Museum plan in early stages

“There are stories behind all of these,” said the member of the Veterans Memorial Park Commission. “From the Civil War to the World Wars to Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, Dixon and this area has a rich military history.

“We want to build a place to share these stories in the community.”

Work to make a museum that will tell those stories has begun.

As the commission made its last payment last month to the city for fronting $50,000 for an expansion project, the City Council gave the green light for a museum to be built at the park.

A museum committee was created, separate from the Veterans Park commission, and corporation paperwork was sent to the state for the group to become a 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax-deductible organization; it could take a few months for an OK.

The next steps include starting a checking account, applying for grant money, and deciding on a design for the museum, which will be built on the north end of the park at 1219 Palmyra St.

Although both Thomas and Veterans Memorial Park Chairman Jim James expect the project to take time – reluctantly sharing their goal of breaking ground in 2014 – they are determined not to stop until a museum is built.

“The talking time is done,” James said. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and making this a reality now.”

Their tentative plan calls for a $1 million facility with a parking lot and possibly an auditorium for presentations, but Thomas said those plans depend on how much money the committee can get from grants.

The museum committee told the City Council it will not ask for local tax money, and Thomas said the project is too large at this time to launch a local fundraising campaign.

“We want to build a facility that will get accreditation with the museum system, so we can work and trade with other systems, including all the national armed services museums,” Thomas said. “Beyond putting up the right kind of building, there are a lot of details that go into making a facility capable of doing that.”