Oral History :: Western Illinois Museum shares local war veterans’ stories in new exhibit

Western Illinois Museum shares local war veterans’ stories in new exhibit

4 March 2012

Macomb, Ill. — The Western Illinois Museum will open a new oral history exhibit this weekend that celebrates local war veterans, to run concurrently with Home Front: Life During the Civil War, which begins today.

Beginning Saturday, several interviews with both World War II and Vietnam War veterans testifying their personal war experiences will be available for visitors to hear.

The opening reception, scheduled for 1-4 p.m. Saturday, is free and open to the public, complete with refreshments and live Civil War-era music performed by John Lane and Chanel Miller.

The museum began working on the oral history project in October to record the stories of those who served the United States.

"In addition to preserving artifacts, it is also important that the museum capture the personal stories," said Curator Sue Scott of the rapidly growing part of the museum's collection. "Having a record of the experiences of these men and women is a valuable part of our regional history."

Museum volunteers conducted the interviews after attending a training workshop on the intricacies of recording oral histories.

Volunteers include Tim Howe and Max Howe, Mike Kirby, Tom Lonergan, Allyson Ray and Will Seaton.

“I saw each volunteer come away with a greater respect and knowledge about how our veterans served," said Joe Glenn, the museum's Education and Programming Coordinator, who managed the project. "The veterans, I think, felt that respect and were pleased that their stories will be preserved for future generations."

The exhibit features pictures and information about each veteran providing an overview of his or her life and time in service to our country, as well as listening stations with the complete interviews ranging in length from 20 to 60 minutes.

Veterans in the project include: Dorothy Anderson, Grace Baker, John Hopping, Danny Irwin, James Lantz, Rick Melvin, John Moon, Tweed Mummert, Paul Murphy, Joe Wayland and Wayne White.

The Veterans Oral History Project is funded by a grant from Serve Illinois.

The Western Illinois Museum, 201 S. Lafayette St., is located one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square.

For more information, call 837-2750, or email info@westernillinoismuseum.org, or visit www.westernillinoismuseum.org.

The Western Illinois Museum will open a new oral history exhibit this weekend that celebrates local war veterans, to run concurrently with Home Front: Life During the Civil War, which begins today.