Highland House Museum’s Military Room gets major redesign, upgrade
Lead Summary
By
Courtesy of John Kellis-
It has been a long time coming, but the Military Room at the Highland House Museum is getting a major upgrade. The hope was always to get the renovation ready for a Memorial Day Grand Opening, and that has become a reality.
The Museum’s 2015 building project that required the Board to reconstruct the back wall and entrance was a large undertaking. While that project was daunting, it offered opportunities to make other needed improvements at the Highland House Museum. The Society was able to move its medical archives into their own room, freeing up additional space in the Military Room for the archives displayed there.
While initial discussions included a good cleaning and painting, as the inventory got under way, it became obvious that much more work was needed and that this was the time to do it since everything was already in disarray. The challenge was that the project had not been budgeted by the Board of Trustees for 2016. The opportunity to create a new Military Room was simply overdue and too exciting for the Board and staff to ignore.
Vicki Knauff, John Glaze and John Kellis started brainstorming new ways to better display the military archives, photos and documents. The plan included repairing the walls from years of nail holes and cracks in the plaster and repainting walls, woodwork and the ceiling. We also had the opportunity to include new lighting for the room, a new picture railing to avoid any future use of nails, new display cases and upgrades to existing electrical outlets.
The old room tended to mix all archives by where we had space. Glaze and Knauff started from scratch to design a much more organized space, with others offering suggestions.
The new design is aimed at providing sectors within the room, focusing on different wars and the archives from the men and women of our Armed Services. The room is now separated into a Civil War section, a WWI section, a section highlighting WWII, another highlighting Vietnam and finally an area focused on women in the military. The new display cases allowed us to bring smaller and more fragile items such as medals and documents out for the public to view.
“It is very exciting to see this history emerge from the closets into the open for everyone to enjoy,” Knauff, the Society Director, said. “We hope it will prompt new donations to the museum and the military room.”
The design team was also able to highlight local service men and women so the public can better see their contributions. There are several local service men and women highlighted with collections and many other uniforms, weapons, documents, medals and memorabilia to be enjoyed.
The next thing was to find a way to pay for the renovation. Linda and Terry Collins agreed to help pay for new display cases we had found in Chillicothe. Jane Nye Woodhouse and Linda Freedman saw our discussion on social media and also stepped up with donations. John Kellis and Deborah Kellis Harsha each offered memorial donations in the name of their father and WWII Veteran, Charles Rodney Kellis. Kellis, the trustee and finance chair, took those initial donations and started making contacts for the now-burgeoning project.
The Hillsboro VFW Post 9094 donated $500 to the project. Sherwin-Williams offered to donate the paint for the room in memory of their long-time employee and military wife, Martha Jane Kellis. Lowe’s donated a portion of the track lighting for the project, and Precision Painting offered to paint the room and repair the plaster at cost.
“It has been a real pleasure to see people step up to help when they see that you have a worthwhile project,” Knauff said.
We were staring at a major expenditure if we were going to do it properly, and now with the donations, we can make these upgrades without having to dip into the HCHS operating fund.
Finally, we were surprised by another generous donation that will allow for additional improvements to the Room now and in the future. That donation was made in memory of John McDermott, who recently passed. John and Helen McDermott’s daughter, Kris McDermott Wilkerson, told Kellis that the family was looking for that right kind of local donation. They saw the Military Room Project description on the HCHS website and thought it was perfect since her mother Helen had often volunteered at the Museum and that her father John really loved local history.
“On behalf of the Society and the Trustees and staff, we again thank everyone for stepping up and helping where they can,” Society volunteer and webmaster Glaze said. “There are so many exciting projects in the works that it is sometimes hard to focus on them one at a time. Come find out how you can be a part of one.”
While we hope everyone will stop in and enjoy the items archived in the Military Room as the Museum staff and volunteers make these major improvements, this is one of many displays honoring everyone’s history from Hillsboro and Highland County. You can visit displays and rooms at the museum dedicated to the memories of such dignitaries as C.S. Bell, Mother Thompson and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Casper Collins, Milton Caniff, Uncle Orrie and three natives of Hillsboro who became governors: Governor Hugh Allen Trimble and Joseph Benson Foraker in Ohio, and Charles Gossett, who became Governor of Idaho in 1944.
There is also a self-guided tour for the Highland House accessible with smartphones or tablets, as well as a paper version to guide you through the museum.
