Museum to publish book featuring area vets
By ROGER ADKINS, radkins@newsandsentinel.com
POSTED: May 15, 2008
PARKERSBURG — The Veterans Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley is hoping to honor area veterans and raise money for the museum by publishing a book featuring area veterans.
The project is the brainchild of Tammi Collins, a member of the museum’s board of directors. Collins said area residents can send in a photo and short biography of a veteran they wish to honor. After enough photos and bios are collected, the material will be compiled for a book titled “Our Local Heroes.”
The book would be available for purchase at the museum.
Submissions can be mailed or dropped off at the museum, located at 937 Avery St. The cost to have a veteran featured in the book is $20, with the proceeds benefiting the museum. Biographies should be limited to about 200 words, Collins said.
Garry Farris, museum director, said the veterans museum has hundreds of items on display and every item has a story. Similarly, every area veteran has a story and the book is a way to make sure others hear those stories.
“There are a lot of stories around here, a lot of heroes around here,” Farris said.
Collins said she believes area residents will be interested in contributing to the project.
“People are proud of their family members that serve in the military. That’s where a lot of that stuff comes from. People donate items. They’re so proud of their military family members and they should be,” Collins said.
“My husband was in the Marine Corps, my grandfather served in World War II, my brother was in the Air Force and I have a stepson who is about ready to join the Air Force. I’m proud of everyone in my family who serves in the armed forces. I just think that if people are willing to donate personal items that belonged to loved ones, they certainly will get excited about putting them in a book,” Collins said.
The project is an extension of the museum’s goal of sharing the stories of men and women who serve in the military, honoring veterans and educating the public.
“The spirit of it, I would say, is to honor the spirit and memories of local veterans and show our support for what they’ve done for our country,” said Rejeana Jackson, projects coordinator for the veterans museum.
Collins said she believes there are enough local veterans to provide information for more than one book. Hopefully, there will be more than one edition of the book, she said.
“It’ll depend a lot on the response. I would like to have enough to put together at least 100 soldiers in the book. Once we hit 100, we could cut it off there and do another one,” she said.
