Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Movie Museum in Owasso Michigan

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-17-2002, 06:33 AM:

This was posted by Tom Martin, of the Hollywood Dream Factory, on the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) list-serve:

______________________________________________________________________

Mopo- If you like strange but true stories READ ON....

about ten years ago maybe longer i received a letter inviting me to a
Museum in OWASSO, Michigan...... A HOLLYWOOD Museum....- Owasso... Yes
Folks I am not a sci-fi writer....

Ok like a lemming I drove up to OWASSO.... and met a 70s-80s man named
-"DON Schneider"

Now when I got there and saw a treasure trove of Movie stuff,, I said
excuse me, but I think Im not in

Toledo anymore.. [Smile]

... yes I was in OWASSO... [Smile]

. now if you've never been

to "OWASSO" it makes Toledo

Look Like New york or Los angeles...its a cross between "Mayberry" and
maybe River city ??

Anyway,, the museum is a transplant from Hollywood,, seems Schneider is
one of the last of the original hollywood museum founders from the 60s
, 70s in Hollywood.. along. the stars , Debbie Reynolds.. and others
etc.....
If you have followed the saga no person was ever really able to unite a
group to have a true Museum
so the material is scattered across the USA much from the early
auctions,,, where you could buy a costume from GWTW for like 10.00 ....
I met John Lebold - years back..( a large costume collector) who was
Debbies assistant and he told me he
filled those big laundry carts for 50 cents a costume back in
1970....... amazing????

Well any ways... I go in this CHURCH,,, yes a big stone Church in
Owasso!!! ( thats what the museum is built in)and here's MOUNTAINS of
stuff......!! so what did I do??? did I try to weasel all the stuff i
could so I could ebay it?
did I tell them it was all crap???? no I sat for hours at a all night
Diner with Don Talking Movie
memories and all the history.... till we couldn't sit up even with
pitchers of coffee!! surprising huh?
wow was that some magicical memeories... Don is truly one of the
visionarys of saveing all this stuff..
He lives like a Tibetan monk,,,, Don is a real archivist in that he is
completely dedicated to the project.. its his life...

well this man has followed a dream to all ends... he has single handed
motivated volunteers in OWASSO
to help repair leaky roofs, and organize the Mountains of stuff...

there are Rooms that LOOK like furnishings that the salvation army would

heave... but then when
he says that was a chair from " maltese Falcon" or a table from Citizen
Kane.. You freeze at the roughness
and intimacy and how fragile Movie history is,,,THE STUFF HAS NO TAGS!!!

so many items will be
lost or thrown away as this Don is the only steward,,, It would take
Hollywood historians years
to document by looking at production stills...
But here I was surrounded by treasures in Owasso, Michigan..... quite
frankly i thought it would
die a miserable death or that Don would die... sorry Don ... You looked
tired...

But here it is 2002 and he's still going.... he sends out flyers that he

taps out on a manual typewriter!!

The place has equipment, theater Organs, and lots of cool stuff, props,
costumes....

It would be any movie Buffs Dream and its in OWASSO, Michigan......

Today I received the MOVIE MUSEUMS newsletter.... and Don is asking for
help as the Museum'
is a 501-c3 I believe check to make sure...

He asks for 5- 12.00 donations.... call or write Don at The MOVIE MUSEUM

408 N. Water street
OWOSSO, Michigan 48867 PHONE 1-989-725-7621

Don has great classic Hollywood Stories ,, he was in Film Production In
LA. and knows many of the early people.... Please help Don continue to
Save Hollywood artifacts,,, You can help by sending him
a donation today! Pop a buck or more in a envelope and help a dream stay

alive!!
Or if you close donate some labor at the Museum...In Owasso= OR make a
visit!! you will be amazed.!

Keep the MOVIE MUSEUM ALIVE!!! Send your help Today! MERRY Christmas
You will make a differance!

so there ya go can you believe it??........ Its like 50 miles from
me........

Best,,Tom

http://www.hollywooddreamfactory.com/MovieMuseum0.htm

____________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know of Don Schneider and his museum in Owasso Michigan?

Posted by Bob Brown (Member # 1205) on 12-18-2002, 09:39 PM:

John.... I grew up in OWASSO. No it is spelled OWOSSO, I moved away in 1986 I knew of no museum there then. I could contact some friends there to check on any details you need answers on.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-20-2002, 07:05 AM:

quote:
The place has equipment, theater Organs,

Theatre organ hobbyist owner: Crazy
Theatre organ parts reseller: Crook
Frequency: 19 in 20

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 12-20-2002, 07:44 AM:

John, A beautiful story. Don sound like he may be the original "Movie Man".

I will make it a point to visit next time I am in Michigan.

P.S. My check is in the mail. [Smile]

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 02-15-2015, 12:59 PM:

It has been 4440 days since the last post.

Posted by Alexandra Stinson (Member # 8743) on 02-15-2015, 12:59 PM:

Hello, I came across this site while looking for more information about Don Schneider and the Movie Museum. I am trying to find the person who wrote this article? Any help is appreciated.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 02-15-2015, 01:59 PM:

Tom Martin posted a lot of long, rambling messages on the AMIA list back in the early '00s, similar in tone to the one John Pytlak quoted above. Responses from respected figures in that biz questioning the factual accuracy of a lot of his claims led me to the conclusion that at the very least, they would need to be checked against other evidence before being considered reliable.

Looking at Google Street View (which I don't think existed in 2002), I see that the address given in his posting is [url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=408+N+Water+St,+Owosso,+MI&hl=en&ll=43.000746,-84.173307&spn=0.000804,0.002045&sll=34.057163,-117.318854&sspn=0.121312,0.261784&oq=408+n+WATER+st+owosso&hnear=408+N+Water+St,+Owosso,+Michigan+48867-2254&t=h&z=20&iwl oc=A&layer=c&cbll=43.000746,-84.173307&panoid=jQGOh_PHAaTF_orB1D-MXA&cbp=12,53.13,,0,0.06]a private residence[/url] in the middle of a residential neighborhood, with no indication on the exterior of the building that it is a museum open to the public. Admittedly it could have been 13 years ago, but I'd still be inclined to take this story with a grain of salt.

Given that you're based in Owosso, why not simply visit this place, ring the doorbell and ask if the occupier knows anything about a movie museum?

Posted by Alexandra Stinson (Member # 8743) on 02-15-2015, 03:16 PM:

Thank you for your response. We actually have been helping clean the movie museum out since Don Schneider passed away, this past October. I unfortunately never got the opportunity to meet him. I was doing research on the internet trying to find out more information about his museum and the museum that actually was open to the public in California, and the items we have come across inside the Owosso Movie Museum. After reading this post it saddens me because Tom is right, everything is not tagged to where it came from.. I wish I could contact him to learn more about his conversation with Don.

Posted by Alexandra Stinson (Member # 8743) on 02-24-2015, 06:30 PM:

The local news station came out today...
http://www.abc12.com/story/28191981/local-film-buffs-massive-movie-collection-on-sale