Letter to the editor - May 9

Museum only lacks promotion

Regarding the “Museum under discussion” article published April 28 in The News: I absolutely and vehemently oppose moving the Pappy Thornton Museum from its current location.

I frequently go to Ned Houk Park and am always surprised at the number of people who are there. On the south side of the park, there is a walking trail, access to off-road vehicle recreation, the disc golf course, a fishing pond, and a concert pavilion. To get to these well-utilized features you drive right by the Pappy Thornton Museum and all the farm equipment on display.

This notion that it is in a poor location is nonsense. It is in probably the best location available. On a weekend, you would be amazed at how many people take advantage of a park that is 8 miles north of the city. The disc golfers are out there every Saturday morning.

What the Pappy Thornton Museum lacks is a city that promotes it. If location were key, then the Norm & Vi Petty Museum located downtown at the Chamber of Commerce would have had more than the pre-pandemic 10-12 people a week visiting. That, too, is a museum that is not advertised or promoted.

To suggest that the location is too far out of the way for people to visit is utter nonsense and only underscores the ignorance of the city leadership as to the level of usage Ned Houk Park enjoys. The fact that multiple city councils were ignorant of the Pappy Thornton Museum makes my point. We have people in charge who do not fully recognize the value of the city's assets or how to promote them.

Donna Labatt

Clovis