A new resident of Bradford wanted to send a little bit of the city’s charm to his loved ones at Christmas time, but couldn’t find just what he was looking for.
So Matthew Hileman, manager of the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center, decided to do something about it.
“When I got up here, the store was basically all Pitt merchandise,” Hileman said of the gift shop in the museum, which is part of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. “I thought we needed an actual museum store that has fun museum stuff.”
He began work in May, and took some time to explore the area.
“There were no Bradford souvenirs to send home,” he said. In comparison, Hileman’s last post was at Walt Disney World. “I thought, ‘Gosh, we needed something.’”
When he began contacting vendors for the museum’s gift shop, he started asking about Bradford-branded Christmas ornaments. One vendor told Hileman they could draw up anything he wanted.
“I was so excited,” he said. “There was nothing like this. Bradford loves Christmas. I felt like we needed something like this.”
The ornaments come in six different designs, are American made, and are printed on a marble tile. They are available only at the Horne Museum gift shop.
“They have a two-fold purpose,” Hileman said, “to promote Bradford pride and raise funds for the museum.
“The museum is about Marilyn Horne, but it’s also about Bradford,” he said.
The ornaments are already on sale at the gift shop, and have been quite popular. Hileman sent out an email about them on Tuesday, and had a subsequent influx of visitors looking to pick some up for themselves.
“I’ve got friends all over the country I am sending them to,” he said.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve heard a lot of people say Bradford is dead. I don’t see what they see,” Hileman said. “I see a sleepy town that’s waking up and has a lot of potential.”
Local people don’t see the beautiful architecture, or the town’s charm, he said.
“I’m hoping we can be a positive force for change,” he said, “to remind people what a great place we have here.”
Visitors to the Horne Museum always have nice things to say about Bradford, Hileman added.
“People who come to visit the museum comment on the town, saying it’s like Bedford Falls,” he said, referring to the fictional town from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“We have the real thing right here.”
