The Outagmie Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin is offering free admission to encourage visitors during the Wisconsin Museums Week.
They have also changed their name to History Museum.
They have not, however, changed their executive director, Terry Bergen. Ms. Bergen, you may recall, was at the heart of the fierce conflict between good and evil -- at least in the world of magic and Houdini history.
The museum produced an exhibit featuring Houdini artifacts and, unfortunately, decided to expose the great magician's secrets in the process.
Magicians from around the world took sides -- some on the side of good and others on the side of not so good.
David Copperfield called upon the museum to reconsider the exhibition. Despite his charm and persuasive manner, he was not able to sway the decision. Houdini's secrets would be revealed in the interest in making for a more interesting exhibit.
The museum also declined Sidney Radner's continued contribution to exhibits on arguably the most famous Appleton resident. The museum decided they could not afford Mr. Radner's open-ended offer to provide pieces from his world-famous Houdini collection. Mr. Radner denied cost was an issue and expressed frustration that his offers were rebuffed.
You can re-live the struggle through Quinlan's Inside Magic's articles chronicling the debate here.
The magicians lost, the museum went forward with their plans and life moved on.
Now, the museum offers free admission to encourage traffic. They still have the AKA Houdini exhibit on display but apparently to smaller crowds.
Ironically, the Houdini exhibit is part of a twin-bill with The Times They Are A-Changin'.
You can read the short blurb about the free days in the Appleton Post-Crescent.
Check out our collection of guest essays on the subject here.
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