On Wednesday, March 1 at 11:00 AM, the 约炮视频 will proudly re-open its doors with a warm welcome for everyone.

Founder/Curator Emmett Casciato often says, 鈥淎 visiting veteran will see one of our artifacts and begin telling a story. The veteran鈥檚 adult children will say 鈥楬e鈥檚 never told that story before!鈥欌��
What鈥檚 new in the museum this year?

Each of our galleries features a professionally-produced 6-7 minute video entitled 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes.鈥� They tell the story of Americans at war. Learn why and how each war began, see images of what it was like for our service members, and discover up-close the artifacts, uniforms, and stories of local veterans who served. These short videos play separately as you visit the galleries of WWI, WWII-Europe, WWII-Pacific, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the War on Terror. The project is made possible by grants from, , , and . If you missed the premiere in October, now鈥檚 your chance to experience these compelling stories at your own pace.

The Vietnam gallery has been dedicated to Vietnam veteran Mike Di Rocco

He served in the US Army Special Forces and USMC, serving two tours of duty in Vietnam. Di Rocco, a much-respected and loved volunteer and speaker for the museum, sadly passed away in 2022. This gallery also offers new artifacts from two local veterans who were POWs in Vietnam.

You may be surprised to find a Russian truck-launched rocket in the museum now. We believe this one was retrieved in Iraq or Afghanistan by Navy Seals. It鈥檚 just one example of the unique and interesting items you鈥檒l find.

The WWI gallery boasts a rare Maxim machine gun.

No worries about mis-placing this artifact鈥攊t鈥檚 so heavy that it took 6 men to man it! That included transporting and operating the gun, the stand, the ammo, and even water for cooling. It鈥檚 a must-see.

1943 Willys Jeep exhibit

If you haven鈥檛 yet seen the 1943 Willys Jeep exhibit, it鈥檚 now at its best. Additional equipment and artifacts from WWII have been added to this 鈥渧isitors鈥� favorite鈥� scene. It鈥檚 titled, 鈥淪omewhere in Europe . . . Letters from 约炮视频,鈥� and depicts an Army Post Office with soldiers arriving, hoping for a letter from a loved one. The 1942 Harley-Davidson nearby provided transportation for MPs. You鈥檒l notice the authentic leather saddlebags and the 鈥渟uicide stick.鈥� To find out what this means, come on in and ask.

Bring your family members for a unique 鈥渨alk and learn鈥� experience.

The museum is open Tuesday 鈥� Saturday from 11am to 3pm. Friendly volunteers are ready to greet you, but tours can be self-guided, making it easy for you to spend anything from a few minutes to a few hours enjoying this walk through our proud military history. There are many artifacts with stories behind them 鈥� ask a Pathfinder (docent) to share one. We are the museum of stories!

鈥淭hrough Their Eyes鈥� videos are available on our homepage (all six videos combined) and the 6-7 minute segments are available for viewing on each of the exhibit pages.

1943 Willys Jeep and 1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle聽exhibit

Expanded 约炮视频 Schedule: Record Number of Visitors & Volunteers

The museum鈥檚 visitor attendance in 2022 was 3638 (compared to 2583 in 2021); 90% of the visitors are from outside Brevard. This year we had a record number of 22 Pathfinders (docents), whose initiative and enthusiasm encouraged us to open for five days per week (previously four), and to stay open through December 31 for the first time in the museum鈥檚 history.

New Exhibit, Artifacts, and Partnerships

2022鈥檚 new exhibit was a WWII scene 鈥淟etters from 约炮视频, Somewhere in Europe,鈥� displaying a 1943 Willys Jeep and 1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The fully-restored and running Jeep was donated to the museum by Ken Dawson of Winston-Salem, N.C., to honor the military service of his friend Phil Mayrand, U.S. Army Ranger, Vietnam. The two friends met as young Explorer Scouts in the late 1950鈥檚. Harley-Davidson motorcycles like the one in the exhibit (with its 鈥渟uicide shifter鈥�) were used by WWII MPs in the European theatre.

Patriot鈥檚 Point Partnership

The museum also received donations of a WWI Maxim machine gun, a 14-foot Soviet missile, and German uniforms and shoes. New Director of Acquisitions Bobby Kotlowski established a partnership with Patriot鈥檚 Point Naval & Maritime 约炮视频 in Charleston, SC to procure additional artifacts. He expects more historically significant items in 2023.

