thedrifter
02-15-08, 06:47 AM
History under construction
Refurbishment of Parris Island Museum nears an end after two years
Published Thu, Feb 14, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
As Parris Island Museum exhibits coordinator Dana MacBean walks past the uniforms and artifacts on display at the newly refurbished museum, he can't help but remember that each dusty relic has a story.
There's a helmet in one display case that was perforated in the World War II battle of Cape Gloucester, on a small Pacific island called New Britain.
A shell smacked the helmet's wearer dead center, puncturing the outer shell but traveling harmlessly around the outside of the helmet's liner to exit in the back.
The Marine survived to donate the helmet to the museum years later.
Then there's the 17th-century katana -- a Japanese sword -- a Marine brought back as a trophy from Guadalcanal.
"So many Marines began their careers right here," said MacBean, who has worked at the museum for more than three years. "This island is for the drill instructors and the recruits. This is their place. So this is where they want their memorabilia to reside. We try to make sure every artifact has a story behind it."
After two years and about $150,000 in government and historical society funds, Parris Island Museum officials plan to wrap up the museum's refurbishment with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the general public March 16.
The main theme of the museum refurbishment was getting the stories behind the museum's voluminous artifact collection to the public in a clear, concise way, MacBean said.
To that end, the museum is featuring an exhibit of Marine artifacts from World War I to the present on the museum's second floor.
"Some of the stuff you see now has just been stored away because we had no space," he said. "But the hardest part was taking the text in our libraries and synthesizing the major aspects of it. We've tried to make the whole exhibit visitor-friendly."
In the future, the museum might incorporate interactive computer kiosks to guide visitors through the exhibits, MacBean said.
"I think now, with our visuals, that we are the best museum in the county," he said. "I'm tickled pink with it. Not only that, but we're free. You can't beat that."
The museum welcomes about 130,000 recruits, veterans and other visitors every year, according to curator Bryan Howard, who has been with the museum for six years.
The museum's reorganization and refurbishment should give those visitors a stronger dose of Marine Corps
history.
"It's been a fairly long process, and we've been splitting our time between upstairs and downstairs," he said.
Many of the exhibits and their stories were placed and researched by a corps of dedicated volunteers, Howard said.
Ken Hall, 69, has been volunteering at the museum for about four years. He served in the Marine Corps from 1961 to 1966, leaving as a corporal.
He's also a member of Parris Island's Yellow Footprints detachment of the Marine Corps League, so named for the painted footprints would-be Marines stand on during their induction.
"In the past 11 months, we've got almost 2,700 volunteer hours," Hall said. "And those are just the ones we tracked."
Hall said one of the biggest attractions at the museum isn't the exhibits -- it's the guests. Over the years, he's met admirals, third-generation Marines, Iwo Jima survivors and other Corps curiosities.
"We get a lot of people through here who've served in the Marines, and they're always glad to tell you about their experiences."
•The Parris Island Museum was dedicated Jan. 8, 1975, by Commandant of the Marine Corps Robert Cushman Jr. in the former War Memorial Building, which had been built in 1951 as a recreation center for enlisted personnel. •The museum grew to fill the building's entire 23,000-square foot display space under the director of current director Stephen Wise, who came to the museum in 1983. •In 1993, the museum was conferred the honor of being named a certified Marine Corps Command Museum by Brig. Gen. Edwin Simmons. •The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
PI VIDEO
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/news/local/military/v-print/story/191750.html
Ellie
Refurbishment of Parris Island Museum nears an end after two years
Published Thu, Feb 14, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
As Parris Island Museum exhibits coordinator Dana MacBean walks past the uniforms and artifacts on display at the newly refurbished museum, he can't help but remember that each dusty relic has a story.
There's a helmet in one display case that was perforated in the World War II battle of Cape Gloucester, on a small Pacific island called New Britain.
A shell smacked the helmet's wearer dead center, puncturing the outer shell but traveling harmlessly around the outside of the helmet's liner to exit in the back.
The Marine survived to donate the helmet to the museum years later.
Then there's the 17th-century katana -- a Japanese sword -- a Marine brought back as a trophy from Guadalcanal.
"So many Marines began their careers right here," said MacBean, who has worked at the museum for more than three years. "This island is for the drill instructors and the recruits. This is their place. So this is where they want their memorabilia to reside. We try to make sure every artifact has a story behind it."
After two years and about $150,000 in government and historical society funds, Parris Island Museum officials plan to wrap up the museum's refurbishment with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the general public March 16.
The main theme of the museum refurbishment was getting the stories behind the museum's voluminous artifact collection to the public in a clear, concise way, MacBean said.
To that end, the museum is featuring an exhibit of Marine artifacts from World War I to the present on the museum's second floor.
"Some of the stuff you see now has just been stored away because we had no space," he said. "But the hardest part was taking the text in our libraries and synthesizing the major aspects of it. We've tried to make the whole exhibit visitor-friendly."
In the future, the museum might incorporate interactive computer kiosks to guide visitors through the exhibits, MacBean said.
"I think now, with our visuals, that we are the best museum in the county," he said. "I'm tickled pink with it. Not only that, but we're free. You can't beat that."
The museum welcomes about 130,000 recruits, veterans and other visitors every year, according to curator Bryan Howard, who has been with the museum for six years.
The museum's reorganization and refurbishment should give those visitors a stronger dose of Marine Corps
history.
"It's been a fairly long process, and we've been splitting our time between upstairs and downstairs," he said.
Many of the exhibits and their stories were placed and researched by a corps of dedicated volunteers, Howard said.
Ken Hall, 69, has been volunteering at the museum for about four years. He served in the Marine Corps from 1961 to 1966, leaving as a corporal.
He's also a member of Parris Island's Yellow Footprints detachment of the Marine Corps League, so named for the painted footprints would-be Marines stand on during their induction.
"In the past 11 months, we've got almost 2,700 volunteer hours," Hall said. "And those are just the ones we tracked."
Hall said one of the biggest attractions at the museum isn't the exhibits -- it's the guests. Over the years, he's met admirals, third-generation Marines, Iwo Jima survivors and other Corps curiosities.
"We get a lot of people through here who've served in the Marines, and they're always glad to tell you about their experiences."
•The Parris Island Museum was dedicated Jan. 8, 1975, by Commandant of the Marine Corps Robert Cushman Jr. in the former War Memorial Building, which had been built in 1951 as a recreation center for enlisted personnel. •The museum grew to fill the building's entire 23,000-square foot display space under the director of current director Stephen Wise, who came to the museum in 1983. •In 1993, the museum was conferred the honor of being named a certified Marine Corps Command Museum by Brig. Gen. Edwin Simmons. •The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
PI VIDEO
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/news/local/military/v-print/story/191750.html
Ellie