Help Me Do Right by Don Knotts
December 9, 2010 7:12 PM   Subscribe

I have Don Knotts' high school yearbook (aka Barney from the Andy Griffith Show). What should I do with it?

I found Don Knotts' high school yearbook in the trash! It doesn't have any signatures in it. There are actually two--1942 and 1943. I randomly found them while dumpster diving in my hometown of Morgantown, WV where he grew up. He was in the drama club, was the vice president, and was voted Most Likely to Succeed.

I feel a little guilty just holding onto these. I could donate them to my hometown library or tourism department. I could try to make a couple bucks from Ebay, but would feel kinda bad about that. Any ideas?
posted by shortyJBot to Grab Bag (20 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sell the books on eBay and then donate the proceeds to The Don Knotts Legacy Fund or a charity.

(That site was found on Google - seems legit though).
posted by littlesq at 7:16 PM on December 9, 2010


Do you mean his personal copies of the yearbooks, or someone else from his class's yearbooks? That's the difference between collector's item and neat-but-financially-worthless curio.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:19 PM on December 9, 2010


Maybe read this article and see if you can find a contact.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/news/14533
posted by JayRwv at 7:20 PM on December 9, 2010


Seth Poppel is a good buyer of yearbooks.
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 7:39 PM on December 9, 2010


I know someone who would DIE if they could have one of these. DIE.

So clearly you should give one to me, to give to them!

But really, you shouldn't feel bad about selling them, that's how they end up with people who REALLY REALLY want them.
posted by hermitosis at 7:59 PM on December 9, 2010 [4 favorites]


Give or sell them to someone who'd really, really want them. I'd buy one off of you.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:14 PM on December 9, 2010


I hope you will at least scan the pictures first, even if you sell them.
posted by hermitosis at 8:18 PM on December 9, 2010 [3 favorites]


Oh my. As a Morgantown citizen I beg you - donate them to the city (better yet, the city library)! They would be so excited.
posted by media_itoku at 8:20 PM on December 9, 2010 [5 favorites]


Sorry to disagree with "hermitosis" but that isn't actually true about whoever buys it wants it the most.. There are many people who purchase items not because they "REALLY REALLY want them", but for no other reason than to make money. They hope they can find another person willing to pay more than they did. For an investment only. It happens all the time at traditional auctions, on E-bay, garage sales, etc.. Many people who would love to have something like what you have, may not be as financially able to purchase them. Think of scalpers.

I would donate it to a museum or of your choice. I'm sure you'll feel good knowing lots of Don Knots fans are viewing the book because of you.
posted by Taurid at 8:57 PM on December 9, 2010


Why all the righteous indignation about making a little money? They are yours now. If you want to sell them, sell them. Giving them away is fine too but morally no better or worse than selling them.
posted by brownrd at 9:08 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]


What a great find. I don't know if this helps but one of the things I would be excited to find, and be able to look at, in a Morgantown museum would be Don Knotts' high school year book.
posted by boatsforshoes at 9:36 PM on December 9, 2010


They hope they can find another person willing to pay more than they did. For an investment only.

There's nothing wrong with that -- if someone is willing to pay more than that person did, then that's what the books are worth. They're more likely to ultimately end up with a superfan than back in the garbage, even if they get passed back and forth in the marketplace.

Anyway, these aren't Don's personal belongings or anything of inherent value. They're curios. A museum is probably not going to be interested.
posted by hermitosis at 9:43 PM on December 9, 2010


You have two. Do the "moral" (museum/library/charity) thing with one and the "greedy" (have some who really wants it give you money for it) thing with the other. Everybody wins!
posted by milqman at 11:12 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]


oinopaponton: "Do you mean his personal copies of the yearbooks, or someone else from his class's yearbooks? That's the difference between collector's item and neat-but-financially-worthless curio"

I'm wondering about this too. If they're his his then it opens up a lot of possibilities. But if they just have him in them they're just cool.

Which is good in itself, don't get me wrong.
posted by theichibun at 4:45 AM on December 10, 2010


Response by poster: They aren't his personal copies, they just have him in them. I checked the back page of signatures, and his isn't in there.

I was STOKED when I just found the old yearbooks and was ooh-ing and aah-ing over the vintage hair and clothes, and I just about died when I saw Don Knotts' picture. It's his Junior and Senior years. He was totally the skinny/awkward/cute boy I would have fallen for in high school.
posted by shortyJBot at 9:14 AM on December 10, 2010


Response by poster: Oh, and I like the happy-medium idea of donating one and making bank with the other!
posted by shortyJBot at 9:14 AM on December 10, 2010


I'm not sure if we have those in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection already or not. You can call the number on the linked webpage, or if you want to email me I can forward your question along to the head of Special Collections. We've been digitizing a lot of the Monticolas (the WVU yearbook) that we have in our collection, but I'm not sure about local high school yearbooks.
posted by MsMolly at 10:58 AM on December 10, 2010


And PLEASE scan his photos!
posted by cyndigo at 11:35 AM on December 10, 2010


For those who'd like to see photos of Don Knotts (including a few that might be from the same yearbook the OP has), check out what we've already scanned as part of West Virginia History OnView.

My personal favorite.
posted by MsMolly at 12:21 PM on December 10, 2010


I would get black magic markers and black out everything that is not Don Knotts related. Then, I would put them in the bathroom.
posted by Sully at 5:48 AM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


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