Town Hall President Woody Kirkman announced a gift of historical significance at Wednesday's monthly meeting.
Lifetime Ramona resident Mary Kay Pinkard, who passed away at the end of June this year, has left hundreds of historical items to Town Hall, including Turkey Days dresses and costumes, old photographs and more.
Kirman said that the items were originally left at Ramona's Chamber of Commerce, where Pinkard ran the office for nearly a quarter of a century. They've been preserved by Pinkard and will now call Ramona Town Hall "home."
Pinkard was the town's very first honorary mayor from 1984 to 1986. She was known for her turkey feather creations, including gowns, parasols, hats and other unique creations.
The town hall plans to take the items and artifacts, including photographs, in the coming year and digitize and document them all.
"This is really special stuff," board member Darrell Beck said at the meeting."It's stuff that's pretty rare."
The extremely valuable items will be proudly displayed in the Town Hall's West Wing. Beck suggested a tall glass cabinet for which to display Pinkard's Tureky Day dress. An exhibit that will honor Pinkard is planned to periodically be on public display.
Though some of the photos given to Town Hall have been seen my many, the donated ones hold particular value.
"Some have been out and about for years," Kirman said. "But these are the originals."
As of now, storage is of concern for the precious items, as there is no working air conditioning in the Town Hall's storage space. Beck brought up the need for fire-proof storage for Pinkard's items, as well.
Kirkman said the items will slowly trickle in as they document and record each one.
The president said he's hoping to have most of the historical items in the Town Hall for everyone to see by the Town Hall's 119th anniversary in February.
