PARKERSBURG – In addition to the Veterans Day parades and ceremonies on Monday, local veterans and residents took time on the holiday for a couple of special programs.

For the sixth year, the Veterans Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley held an open house Monday at 1829 Seventh St. in Parkersburg, offering snacks and tours throughout the day.

Gary Farris, founder and director of the museum, said more than 50 people visited the museum during the day, with most of the traffic occurring in the early afternoon immediately following the Veterans Day service at City Park.

Bud Chaddock of Parkersburg was among Monday’s visitors to the museum. Having served in the U.S. Marines in the Pacific Theater during World War II, Chaddock said it was his first visit to the museum and he was pleased to see an insignia for his former unit, the Third Amphibious Corps.

“I think it’s pretty nice,” he said of the museum.

Farris said Monday’s open house was the last chance to tour the museum until early December. Beginning today and running for approximately three weeks, volunteers will be working to move everything out so the interior display rooms can get a new full cleaning and new paint job.

Most of the items which have been on display will be placed in storage and new items will be rotated into the museum, Farris said.

The museum has received many donations over the years and he wants to display more of those items. The current displays have been in place for about five years and new items can now be shown, he said.

During the renovation work, Farris said other programs at the museum will still be active, including memorial brick purchases. For information, contact the museum at 304-420-0332.

Also on Monday afternoon following the parade and service in Parkersburg, the Carlin’s Battery D Civil War re-enactors held their Veterans Day open house from 1-3 p.m. at Fort Boreman Hill Historic Park Cabin. The open house included cannon firings and other demonstrations at the park.

Jim Miracle, the battery’s captain, said the holiday weekend leading up to Monday was a busy one for the group. Carlin’s Battery D participated in the re-dedication of the Neale Cook Cemetery in Vienna on Saturday morning and the Veterans Day Cookout at Veterans Park on Sunday, in addition to Monday’s activities.

Among those attending the battery’s open house were Debbie Battin and her 8-year-old son, Brodie, of Belleville. The family had met Miracle at an event earlier in the year and Brodie is interested in history and the Civil War, his mother said.

They attended the open house and Brodie was allowed to serve as an honorary powder monkey for the cannon battery, helping to prepare the cannon for firing. Her son wants to continue learning more about the battery and history in general, she said.

“This was our first time,” Debbie Battin said of Monday’s event. “I didn’t know it was going to be that loud,” she added with a laugh.