There is an new game brewing up on the north side of town. The Blanco County WW2 Museum is preparing to open later this month on a limited basis. The WW2 Museum is the latest component in what is developing as a Museum Mall, with the anchor being the Buggy Barn Museum. The Museum is connected with the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg and the Texas Military Museum in Austin and will likely increase local visitors, which will help in promoting Blanco County as a history and heritage destination.
The Blanco County WW2 Museum covers three areas: it is the home of LST 344 - the "USS Blanco County," it offers a period view of the County and the citizens who served, and it provides a unique chronology of the European Theater of Operations in WW2 designed to supplement the Nimitz Museum where the focus is on the Pacific Theater. The connection with the other Museums and historic sites will increase visitation and help put Blanco on the map as a place that values its history and heritage.
Rick Sebenoler is acting Director/Curator of the WW2 Museum. "We've put together a pretty unique presentation of the war in Europe. Now we need to add in the local flavor and are looking for the stories, artifacts, and memories of local veterans who served in the war. Our intent is to tell the story of that time from the view of the folks of Blanco County. We're looking for any connections with the veterans who served during that time."
The WW2 Museum is a component of the Buggy Barn Museum Complex, which is a 501c(3) non profit corporation. The Blanco Chamber of Commerce, Blanco Retreat LLC, and Pioneer Museum are currently sponsoring the site. Their goal is to build a coalition among the Museums, the library, the BISD, and the community as a whole to promote the history of the area.
Buggy Barn Founder Dennis Moore summed it up: "We've got a wealth of historical resources, we just have not done a good job of shining a light on what’s here. With every passing day we lose a little more of our history here, and we need to record as much as we can, while we can. This WW2 Museum will help get us the additional exposure and connections to help that happen." The Museum's website is http://ww2blancomuseum.com/, which is building up as an educational resource for students of that era.
The WW2 Museum will begin conducting tours of the facility later this month with the intent of involving the community in the effort to promote Blanco as a place that values its history and heritage. The museum will be open to Blanco County residents on a limited basis as it continues to build out this year.
2 photos attached to this article.
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