Come on out and visit the special exhibit, “Through the Keyhole,” at the Fisk Gallery of the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands.The exhibit features historic locks and keys on loan from the Scott J. Klemm collection.
Scott Klemm first started collecting locks and keys while a teenager.
“I read a biography of Harry Houdini and the tale of this escape artist inspired me to learn to pick locks,” said Klemm. “I thought I could learn the secret of lock-picking by prying open some old padlocks, but some were just too interesting to butcher. This was the start of my collection and my lifelong interest in the history of locks and their makers.”
Klemm worked as a teacher for the Colton Joint Union School District for 26 years, first as a social studies teacher at Colton Jr. High and later as a world history teacher at Colton High School. He is the author of “100 Years of Crimson & Gold Pride: Colton High School 1895—1996” and “Ancient Locks: The Evolutionary Development of the Lock and Key.” Most recently, his book “Unlocking the Portals of History” was published by the San Bernardino County Museum Association and is now available in the Museum Store.