Arts & Culture
Hutchings Museum searching for Cold War veterans, memorabilia
New Cold War exhibit planned
The Hutchings Museum is creating a new exhibit to honor people from the community who served the in the United States military during the Cold War. The idea for this exhibit was introduced by the American Legion Post 19 of Lehi, Utah. The veterans’ organization shares space with the Hutchings Museum. The building that the museum now occupies was originally constructed as a veterans’ memorial and still serves that purpose today.
Elder Thomas Blackwelder, a service missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is overseeing this collection as part of his service with the museum. Blackwelder said “Many of our local veterans served during the Cold War era in non-combat zones and do not have a memorial acknowledging their valor and sacrifice for serving their country. We want to give those servicemen and women a place for their voices to be heard and for their stories to be told. Not only will this exhibit give unheard service members a voice and a place for their contributions to be seen, it will educate younger generations about the causes, details, and lasting effects of the Cold War, helping to create a historically and culturally aware community.”
“For this exhibit to happen, we need the community’s help in donating artifacts to make the exhibit concrete and meaningful. We are looking for any items that pertain to military and cultural history during the Cold War era. That can be any sort of written publication, propaganda or object, especially things relating to Soviet conflict, espionage, the threat of nuclear attack, the space race, as well as the Vietnam and Korean wars. We have already received some pieces of the Berlin Wall, German newspapers, and military publications.” said Blackwelder.
The museum is not only looking for artifacts but are also collecting the names of every service member who has lived in Lehi at any point in time and served during the Cold War. Blackwelder said, “We would also love to interview anyone who is willing to share their experiences serving in the armed forces.”
If you or someone you know served during these conflicts or have items or stories to tell, visit the Hutchings Museum’s Facebook page. More information can also be found by visiting the museum website at johnhutchingsmuseum.org. The new Cold War exhibit is scheduled to open March 2, 2020.
