A Glimpse into the Past Through Larry Bussard’s Artifacts
What does a baseball bat belonging to Charlie Keller have in common with a blanket and a picture of the Frederick & Middletown trolley?
These things along with many hundreds of interesting items; photographs, art, and many varied pieces of memorabilia are all part of a collection of treasures gathered over more than 60 years by – Larry Bussard. As a life-long resident, Larry’s passion was to collect, save and enjoy things uniquely Middletown. He would clean out people’s attics to collect the old newspapers, worked with several local antique dealers who would find items and set them aside to see if Larry wanted to purchase them before putting things out on the open market. Larry was known in those circles as the go-to guy for Middletown artifacts.
The bat belonged to Charlie Keller a Middletown native who, through natural talent, hard work and determination achieved fame as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–43, 1945–49), the Detroit Tigers (1950–51) and again with the New York Yankees (1952) as a pitch hitter. Charlie batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was nick-named “King Kong” because of his enormous ability to hit far reaching fly balls and home runs. There are many artifacts available in the collection which relate to Charlie’s career with the Major League.
The blanket is woven in orange and black – the Middletown High School colors – and includes pictures of the school mascot, a Knight, and many other symbols unique to Middletown and MHS. The images are delightful reminders of so many things which Middletown Residents are proud to possess. A person viewing these items, especially graduates of MHS, will enjoy a walk down memory lane.
The trolley represents the story of The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway system developed by George William Smith and was first named the Frederick & Middletown Railway. Construction on the trolley lines began early in 1896, and the rail service ran from Frederick to Hagerstown with stops in local towns, including Middletown, along its way.
Becky Axilbund, our Main Street Middletown manager, along with several volunteers have been organizing and cataloging this wonderful resource for archival storage in Middletown’s Town Hall. In the future, we anticipate working in partnership with the Burgess and Commissioners to create ways to showcase this collection.
Thank you, Larry Bussard!