The VFW has indicated that they may have some additional uniforms and other items to donate to the Military Room Exhibit. We are convinced there are many wonderful items people might be interested in donating and/or loaning to the Museum. Feel free to contact the Historical Society if you have an item to donate.
The Museum’s 2015 building project that required the Board to reconstruct the back wall and entrance was a large undertaking. While that project was daunting, it offered opportunities to make other needed improvements at the Highland House Museum. The Society was able to move its medical archives into their own room, freeing up additional space in the Military Room for the archives displayed there.
While initial discussions included a good cleaning and painting, as the inventory got under way, it became obvious that much more work was needed and that this was the time to do it since everything was already in disarray. The challenge was that the project had not been budgeted by the Board of Trustees for 2016. The opportunity to create a new Military Room was simply overdue and too exciting for the Board and staff to ignore.
Vicki Knauff, John Glaze and John Kellis started brainstorming new ways to better display the military archives, photos and documents. The plan included repairing the walls from years of nail holes and cracks in the plaster and repainting walls, woodwork and the ceiling. We also had the opportunity to include new lighting for the room, a new picture railing to avoid any future use of nails, new display cases and upgrades to existing electrical outlets.
The old room tended to mix all archives by where we had space. Glaze and Knauff started from scratch to design a much more organized space, with others offering suggestions.
The new design is aimed at providing sectors within the room, focusing on different wars and the archives from the men and women of our Armed Services. The room is now separated into a Civil War section, a WWI section, a section highlighting WWII, another highlighting Vietnam and finally an area focused on women in the military. The new display cases allowed us to bring smaller and more fragile items such as medals and documents out for the public to view.
“It is very exciting to see this history emerge from the closets into the open for everyone to enjoy,” Knauff, the Society Director, said. “We hope it will prompt new donations to the museum and the military room.”
The design team was also able to highlight local service men and women so the public can better see their contributions. There are several local service men and women highlighted with collections and many other uniforms, weapons, documents, medals and memorabilia to be enjoyed.
The next thing was to find a way to pay for the renovation. Linda and Terry Collins agreed to help pay for new display cases we had found in Chillicothe. Jane Nye Woodhouse and Linda Freedman saw our discussion on social media and also stepped up with donations. John Kellis and Deborah Kellis Harsha each offered memorial donations in the name of their father and WWII Veteran, Charles Rodney Kellis. Kellis, the trustee and finance chair, took those initial donations and started making contacts for the now-burgeoning project.
The Hillsboro VFW Post 9094 donated $500 to the project. Sherwin-Williams offered to donate the paint for the room in memory of their long-time employee and military wife, Martha Jane Kellis. Lowe’s donated a portion of the track lighting for the project, and Precision Painting offered to paint the room and repair the plaster at cost.
“It has been a real pleasure to see people step up to help when they see that you have a worthwhile project,” Knauff said.
We were staring at a major expenditure if we were going to do it properly, and now with the donations, we can make these upgrades without having to dip into the HCHS operating fund.
Finally, we were surprised by another generous donation that will allow for additional improvements to the Room now and in the future. That donation was made in memory of John McDermott, who recently passed. John and Helen McDermott’s daughter, Kris McDermott Wilkerson, told Kellis that the family was looking for that right kind of local donation. They saw the Military Room Project description on the HCHS website and thought it was perfect since her mother Helen had often volunteered at the Museum and that her father John really loved local history.
“On behalf of the Society and the Trustees and staff, we again thank everyone for stepping up and helping where they can,” Society volunteer and webmaster Glaze said. “There are so many exciting projects in the works that it is sometimes hard to focus on them one at a time. Come find out how you can be a part of one.”
While we hope everyone will stop in and enjoy the items archived in the Military Room as the Museum staff and volunteers make these major improvements, this is one of many displays honoring everyone’s history from Hillsboro and Highland County. You can visit displays and rooms at the museum dedicated to the memories of such dignitaries as C.S. Bell, Mother Thompson and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Casper Collins, Milton Caniff, Uncle Orrie and three natives of Hillsboro who became governors: Governor Hugh Allen Trimble and Joseph Benson Foraker in Ohio, and Charles Gossett, who became Governor of Idaho in 1944.
There is also a self-guided tour for the Highland House accessible with smartphones or tablets, as well as a paper version to guide you through the museum.
The VFW has indicated that they may have some additional uniforms and other items to donate to the Military Room Exhibit. We are convinced there are many wonderful items people might be interested in donating and/or loaning to the Museum. Feel free to contact the Historical Society if you have an item to donate.