THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607170108
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: 77 lines
A Tidewater Winds concert at 8 tonight at Willett Hall will honor the late A.J. ``Junie'' Lancaster Jr., a man who loved happy music.
It will be a concert of happy music.
Lancaster was a benefactor of the Tidewater Winds, just as he was a benefactor of many other organizations and individuals.
In fact, several Kiwanis Clubs in Hampton Roads are canceling their regular weekly meetings to encourage members to go instead to the concert. Gus Hayden, a member of Merrimac Kiwanis (Lancaster's club), said the clubs are going to attend the memorial concert en masse ``in honor of Lancaster's dedication to the service goals of Kiwanis International.''
Lancaster did many things for many people in this community. But his grandest gesture came when he and his wife, Millie, donated to the Children's Museum a train and toy collection worth at least $1 million.
This collection is now being inventoried by museum personnel and will be the centerpiece for the museum's second floor.
``There are thousands of pieces,'' said Betty Burnell, the museum's director. ``We are only about halfway through the inventory.''
``We're working on the exhibit design now,'' Burnell said.
As for the content of the rest of the second floor, Burnell said an ad hoc committee is working on the content and is not ready to reveal any decisions.
That committee includes a real assortment of people: retired General Electric executive Don Campbell; Audio Light & Musical CEO Tom Parker; advertising artist Nancy Walker; Cox Cable executive Steve Smith; Charles Bowens, principal of Highland Biltmore School; Iris Wise and Joanne Cherry, retired schoolteachers; Andy Hawkins, a public school science teacher; Lee Kernell, a science teacher at Old Dominion University; Karl Carver, a Naval Shipyard designer; Betty Lambdin, a member of the Museum and Fine Arts Commission, and Judy Perry, chairman of the Museum and Fine Arts Commission.
Of course, there are going to be differences about what the second floor should be. Some people argue ``for fun'' and some ``for serious'' activities.
There's still the matter of the atrium: a place for a merry-go-round or for something else?
But the really important thing about the second floor is going to be the Lancaster collection. Those trains and those antique toys will be interesting to young people. But they also will attract a whole new audience to Portsmouth and the Children's Museum.'
Train buffs and toy collectors abound across the nation. Many publications are devoted to both subjects. They open a whole new market for Portsmouth. Within months after the exhibit opens, we should expect some really strong publicity that will attract many visitors to the city.
The potential for this expanding market poses some problems for the exhibit designers because the trains and toys will be viewed on two different levels - literally.
On one hand, small youngsters will be fascinated by them briefly. On the other hand, collectors and adult enthusiasts will be intrigued by them in detail. The trick will be to serve both groups.
Neither group should be ignored or given short shrift. Lancaster loved children, but he also liked the idea that none of us ever gets so grown up that we don't appreciate toys and whimsy.
Look at Christmas Wonderland, the Coleman's Nursery seasonal extravaganza started by Lancaster. Children love it, but so do adults. The dual appeal of the Wonderland displays has paid off for Coleman's business. Let's hope we can manage the same universal approach at the Children's Museum.
Burnell said that fund-raising to pay for the second-floor exhibits will not begin until the exhibits are designed. But, she said, former U.S. Sen. Bill Spong will head the money-raising committee for the second floor just as he spearheaded the group that found more than $1.2 million in donations to do the first floor.
The first floor of the museum has been very popular with children and their parents, attracting thousands of people from other cities on a regular basis. The completion of the second floor should enhance that draw and give the museum even more national exposure - thanks to the Lancasters.
So the concert tonight is a tribute to a really special person. It's free and open to anyone who would like to enjoy an evening of good, happy music honoring a man who did a lot for his community. ILLUSTRATION: The late ``Junie'' Lancaster by CNB