McCartney Times

DAVENPORT | Whether or not you were around during The Beatles’ decade-long run, you can make new memories with the legendary group at the Putnam Museum & Science Center in Davenport.“The Magical History Tour: A Beatles Exhibition,” the museum’s latest blockbuster exhibit that opens Saturday and ends June 4, includes original artifacts — from musical instruments and clothes to autographs and rare photos — related to The Beatles.No matter how much you know about the Fab Four, you should prepare to learn a thing or two, according to Peter Miniaci, a Beatles collector who helped create “The Magical History Tour.”“The beauty of this is that we’re the first one that tells the whole story from 1957 to 1980,” Miniaci said. “It’s a heavy responsibility to tell The Beatles’ story. You’re talking about some of the greatest creators of popular culture in the 20th century.”The touring exhibit, produced by St. Paul, Minnesota-based Exhibits Development Group, or EDG, made its U.S. debut in April 2016 at The Henry Ford in Michigan. It was previously at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, Canada.Putnam staff started working to get the attraction three years in advance, according to Kim Findlay, president and CEO of the Putnam.“If you’re going to get a new exhibit that just started touring, you’ve got to get in line,” she said. “This is all about connecting people across generations. Parents will bring their kids and grandparents will bring their grandkids, and they can talk about what it was like to see The Beatles.”Hooked on the storyPieces include a model of the frequently played Liverpool-based Cavern Club, a drum kit from the Quarrymen, John Lennon’s pre-Beatles band, the guitar Paul McCartney learned to play on, personal letters, souvenirs such as bobble heads and board games and photos from The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. tour that have never been displayed to the public before.“We have stuff they owned, that they played, used and wore that a lot of other exhibits don’t have,” said Jim Cushman, whose collection also is featured in the exhibit. “We have a lot of stuff you won’t see anywhere else.”Those items tend to transport longtime fans of The Beatles back to the 1960s, Cushman said.“When I was a kid and they came to America, it’s what everybody was talking about,” he said. “The way they looked, the way they talked, the way they played music — they could’ve been from outer space.”And the fascination continued long after the band broke up, Miniaci said.

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