, that’s too bad. I was lucky enough to visit there back in 2010 and it was definitely worth going to, and not too far from the Iowa Cubs. Maybe they can get involved somehow. All the best to them, and I hope they can find a way to stay open.
-Mike
My visit:
http://minoringinbaseball.com/2010/05/09/2010-baseball-trip-day-2-van-meter-ia/
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It looks like an interesting place to visit, but probably not special enough for many people to make an extra effort to see it. It would be nice if they can find a way to resolve their money issues and keep the connection to local history alive, though.
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I’m really not surprised. I went there a few years back and was not that impressed. It is tiny. While it was ten times better than Babe Ruth’s birthplace, there was really nothing there to bring me back for a second visit.
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One way to go might be setting up a small permanent display at the local library, community center or municipal building & sending the rest of the material to Cleveland where more people would be likely to see it.
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