Future Osborne Museum of the Democratic Spirit

Help us restore this wonderful building.

It will become a reminder of a generous past. It will tell stories of good citizens who did what needed to be done. 

It will become a meeting place and a marker shouting proudly of the great people who lived here.

It will become a progressive part of our future.

Be part of its dream for tomorrow...

We are presently accepting sponsorship opportunities.  Please Call us about sponsoring a room 

Howard Mansfield, the author of "The Same Ax Twice: Restoration and Renewal in a Throwaway Age”“  was trying to discover examples of a living restoration, trying to go beyond discussions about correct historic colors, materials, and techniques.

"I looked to the past for guidance, to find the graces we need to save. I want to be an importer. This is not nostalgia; I am not nostalgic. I am not looking for a way back." "From where will a renewal come to us, to us who have devastated the whole earthly globe?" asked Simone Weil. "Only from the past if we love it."

What I am looking for is the trick of having the same ax twice, for a restoration that renews the spirit, for work that transforms the worker. We may talk of saving antique linens, species, or languages; but whatever we are intent on saving, when a restoration succeeds, we rescue ourselves.

"In remaking an ax, in restoring a house, we carry the fire of the original spirit. We commit anew, plant, put our hands to touch the work of a craftsman hundreds of years gone, and then once again feeling that work, pick it up again. And therein lie renewal and hope.” —from The Same Ax, Twice"  

 Osborne Library  Commemorative Mug