By Debra Herndon
The Bice Ferguson Memorial Museum opens May 8 th with a new feature. Eighty nine antique frames holding 105 images of Shinnston and the surrounding area make up a gallery in the museum’s meeting room.
This group of images have been donated by Dr. Paul Skinner. A graduate of Lincoln High School, some older residents may remember Paul when he worked as a bag boy at the A&P store. Paul always had a love of the history of the area and invested many hours talking to older residents.
As his education and successful career progressed, he was able to start buying and restoring items and photographs of his hometown and state.
Many of the images featured at the Museum are a fusion of technology, art and history.
Skinner uses artificial intelligence to enhance and restore images as well as add color to the pictures. He stated, “My goal is for people to feel like they are there, in Shinnston the way it was in the past.”
Another of Paul’s passions is in restoring older objects, especially picture frames. The eclectic pictures is beautifully framed in tones of gold and browns and black.
To celebrate this gift, the Museum will hold a scavenger hunt quiz. Test your knowledge of local history by matching the clues to the images in the collection. Those with a passing score will be entered in a drawing for a $100 gasoline gift card. The drawing will be held June 27 th at 12:30.
The Museum is open 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday and by appointment at 304-677-6650.
