When something has been around as long as the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Building in Redfield, sometimes it requires some fresh eyes to bring it back into people’s minds.

With that in mind, Dallas County Conservation has tasked their summer intern Sean Riley with updating the military museum. Riley says it’s been a big undertaking, and his main focus has been to create exhibits that focus on present-day military. Prior to the museum’s revamp, the G.A.R. had items through the Vietnam War. With Riley’s help, Conservation has been able to bring in displays and artifacts that are much more recent in nature, while also giving their older exhibits a new look. “If you’ve been there before, try to come back. We’re having the display cases completely changed out. I’ve tried to, you know, rearrange them a little bit. And one case I’ll definitely get the new modern war stuff in, so (I’ll) hopefully get that fixed (soon) and have it up and running!”

One exhibit in particular that Riley has been working on involves showing the evolution of military helmets, starting in the Civil War era and running through today. Admission is free for visitors, and the museum is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. To learn more about this and other new exhibits with Dallas County Conservation, click the link below to listen to the Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Riley and Forest Park Museum Curator Pete Malmberg.

https://raccoonvalleyradio.com/2018/05/lets-talk-dallas-county-5242018-pete-malmberg-and-sean-riley/