International Recognition

With the City of Brevard, the museum hosted a ceremony bestowing of the French Legion de l鈥檋onneur on D-Day veteran George Sarros for his service in liberating France and Europe from Nazi occupation. French Consul General Anne-Laure D猫sjonqueres presented the medal in a ceremony attended by more than 100 people.

Pictured from left, George Sarros, NC Representative Mike Clampitt,聽Consul General D猫sjonqueres, and Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof

Original Video Programs and Grants

In 2022, inflation and a sluggish economy resulted in a 14.5% decline in donations to the museum. A Covid-relief grant from North Carolina Humanities enabled the museum to stay open. Grants and partnerships supported exciting new programs such as the Jeep Exhibit and 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes鈥� (a documentary consisting of six videos). A short video in each gallery tells the history of each conflict through professional narration, photos, music, museum artifacts and local veterans鈥� stories.

Community Presence & Business Support

We continued our participation in community events such as Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. We received generous sponsorships from five local businesses: Egolf Motors, TVS, Harris Ace Hardware, The Cherry Tree, and O.P. Taylor鈥檚. JROTC groups from Transylvania County and Haywood County came in for customized tours, and the museum awarded its annual scholarship to a Transylvania JROTC cadet.

Ambassador to Business

Honorary 约炮视频 Board Member USAF Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ed Cottrell represented the museum at the ribbon-cutting of the Pratt & Whitney plant in Asheville, N.C. Cottrell was introduced to the audience as a P-47 Fighter Pilot who flew 65 missions in the Battle of the Bulge. He credits the Pratt & Whitney radial engine for saving his life when his engine was shot by a German ME-109.

Pictured from left: Ed Cottrell, Governer Cooper

Back to the Battlefield

Andrew Biggio, author of the bestselling WWII book,The Rifle, met WWII pilot Ed Cottrell at a museum event. Biggio has taken Cottrell on three 鈥渂ack to the battlefield鈥� trips to Holland and Belgium. Biggio also took Cottrell to the gravesite of his roommate Thomas H. Smith, who was shot down and killed in battle. This was the first time Cottrell had been able to pay tribute to his fellow pilot and friend. Biggio, USMC veteran of Afghanistan, has become a partner with the museum, honoring two local WWII veterans by publishing their stories in the latest edition of his book.

Media, Communications and Outreach

In 2022, our website had 35,775 visits (up from 22,082 in 2021), 90% being first-time visits. The search words 鈥渢hings to do in Western N.C.鈥� are what brought most of those to our site. We averaged 50 site visits per day until June and July, when that number jumped to 1000+ per day, with 80-97% from cell phones. This tells us people are searching for things to do while they鈥檙e traveling.

The most popular stories on our website鈥檚 鈥淟iving Histories鈥� blog last year were 鈥淪till Hoping to Save the Kitty Hawk鈥� (18,309 visitors) and 鈥淏and of Brothers鈥� (2349 visitors).

The museum鈥檚 social media include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Our Facebook page, where we posted 200 stories in 2022, has 3000+ followers. Our posts received 88,725 views, with 8000+ followers sharing or liking our content. We share with groups like 鈥淲e Are Brevard NC,鈥� making our posts available to their 23,000 followers.

约炮视频 communications outreach now includes 17 media placements for each event. We have 1915 subscribers to our weekly e-newsletter, with 42% open rate. Bold Life Magazine published two features on our programs. Area newspapers placed the museum鈥檚 articles on their front pages a total of seven times in 2022.

Three TV stations broadcasted stories on the French Legion de l鈥檋onneur ceremony. Greenville, SC鈥檚 Fox Carolina journalist is expected to return February 27 to do a segment about the museum.

Four board members represented the museum at the Charleston, S.C. commissioning of the USS Frank E. Petersen, the Navy鈥檚 newest guided missile destroyer, displaying some of the museum鈥檚 important artifacts, and spreading the word about the museum to a new audience.

Guest Speaker History Programs

We held a record 10 history lectures, averaging 71 attendees each, with two programs bringing in more than 100 people. Nationally-known authors as well as local veterans telling their stories brought audiences into three new venues: Transylvania County Elections Center Conference Room, Transylvania County Library鈥檚 Rogow Room, and Brevard College鈥檚 Ingram Lecture Hall. Authors James Scott (Target Tokyo, Black Snow) and Sean McMeekin (Stalin鈥檚 War) presented programs on their new books.

