Museum Hopes To Have April Dedication

By Paul Monsour Editor
The Union County Advocate - December 29, 1999

A county-wide board has been formed to operate the new Camp Breckinridge Museum and Arts Center and currently plans are aiming at holding a gala grand opening and dedication in April.

The newest members of the board were recently appointed by Union County Judge Executive Larry Joe Jenkins.

The board members are Vicki O'Nan, Rebecca Meacham, Larry Strehle, Vicki Ricketts, Maribeth Logsdon, L.K. "Bouncer" Shields, Ruth Heffington and John Crosby, Director of the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.

The advisors to the baord are retired Judge Executive Jimmy Veatch, and Magistrates Joe Clements and Joe Wells. Ricketts will serve as manager of the museum and art center.

Mrs. Ricketts said that some big names will be invited to the grand opening and dedication ceremony and those invited include retired US Senator and Presidental Candidate Bob Dole, a respresentative of the Jackie Robinson Family, Miss Heather French, who is from Kentucky, and others. Robinson was the first black Major League baseball player. Both Dole and Robinson trained at the old Camp Breckinridge, which the museum was once part of and gets its name from.

Mrs. Ricketts said the museum was not officailly opened and that will come once the final touches are put on the construction.

The board will also work out the hours and days of operation of the museum.

The board will next meet at 4 pm on Monday, January 24 at the museum and arts center.

O'Nan serves as President of the board, Meachem is the Secretary and Strehle is the Treasurer.

The board has set up three committees: Publicity, Hospitality and Membership and Organization. The Hospitality committee will plan the dedication and grand opening ceremony.

The Membership Committee will oversee setting up the foundation to run the center.

Those wishing to serve on any of the three committees should call O'Nan at 389-1081 or Meacham at 389-1092.

The museum and arts center is set up in the old Officers' Club, a relic of closed Camp Breckinridge, an Army camp that opened in 1942. Once it closed for good in the early 1960's, a big part of the camp was turned into the Breckinridge Job Corps Center in 1965. The Center later saw its name changed to the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center to honor former Kentucky Govenor and US Senator Earle C. Clements, a Union County native.

The Union County Fiscal Court acquired the Old Officers' Club a couple of years ago from Marty Girten and obtained a grant of $1 million to purchase and renovate the old facility.

The final cost of the renovation was placed at $1.3 million, with the Union County Fiscal Court putting in the final $300,000.

The highlights of the museum are the murals painted on the walls of the museum - painted by two or more World War II German POW's in the 1940's.

The fiscal court hopes the musem will be a big attraction to visitors from across the country and put Union County on the tourism map bringing in visitors.

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