Operation PACKRAT Wants YOU!

The International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame Curations Committee (CurComm) is seeking qualified volunteers to travel to Raeford, North Carolina, October 22 – 26, 2018, and participate in Operation Packrat.  Operation Packrat is the long awaited commencement of the identification and inventory of the museum’s Archive collection. This collection has been accumulated over almost 30 years and is now consolidated at Sun Path Products Inc. located in Raeford, North Carolina in a purpose built storage area (generously donated by Sun Path) within their 90,000+ square ft facility. To date, the museum has almost 400 boxes of material, most with multiple items in them.

The museum has been raising funds for several years and established a design committee for a future structure to be located in North Orlando, Florida. In preparation for this, it is necessary to catalog ALL the donations of potential archival material for future exhibits.

CurComm is looking for approximately 35 individuals who are willing to participate, at their own expense, and join the teams of “Old School” jumpers, riggers, pilots, DZOs and others who share a passion for the preservation of the history of our sport.  In return for volunteering to come and join this endeavor, you will receive a morning coffee break, lunch and dinner, a closing banquet AND a most unique and limited edition T-shirt and sweatshirt commemorating your participation and contribution to what is guaranteed to be a once in a lifetime project.

The CurComm has broken this material down into 5 general categories:

1. Equipment- Canopies, rigs, clothing, helmets, and related material.
2. Instruments- Altimeters, AADs, test equipment, optics, etc.
3. Documents- Books, magazines, catalogs, posters, log books, and other printed material.
4. Photographs- Prints, slides, negatives, etc.
5. Film and digital media.

The goal is to recruit specialists such as “Old School” riggers and photographers in each of these areas to help identify, document, and log the information into the museum’s database program. These groups will have team leaders and members to open the boxes, in many cases for the first time in years, and to identify what we have, grade it as to its suitability for use in the museum, and repackage it into standard boxes and label with bar code ID for storage and future use. Besides the “specialists,” we will have a need for many people who can help do the “grunt work.”

For those who are interested in participating in Operation Packrat, click on https://skydivingmuseum.org/contact-us/operation-packrat and fill out the application form or contact Nancy (Kemble) Wilhelm, Museum Administrator, at nkemble@skydivingmuseum.org or tel: +1-407-900-9997 for a hard copy of the form.  All forms must be returned NO LATER than October 1, 2018. This is necessary in order to plan the logistics for the event. We will confirm to those who are accepted information regarding accommodations such as hotels, RV parks, campgrounds and others. Please note that applicants will be chosen based on those best qualified to fill assigned slots.

The museum board of trustees and curations committee sincerely hope that all you Old School skydivers have as much enthusiasm as we do for this project and can make time to join us for what will certainly be a once in a lifetime experience in the history of our sport.

Sandy Reid

Curator and Chair of the Curations Committee