Virginia Creeper Whistle

[NW Mailing List]

Jason

One thing to remember about larger museums; anywhere between 70-90% of their holdings are in storage and not on display.  A retired Smithsonian employee told me that for them it was close to 95% of the stuff they had. He says there are hundreds of models of ships, airplanes, vehicles, and trains in storage and not on exhibit.  The online list is not likely to show everything sitting in warehouses and basements of the museum buildings. 

So maybe they have the whistle; maybe not. 

Jim Stapleton

> On Dec 17, 2016, at 01:08, NW Mailing List  wrote:
> 
> I am curious as to what happened to the FT Nichols whistle after Mr. Lee Alley passed away.  
> I had the privilege of blowing the whistle several times on Mr. Alley's "whizzle machine". 
> I have often wondered what became of the whistle after he passed away. I was told that the whistle was donated to the Smithsonian, but do not see it listed in their online listing of exhibits. I have even seen a poorly-worded YouTube video that makes the claim that the whistle was buried with Mr. Alley. 
> I am just wondering if we will ever hear it blow again. 
> Thanks in advance. 
> Jason Hollifield 
>