Letting go is hard for everyone involved, especially for those who have so much invested. If the project is worthwhile, it will resurface. All of your hard work and effort will pay off eventually but, for now, you need to return to the drawing board to mull over some significant details. Remember, timing is everything.

Rebel Without a Cause’s museum closes

Unfortunately, timing is something the James Dean museum in Gas City, Indiana, has yet to master. It has closed its doors after two years of operation at its 7,000-square-foot facility. Archivist David Loehr established the James Dean Gallery in 1988 in nearby Fairmount, where the young actor grew up, and moved his collection in May 2004 to the newer and bigger location. The museum’s closure was originally announced in December 2005 but Loehr, encouraged by an abundance of support and donations, postponed the closing until March.

Loehr told the Marion Chronicle-Tribune that the outpouring was too little too late. “[The museum] was a real asset to the county and state, but I just couldn’t keep it going. It’s time to move on to the next thing.”

Dean, the star of East of Eden and Rebel Without of Cause, died in a car accident in 1955 at the age of 24. Loehr has placed most of the memorabilia from the life of the young actor in storage, but will take nearly a quarter of the display items to the National Automotive and Truck Museum in Auburn, Indiana. The gallerist will continue to run his Rebel, Rebel James Dean gift shop in Fairmount. “We will never have a display again like the one at the gallery,” Loehr lamented.

Gas City is home to the annual James Dean Festival. Organizers expected attendance to exceed 50,000 last June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dean’s death, but only 6,000 people showed up for the weekend event.

May 2006