Economic pinch places historic sites on hiatus

November 17, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

WAPAKONETA, Ohio (AP) — Houston, we have a problem.

Neil Armstrong’s spacesuits, a capsule he piloted, the long johns James Lovell wore on the aborted Apollo 13 moon mission and other artifacts in the museum named for Armstrong will be off-limits to the public for one week this spring because of budget cuts.

Ditto for President Warren Harding’s Marion home and tomb in central Ohio and Fort Meigs, a log structure built on the Maumee River in 1813 to protect northwest Ohio and Indiana from invading British soldiers.

Several states are temporarily closing historic sites as the slowdown in the economy, higher unemployment and turmoil in the national financial markets hurt tax revenues.

History buffs are unhappy that such live links to heritage will be removed from view, even if only for a short time. And some worry that the one-week hiatus from history is only the beginning.

William Laidlaw Jr., executive director of the Ohio Historical Society, regrets the move, saying it is necessary to avoid layoffs.

“The real stuff of history is found in the stories, artifacts and places that give meaning to the past,” he said. “There is no substitute for that. Preserving access to these resources is the most important thing we do.”

In all, 14 of Ohio’s 58 historic sites will be closed the week of March 28.

In Illinois, 13 of the state’s 28 historic sites will be shut down at the end of November through at least June unless Gov. Rod Blagojevich approves proposed funding to keep them open. Of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s 90 workers, 32 will be laid off.

Yearly attendance at the states’ sites slated for closure ranged from 4,381 visitors to 100,371.