VILONIA, AR – A grass roots effort has started in Faulkner County to help rebuild the Museum of Veteran’s and Military History in Vilonia.
The April 27 tornado destroyed the museum’s building, but the thousands of artifacts inside were saved by volunteers.
Jim McGraw said about the destruction left behind, “I feel pretty sick about it.”
After the tornado we starting the next morning getting stuff out of the old museum,” says Paul Hicks who helps at the museum.
McGraw wants the museum to stay in Vilonia, “It started here, a lot of the artifacts came from local people here, and we are just sure that people of Vilonia would like to have it here.”
Two acres of land has been donated a couple of miles from the original museum to rebuild its’ walls, but more help, more man power, more money will be needed.
Hicks said, “It’s an uphill battle but we’ve been there before. It’s not a problem, I think we can do it, it’s going to take a lot of work, but we’ve done that before also.”
Most of the artifacts sit in Hicks’s storage shed, and he wants to make sure the children of tomorrow can see them.
“Everything is history that we have. You just don’t throw history away.”
The museum plans to re-open its doors on Veteran’s Day in November.
For more on the museum click here.
The April 27 tornado destroyed the museum’s building, but the thousands of artifacts inside were saved by volunteers.
Jim McGraw said about the destruction left behind, “I feel pretty sick about it.”
After the tornado we starting the next morning getting stuff out of the old museum,” says Paul Hicks who helps at the museum.
McGraw wants the museum to stay in Vilonia, “It started here, a lot of the artifacts came from local people here, and we are just sure that people of Vilonia would like to have it here.”
Two acres of land has been donated a couple of miles from the original museum to rebuild its’ walls, but more help, more man power, more money will be needed.
Hicks said, “It’s an uphill battle but we’ve been there before. It’s not a problem, I think we can do it, it’s going to take a lot of work, but we’ve done that before also.”
Most of the artifacts sit in Hicks’s storage shed, and he wants to make sure the children of tomorrow can see them.
“Everything is history that we have. You just don’t throw history away.”
The museum plans to re-open its doors on Veteran’s Day in November.
For more on the museum click here.
