[Milsurplus] Purity/Gastric stress/Historic preservation etc.

[Tom Dawson]

It having been a spirited discussion here I put the question to my wife who 
has a background in historic preservation/archaeology/archiving/most thing 
historical.  Her take is that it is a matter of context and intent.  It is, 
perhaps, appropriate to restore a building (for example) to its original 
condition by removing electrical wiring/indoor plumbing replacing rotted 
timbers with same size/type of wood if the building is on its original 
(preserved) site with original surroundings.  If, on the other hand, that 
building has been moved, is now surrounded by strip malls or interstates, 
and is the only available structure for storing or preserving relevant 
artifacts, then keeping or upgrading electrical wiring/air 
conditioning/sanitary facilities/making the structure sound etc. becomes 
more appropriate.  The context and intended  use (not to mention resources) 
essentially drives the degree of restoration or rehabilitation.

So there is no real standard to go by, other than self-imposed.

Beyond preserving the artifacts, it is perhaps as important to preserve the 
memories of the guys that used them, modified them and now restore them.

As for ARB, I'm pretty sure I saw that one on ebay and elected not to bid 
because of its condition.  If it stays out of the dump or the scrap yard, it 
still has the potential to contribute in some way to the history of the 
technology.  I can't reasonably hope for more than that if I didn't buy it.



73

Tom
WB3AKD