The founders of the Crossville Military Memorial Museum are stepping back and looking to include the community in maintaining the museum.
Managing Director Locke Kelly said Crossville, Cumberland County and local veterans are stepping in to help with the leadership transition. However, Kelly said there is a critical need for volunteer guides and the museum is reaching out to interested residents.
“The person doesn’t have to be a veteran, the person doesn’t really have to be a history buff,” Kelly said. “If they’d like to serve the community and help with something like this little jewel on Main Street and they’re willing to volunteer their time, what we’ll do is arm them with all the information they’ll need.”
Kelly said individuals interested in becoming a volunteer should come to the Crossville Military Museum at 10:00 AM on September 29. Expanding from three volunteer guides to as many as 20 is not the only change the museum wants to see.
“In the future we would like to have the interior repaired in such a way that the full space could used,” Kelly said. “The displays could be expanded and maybe made more spacious.”
Currently, the museum is not using the second floor because of a fire causing weaknesses to the building.
Physical renovations are just a part of the plan for the 6,000 artifacts in the museum. However, Kelly said putting the artifacts into a database is part of bringing the museum into the modern world.
“If somebody’s doing research somewhere else they can query our database,” Kelly said. “To see if we have something in the museum that would help them in their research.”
The Crossville Military Memorial Museum building is a part of the historical registry. Also, Kelly said the museum is also looking for grant writers to help with funding repairs, computers and software.
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