Buster Keaton is back in Piqua.
Thanks to the hard work of Paige Olson, Shelia Lampe, Andi Lou Garrett and others, colorful new signs now adorn the entrance to the Buster Keaton and Piqua Museum inside the Piqua water plant building.
The old signs had become so washed out from sun damage that they were no longer legible.
According to Olson, “new banners may seem like a small task but it took a lot of people and I’m really proud of this.”
“It was definitely a lot more work than I anticipated.”
Piqua is, of course, the birthplace of Buster Keaton, who came into the world there in 1895, while his vaudeville actor parents were on tour.
He went on to become one the most celebrated actors in film history.
OLSON had originally been inspired to replace the signs after seeing photos from a tour of Piqua that resident Shelia Lampe had given to tourists.
“In the pictures the signs were all faded,” she said.
“That stinks. … So how do we go about fixing them up?”
By January’s end, Olson had sprung into action, and soon had contacted all the key stakeholders, including members of the museum board and water board.
“Shelia got me in contact with a lot of people that I needed to be in contact with,” Olson explained.
Though, unfortunately, delays were on the horizon.
“The complication was that it probably wasn’t a real high priority for anyone,” Olson observed.
“I mean, I’d have put it on the back burner too.”
