News Release from: Oregon National Guard
OREGON MILITARY MUSEUM SCHEDULED FOR TEMPORARY CLOSURE
Posted: November 7th, 2008 3:27 PM

CLACKAMAS, Ore. -- The Oregon Military Museum is scheduled to temporarily
close and begin its transition to a new facility on the Oregon National
Guard's Camp Withycombe, Nov. 16.

Museum services and activities will be suspended until the grand re-opening.
These include public visits, group tours, access to library, archives and
collections for research purposes, off-site community displays of artifacts
and vehicles, and artifact and library book donation offers.

The museum must relocate from four of its buildings by June 1, 2009 to make
room for the 41st Infantry Division Armed Forces Reserve Center that will
serve 1,300 soldiers.

Museum artifacts will be housed in the existing Clackamas Armory. The
re-opening will be announced at a later date.

"Change is always hard," said Tracy Thoennes, museum director. "But this is
an amazing growth opportunity for this quiet little museum.  This move will
allow us to better serve our audiences, preserve our military history, and to
tell meaningful and relevant stories of how military istory and the National
Guard impact Oregonians."

The new location will require reconfiguration to meet the needs of the
museum's exhibition, education, administrative, collections, and research
functions. The increased space and better facilities will provide long-term
benefits to the museum and its audiences, said Thoennes.

Museum master planning is underway to estimate the costs of this remodeling,
and to develop a capital campaign to fund the needed improvements.

The Oregon Military Museum has been at its current location since it was
established by the Oregon Military Department in 1975 as the state's official
military history repository.

The museum's mission is to tell the story of Oregon's military heritage,
focusing on the early militia through today's Oregon National Guard, to
collect and ensure access to historical artifacts and archives, to preserve
the items entrusted to the Museum's care, and to educate and inspire visitors
through exhibits, living history and interpretive programs.

The Museum's artifact collection has more than 13,000 objects, 25,000 library
volumes, and 750 cubic feet of archives, valued at about $6 million.  It is
part of the U.S. Army Museum System and the National Guard Museum System.


Contact Info: Captain Stephen Bomar
Deputy Public Affairs Office
Oregon Military Department
503-584-3885


Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE