The Associated Press ran an article this week about the U.S. Government’s poor handling of some of the nation’s most valuable artifacts.

81-year-old Angela Eckert and her family gave hundreds of artifacts to the U.S. government in 1971, including uniforms, rifles, and even Army-issue knives with dried blood still on the blades. The collection would be worth roughly $50 million today, but Eckert and her relatives gave the gift to the U.S. Government and the American people free of charge. “It’s called patriotism,” she recalls telling her friends. Now, sitting thoughtfully in her rocking chair, Eckert says her faith may have been misplaced.

Eckert, whose family owned property near the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, claims that the National Park Service is mistreating artifacts instead of taking care of them. Most of her collection is now slowly decaying in a cellar with many items exposed to cold, musty air.

Such is the price of naiveté when dealing with the federal government, says Eckert, who sued for the return of the items last March. She says the family will keep the collection and care for it properly if her lawsuit is successful. She would consider dropping the case if the government would just apologize.

“They just wanted a new building, so they have to show that the one they have now is falling apart,” Eckert said. “The damage being done to the artifacts is irreparable.

They’re playing a sort of game and it’s just left me heartbroken.”

While Eckert’s suit was pending, Gettysburg National Military Park did receive approval for a new $39.3 million visitor center. The current visitor center once was Eckert’s family home.

The current plan for the center calls for construction of a museum and visitor center at the park in conjunction with the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation, a nonprofit foundation, said park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon. The center will also contain a 6,000-square-foot store, which will sell books and educational materials, and a 250-seat cafe, she said.

Lawhon said park officials love the artifacts just as intensely as Eckert and defends the new visitor center as the best way to protect the battlefield’s history. “We all want to see these artifacts protected,” Lawhon said.  “Some park superintendents might have thrown up their hands and said this is the best we can do with the money we’re given. But the park has found a creative way to pay for a new center that will be able to protect the artifacts and honor the men and women who died here. Until then, we’re doing the best we can.”

Lawhon says that the artifacts will be put in a temporary facility in March. Eckert says the park decided to build the temporary building only because of her lawsuit. The current visitor center, a red brick house built on a hill, sits on property that was owned by Eckert’s family during the battle of Gettysburg. Eckert’s ancestors, the Rosensteels, started the collection by picking up items from the battlefield after the fighting had ended. After donating the artifacts, Eckert’s husband, Larry, was a curator for 20 years. Mrs. Eckert said the park hasn’t followed through on verbal promises to buy heaters and dehumidifiers.

No one contests that the artifacts are being stored in poor conditions. Park officials say that 92 percent of the artifacts are deteriorating “slowly but surely.” The humidity rate is often as much as 10 percent above what the government outlines as acceptable. A white film of mold grows on several leather holsters in the storage room. Documents signed by Abraham Lincoln warp due to the strains of changing temperatures.

“We’ve done the best we can with the funds that the government gives us,” said curator Paul Shevchuk.  “People love museums, but they seldom want to pay for it.” But John Fenstermacher, who represents Eckert, says the park never attempted to perform any upkeep on the visitor center and then brought legislators to tour the premises. “This was all about convincing politicians and businessmen that they need more money,” Fenstermacher said.  “But meanwhile, a great disservice is being perpetrated against the artifacts that Mrs. Eckert willingly gave to the government for protection. It’s the worst kind of abuse of patriotism.”

Eckert says she just wants the government to do its duty. “We aren’t trying to lie or do anything underhanded,” Eckert said. “I just can’t believe they would take a gift to the people of the United States and treat it like this.”

“Ike” - thanks for the news.