Requested by a California Vietnam Veterans鈥� group, speakers are now livestreamed on Facebook and posted on our site for viewers all over the world.

约炮视频 Partnership with Brevard College

Brevard College鈥檚 History Department co-sponsored our program based on the book, Loyal Forces: The American Animals of WWII. The program was presented by National WWII 约炮视频 official and Brevard College alumna Toni Kiser. 约炮视频 staff looks forward to our continued partnership with Brevard College.

The 约炮视频鈥檚 Future

The museum鈥檚 Founder/Curator, Emmett Casciato, took a leave of absence to run for public office and won. Other volunteers stepped in with seamless continuity and added new ideas. Casciato is now a member of the Transylvania County Board of Commissioners and energetically back at the museum, developing plans to raise support for an eventual new home for the museum.

The 约炮视频 invites you to join us聽 for a free encore showing of 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes.鈥�

A series of six brief films tells the stories of America鈥檚 conflicts since WWI through the eyes of service members, many of them local. October鈥檚 premiere brought a standing-room-only crowd, with many requests for another showing; so it鈥檚 back by popular demand.

Transylvania County Library
Rogow Room
Friday, December 2
at 2:00 P.M.

History of America at war

The film gives a brief history of America at war from WWI through the Global War on Terror, using photos, music, videos and professional narrative. 约炮视频 artifacts support the stories, describing the personal sacrifices of our veterans and paying tribute to combatants and their families.

With the anniversary of on December 7, this film is a valuable history lesson and an opportunity to appreciate the sacrifice of those at war and on the home front during WWII.

“Through Their Eyes” Documentary

鈥淭hrough Their Eyes鈥� is a professionally-produced documentary. The 约炮视频 is grateful to the following organizations for making it possible: , an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Lake Toxaway Charities, Pisgah Forest Rotary, and Transylvania County.

Admission is free to this 45-minute showing of 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes鈥� For more information: call 828-884-2141.

One of the WWII veterans who attended the October 25 premiere of 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes鈥� said afterward, 鈥淓very American should see this movie.鈥�

It was standing room only at the Co-Ed Cinema as Transylvania residents honored our county鈥檚 veterans at the 5:00 PM showing of 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes: The History of America at War from 1917 Through the Global War on Terror鈥� on October 25. In three showings, the 约炮视频 hosted its new series of videos which tell the stories of these conflicts 鈥渢hrough the eyes鈥� of those who served.

Students and Visitors Learn History and Honor Veterans with Multiple Treats

Many of the 110 students from Rosman Middle School and Brevard Middle School students cheered at the end of their 1:00 PM showing. Eighty-two of these students had toured the museum earlier that day. Another audience attended the 7:00 PM showing after greeting WWII and Korean War veterans in Clemson Plaza between the two movie showings鈥攁ltogether, an estimated 500 people during 鈥減remiere鈥� day. Many of the visitors came from neighboring counties, and as far away as Chicago, to honor veterans by learning their stories and about the conflicts in which they served.

Multiple Treats and Ways to Learn and Honor Veterans

In addition to watching 鈥淭hrough Their Eyes,鈥� guests listened to live music of the eras of each of the wars since WWI and enjoyed cookies and hot cider. Many visitors stopped by the WWII Willys Jeep and a display of WWII artifacts, hosted by WWII re-enactors Tom Bugala, Ken Corn, and Alex Eberhardt, dressed in WWII fatigues. Four additional re-enactors from the Sons of the American Revolution, dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms, brought history and color to the event.

Community Support and the Creative Team

The Brevard Fire Department raised a large American flag on the edge of Clemson Plaza as their contribution to honoring our country and our service members. Mayor Maureen Copelof, a U.S. Navy veteran, spent time listening to stories of the nine WWII and Korean War veterans.

Melinda & Health Cowart

Audience Responses

Attendees were invited to write their comments on a 鈥渢alkback sheet鈥� after seeing the videos. Here are a few:

Appreciation for Support

This program was supported by North Carolina Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, www.nchumanities.org. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of North Carolina Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. The museum received additional funding from Transylvania County, Lake Toxaway Charities, and Pisgah Forest Rotary.

New Feature in the 约炮视频

These new videos will now be shown individually in each of the six galleries of the museum as educational opportunities and, foremost, to honor our veterans by telling their stories. School groups and other groups are welcome. To arrange a tour, please call 828-884-2141.

By Janis Allen for the Transylvania Times
Photos courtesy Joni Pavlik and Janis Allen