Kaminski House Cuts
Last Updated on 12/1/2008
Published on 6/3/2008
Thankfully, some members of Georgetown's City Council seemed skeptical of an idea floated by Mayor Lynn Wood Wilson and City Administrator Steve Thomas last week to cut $93,000 from the budget of the Kaminski House Museum.
The proposal would close the house to visitors on Sundays and Mondays and shut the museum's gift shop permanently. Presently, tours run Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Mayor Wilson defended the Kaminski House budget cuts by saying, "The numbers we see indicate it is not a major tourist attraction."
Julia Kaminski must be spinning in her grave.
Mrs. Kaminski gave the house, built in 1769, and its contents to the City of Georgetown in 1972 to be used as a house museum in memory of her husband, Harold Kaminski, and his mother, Rose Kaminski. Her will says that if the house is sold, the proceeds go to charity.
Located at 1003 Front St., the Kaminski House is built on a bluff with a panoramic view of the Sampit River. It was the home of Confederate sea captain Thomas Daggett prior to the Kaminskis. The house is filled with Kaminski family antiques. Among this collection are distinctive pieces, including an 1800 Charleston Pembroke table and an 1810 French Empire chest-on-chest.
The museum has never billed itself as a major tourist attraction, but tourists interested in Georgetown's history find it fascinating.
According to city numbers, the museum costs about $350,000 a year to operate and brings in about $50,000.
"We think we can scale back some of these costs without impacting the value of the museum itself," Mr. Thomas told members of City Council.
Visitors finding the museum closed on Sundays and Mondays would get the message that Georgetown has nothing for them and they should move along.
The Kaminski House proposal, oddly enough, comes just as a movement is taking shape to turn Morgan Park and the historic Fort Winyah site into a tourist attraction with a visitor center. It could become part of the Francis Marion Trail. That, too, will likely cost the city money.
Other private efforts to turn Georgetown into a city with a reputation for antiques are underway by David and Kathryn Kossove at Augustus and Carolina. They plan to bring an "Antiques Roadshow" style auction to downtown Georgetown every Friday night, attracting buyers and sellers -- people who would be interested in touring an old house filled with antiques.
Georgetown seems to be forever on the verge of something good: growth, tourism, revitalization.
That optimism springs from the fact that Georgetown has what many seek: real history.
The Kaminski House is an amenity that Georgetonians love. (See the letters below.) They don't visit it often enough, despite its Made in the Shade concerts and Christmas teas.
Perhaps this discussion will be the impetus for a Discover Georgetown campaign that reinvigorates the city's tourist efforts. Or, like Julia's brooch, a piece of jewelry found in the house and stored in a safe deposit box, the whole thing will be locked up and forgotten.
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... with 'born and bred' but really, what does anything he / she said have to do with cutting hours if warranted, closing the gift shop if warranted, or eliminating a position if warranted? Preserving the history of our community if absolutely a must. However, managing a city is the same as managing a business and each segment must be closely monitored for efficiency and cost effectiveness. I have said and will continue to say that cuts can be made at city hall, the Electric Department, and probably other branches that would save much more money. Further, if the police department would write speeding tickets on the streets in the historic district and the judges would demand that they be paid, we would be much better off. Guess who? Posted by Just Me on 6/7/2008
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I, for one, am no student of history. I find the topic endlessly confusing and arbitrary, not to mention mind-numbingly boring. I found it incredibly difficult to pay attention in my AP American history class at Gtown High School but managed to pass the exam anyway (thanks, Mrs. Balthis). I have since found my calling in engineering. Has my opinion about history changed? You bet your swampfox it has. I want the "powers that be" in Georgetown to pay attention, here. History and cultural identity is not something that can be retained, salvaged, or maintained in a book, television documentary, or in arbitrary knick-knacks found in an antiques store. First and foremost history and culture require context. Why have there been films made (loosely) based on local figures of the revolutionary war? Is there not worth in the novelty of the Kaminski structure? Just the candlestick fireplace/mantle is priceless as it is one-of-a-kind, carved by slave labor. Is there no value in its Semetic connections? I don't remember the details, but I remember the gist, primarily because I've taken the Kaminski tour, in disbelief that this unique place in space and time was located just miles from my home. You don't remove a historical artifact because it's not making money; that is not the point of its retention. If you want it to take care of itself financially, you certainly don't remove the only means it has of supporting itself. Instead of removing the shop, you should be expanding its reach. Why is there no Wikipedia page on the Kaminski house? Its free, you just need a historian to write one. I believe there are several of those already employed by the Kaminski House. Why is there no connection of the shop's inventory to the internet? Why can't the employees of the shop provide sales to the global market? Why isn't there a donations site so that contributors have an easy avenue for making donations? Why aren't there virtual tours of the house that illustrate and express some of its uniqueness? Georgetown is not just for the retiring baby-boomers; It's for the future generation as well. Get connected, think outside the box, and make it such that the Kaminski house can largely take care of itself, or accept it as a cultural asset and protect it in perpetuity simply because it exists. Posted by gtown born and bred on 6/4/2008
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As long as the mayor and council ultimately make a decision taking the feedback from the constituents in mind, all is well. Simply bringing this expense up for discussion is what the the Administrator and council are supposed to do. It's just part of the budgeting process. Posted by PWA on 6/4/2008
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What a shame!!! Not only for the Kaminski House Museum, but for the City of Georgetown. Julia Kaminski had a vision that will be extinguished by the City Council. What is going on. They are going backwards, not forward. The Stewart-Parker House and The Kaminski House are true treasures. We have so much history in the city of Georgetown, we need to draw on this. I have one question. How many city council members have actually been inside the Kaminski House? I bet we would be surprised at the answer. I doubt Mr. Thomas has ever darkened the door. Lets take a tour and see the wonderful gift Julia Kaminski left to the City of Georgetown. Posted by Lifetime resident on 6/3/2008
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