In honor of the centenary of Armistice Day, the Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums has partnered with the Platteville American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars to offer two days of Veterans Day Weekend programming focused on World War I.
The Friends of the Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums (formerly known as the Jamison Museum Association) will host what is expected to be the event of the year for local history enthusiasts on Nov. 10. The optional one-hour Friends Annual Meeting at 4 p.m. will be followed by a special Reception Honoring 100 Years of Armistice with heavy hors d’oeuvres, beverages and live music.
Five area experts will bring new World War I exhibits dramatically to life: “The Weapons of War,” by Bill Van Deest; “Leo M. Kane, the First Platteville Casualty of WWI,” by Paul Budden; “The Changing Role of Women,” by Tracey Roberts; “The Wartime Kitchen,” by Mary Huck; and “Send a Care Package to a Soldier,” by Jennifer Smith. The event is free of charge and is exclusively for active members of the Friends of the Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums. Not a member? All are invited to join or renew their annual membership today as part of the Museums’ annual membership drive at www.mining.jamison.museum. RSVP by registering for the program online or calling (608) 348-3301.
Then on Nov. 11, the Museums will offer an Armistice Day Centenary program at 3 p.m., with guided tours of the Bevans Lead Mine and the new WWI exhibit at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The 3 p.m. program is free of charge for all. The guided tours are $10/adults, $5/senior or child age 5-17 — and will be free of charge to all veterans, active duty military and their families. The Armistice Day Centenary Program on Veterans Day will include a color guard representing the Platteville American Legion, the Cuba City American Legion and other communities of our historic mining region. A rifle salute will honor fallen soldiers. Platteville High School students Anica Graney and Molly Otto will read the emotional World War I poems “In Flanders Fields” and “The American Response,” respectively. Gary Tuescher will conjure the memory of fallen soldiers from our communities before commencing the playing of Taps, and ceremonial folding of the American flag together with Paul Budden. Visitors may reserve their guided tour online at www.mining.jamison.museum. No registration is required for the 3 p.m. program.
“This weekend of Veterans Day programming is an opportunity for the community to come together with veterans from Platteville and across the historic mining region to revisit the local legacy of World War I,” said Museum Director Erik Flesch. “Our loved ones who experienced ‘The War to End All Wars’ may no longer be with us, but we take this opportunity to remember their lives and what our region went through by exploring period objects, retelling history and sharing memories.”