Flag for potential LCHS donors has been raised

The hoopla surrounding the sale of the Clarence H. White prints by the Licking County Historical Society earned the LCHS considerable publicity and offered an education to the rest of us.

That those in charge of the Society can sell off items assumed to belong to the public is news to me - not that I think it's illegal or under-handed, but only that I never considered such a possibility.

The fact that members of this group sold White's highly significant, once-in-a-lifetime treasures from Newark's past should raise a flag to all potential donors.

A donation is a transfer of ownership, meaning the new owner can do whatever he wants with it, including sell it. Now we know the LCHS might very well do that no matter what the historical significance, especially if there's a handsome profit involved.

Therefore, chances are good that future donations to LCHS will be considered with a great deal of care. Older folks looking for a haven for family relics might as well give them away as gifts or sell them to whomever will pay most. Better such proceeds stay in the family than under the control of quasi-government machinery on the prowl for profit.

If items could be loaned rather than donated, the owner would maintain his right to protect and preserve them. Such an arrangement would be the only way I'd entrust the LCHS with my stuff, if I had any. If this option exists for donors, the Society would do well to make it known.