A truly… moving exhibit is now on display at the Delphos Canal Museum with a recreation of an observatory that was first built by amateur astronomer Leslie Peltier.
Born in Delphos in 1900, Peltier had to work hard at first, picking 900 quarts of strawberries to get the money he needed to fund his first telescope. But that dedication paid off, as over time Peltier had a few discoveries under his belt.
"He discovered 12 different comets and three novas," said Steve Dorsten, president of Delphos Canal Commission. "He provided a lot to the astronomy world and he was recognized as one of of the foremost amateur astronomers in the world."
So, to honor the man who looked up at the stars, the museum decided to recreate one of his more unique ventures - the merry-go-round observatory.
"It was the first of its kind; it was built on a merry-go-round frame and it rotates 360 degrees," said Dorsten. "The telescope is recessed so it can be elevated at any angle so he could see all the stars in the sky."
The staff that built the observatory only had pictures to work with to recreate the structure. On the inside, they used different parts like an old truck seat on roller skates and a tractor steering wheel, much like what Peltier would have found on the farm to build the original.
The entire idea behind this exhibit is to tell the story and show off the ideas of Peltier, who has been lauded as the world’s greatest non-professional astronomer.
"It’s part of the Delphos-area history that we wanted to depict and let it be known that we’re not just a small town, we do have famous people here," said Dorsten.
The observatory, along with pictures and other exhibit items can be found on the second floor of the Delphos Canal Museum.
