On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
This is one of the only times that I encountered something that was too damaged to save. As it was on my own dime, I had to be selective with what I kept for future training. The reason for the disposable was because of the newspaper plastered on the back of the drop (for opacity from upstage lights, I’m sure). This, combined with massive dusting pigment and a pretty ugly composition made it undesirable to salvage and store for restoration training. We unrolled the drop in the parking lot of the Minneapolis Scottish Rite because of the mess. It was one of 70+ scenes! This is just drop that I salvaged from the Peoria, Illinois Scottish Rite Cathedral after they transitioned to rear projections and gutted the rigging. All of the Peoria Christmas Carol Scenery had to be thrown out due to the contaminants. I ended up only saving the Peoria Scottish Rite Masonic scenery for future experimentation with restoration methods. The remainder of the collection was from the turn-of-the-twentieth century (Volland & Toomey) that Becker Studios refurbished and sold to the Peoria Scottish Rite in 1924. Over time, Twin Cities Scenic Company contributed a few pieces to the collection, such as the “Christmas Carol” in the 1940s.
