Coffee with the Curator!

A new Coffee with the Curator program at The Manassas Museum on June 11
offered more than 40 visitors a special chance to see unusual artifacts that
will be part of the upcoming exhibit, Collecting the Civil War, opening on
June 30.

Mary Helen Dellinger, the museum's curator, talked about a piece of a rail
car that survived the 1862 raid on Manassas by Confederate General Thomas J.
"Stonewall" Jackson.

She also displayed two examples of Confederate currency, sharing that during
the Civil War, Confederate women were hired to hand-sign each note, ensuring
its authenticity.

City resident Mark Olsen loaned the museum a metal spur he found in the
ground while landscaping at the corner of Main Street and Portner Avenue
more than 10 years ago.

There was also a signal lantern and an unusual Enfield rifle, on loan from Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Leigh, Jr. 


Those who attended the program were allowed to hold some of the items.

Dellinger noted that Collecting the Civil War includes a wide variety of
objects ranging from military items and personal effects to modern art.

The Coffee with the Curator! was the second one sponsored by the Manassas
Museum since January 2012 when the new curator arrived.  More are planned.
If you'd like to become a member of the Manassas Museum System and join
their mailing list, contact Curator Mary Dellinger at 703-257-8452 or e-mail
mdellinger@ci.manassas.va.us.