The Liberty Bell. Independence Hall. Rocky. Mummers. All are quintessentially Philadelphia.
The first three are going strong. But the Mummers Museum?
It's always been a struggle, Palma says, but money's tighter these days. There were months when Peco came close to cutting off the lights and PGW came close to turning off the heat. To save money, the air-conditioning in her third-floor office is turned off as we chat.
"We do need a lot of help, but every nonprofit organization does," says the 73-year-old Palma. "We are extremely nonprofit," she adds, with a smile.
The word that sums up the museum's most urgent needs is electronic. Several electrically operated displays on the main floor don't work at all or work unpredictably. An exhibit that's supposed to run a videotape of a Mummer's performance,
doesn't. An illuminated question-and-answer board balks. An exhibit with a Mummer's recorded voice uses 8-track tape equipment - state-of-the-art in 1976, hopeless today.
The one-of-a-kind Wall of Music has a line of push buttons, each labeled for a musical instrument - banjo, bass, glockenspiel, alto sax, etc. When you press a button, you get the sound of that instrument playing "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers." As each succeeding button is pushed, that instrument joins in. When all are pressed, you have a full orchestration of what some call the "Mummers National Anthem."
But the bass, banjo and sax buttons don't work.
Electricians Local 98 sent apprentices to try and help, but most of the equipment is older than they were. They had never seen some of it before.
The museum really needs a master electrician, but can't afford to pay the going rate.
Here's why: The city doles out $55,000 a year to the museum, but annual operating expenses are $280,000. Insurance alone costs $48,000 a year.
