I did quite a bit of fooling around with the idea of a Local Culture Museum before writing the Clarion's Castle article. I really do believe that the idea is a good one --- if not for the Jail, then for someplace else. Here are some additional facts and ideas that didn't make it into the article.

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The picture at the upper-left was created with PartyCAD and pretty accurately represents a jail cell in the old jail. The room is 9'x14' and the walls are 2.5' thick. Cutting the archways through might be a little bit of a challenge, as Dave Cyphert has told me there are metal plates in the walls. Still, give me a sledge and a cutting torch and I bet I could manage it in short order.

The upper part of the cell in the picture is not  quite right. First, the cell may be too high because I did not have a measurement for this dimension. Second, the ceiling is vaulted, not flat. Still, there is enough space in each cell to do something interesting while still leaving room for wheelchair traffic.

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This is what one block of cells would look like if the archways were cut between rooms and the end doors were widened. This is what I think is the best plan for the 2nd level cells because the catwalk up there is too narrow for wheelchair access. Something creative would have to be done at the front of the building to allow wheelchairs to get into the first cell in the string.

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The computer delivery of video content in response to voice commands described in Clarion's Castle can be done with today's technology. Indeed, being a programmer myself, I had to resist going off on a tangent about all of the wonderful things you could do with such technology in this setting.

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I settled on the following theme's for the rooms of the museum:

History, Geography, Industry, Commerce, Virtual Reality, Education, People, Government, and Staff, Men's Fashions, Women's Fashions, Housewares, Tools, Toys, Hobbies, Nature, Sports, Events, Geography, Arts and Emergency Services. I kept one Jail Cell and one room to be set up as the Warden's quarters for jail buffs.

In thinking about virtual tours and 'tracks', I came up with the list below in just a couple of minutes. Many, many more ideas are lurking out there:

Tours of --- Clarion, Shippenville, Clarion University, Knox, Frogtown, the traffic grid, the Clarion River

Community Events --- ALF 2001 - 2025, Horsethief Days, The County Fair, Football Training, A Church Supper, Boy Scout Meeting, Borough Council Meeting, Model Airplane Building, Model Railroading

A Day in the Life of ---  A County Commissioner, A Jail Guard, Hardware Store, Frame and Art Gallery, Building a House, Community Theatre, A University Student, A Fireman, A Popular Band, Minister/Priest, A Cop, A prisoner, A bad boy

How Things Work --- The Courthouse, The Castle, Glass Plant, A Car Dealership, The Phone Company, University Computer System, The High School, The Grade School, The Water Purification Plant, The New Jail,  Liberty Towers, A Tree Nursery, A Bank, A Pizza Restaurant, The Airport, The University, The Library, The Historical Society, A Coal Mine, A Sawmill, A Newspaper, The Legal System, The Hospital,  A Farm, A Bakery, A Supermarket, A Hotel, A Church, Government Services, A Candy Store, A Dairy, A Mattress Manufacturing Plant, A Modular Home Factory, A Fiberboard Plant, Food Distribution Network,  Paving Contractor, A Pet Store, A Real Estate Office, A Canoe Livery, The State Police, A Movie Theatre, The Mall, A Gas Station, An Antique Mall, The Power Distribution Network.

The People Room Would have Family Histories --- Arnold, Alexander, Beck, Campbell, Corbet, Curll, Cyphert, Ditz, Faller, Kaufman, Lawrence, Hartle, Hufnagel, Meisinger, McElhattan, Pope, Rankin, Rhea, Shirey, Shropshire

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I feel there is much merit to the idea of a museum that emphasizes local culture, and could go on at length why this is so. I think though that I will wait for an audience that I am sure is interested in hearing me rant on about the subject.

Hank Hufnagel, 8/25/00