Uniform Heaven at the Michigan Military Heritage Museum

[ScottG]

As many know, I am one of the founders of the Michigan Military Heritage Museum in Grass Lake Michigan. It is located right off of I-94 between Jackson and Ann Arbor. 153 N Union St. Grass Lake MI. 49240. We are currently all volunteer and are open Wed, Sat, Sun from 11-5.

I have posted many pictures of our exhibits which currently encompass about 200 Michigan uniforms and stories. So, today I thought I would post some of our uniform storage. When we receive items they are recorded, photographed and then entered into a museum software system called "Past Perfect". This tells us the donor, the history, the condition, the appraised value, and the location of the items. Its a bit tedious, but necessary.

I thought I would share some of this as I was doing some work there and it occurred to me that we have done pretty well. By that I mean in addition to the 200 or so uniforms that are on display, we have all of these shown and more. In comparison to many institutions it isn't a lot, but we only began accepting donations 4 years ago! Everything here is either donated or was transferred from another museum. So for me its proof positive that there is still a massive amount out there. The length of the wall with the long run of uniforms is 30' the short run is 10'. Most of the uniforms are WWI and WWII. We struggle with getting items from modern wars and Vietnam.... Scott

[ScottG]

Here are some of our overcoats and Women's dresses as well as some helmet and equipment shelves. I should mention that this is one of 5 storage areas in the museum. Scott

[Kurt Barickman]

My kind of place

 

Kurt

[MilitaryPicker1941]

Really like the constabulary liner!

[ScottG]

My kind of place

 

Kurt

Thank you Kurt. Scott

[ScottG]

Really like the constabulary liner!

Its part of a huge group. The soldier served from the 20s through WWII and well into the Cold War. He started out enlisted and retired as a Colonel. Thanks! Scott

[BigDogMilitaria]

Looks awesome, ill have to make it down your way one day soon .

[ScottG]

Looks awesome, ill have to make it down your way one day soon .

We would be happy to have you. Stop in and ask for me and I would be happy to show you around. Scott

[ScottG]

    Just saw that I never updated this thread, I guess life gets in the way and things get forgotten... Anyhow, since the last post many years ago, the museum has expanded and moved to 311 N Wisner St in Jackson Mi.

    In addition to the move, which put us on the site of a former Civil War camp, Camp Blair, we also acquired the neighboring property about two weeks ago and are planning an 8000 sq foot additional building as the collection has grown.

    So, here are a few exhibit pics and I will try to do better to add more as time permits.   Scott

 

[ScottG]

Here is a short video of the museum.  Scott

[Marshallj]

So there is a similar museum in Central Ohio that I have personally seen hundreds of uniforms in their basement stored in similar conditions. My guess is that due to to the size of the museum those uniforms donated In good faith will never see the light of day. My suggestion is to photograph every uniform and post it on line with the history of the uniform’s owner. Otherwise it is nothing more than part of the museum owners private collection. 

[ScottG]

10 minutes ago, Marshallj said:

So there is a similar museum in Central Ohio that I have personally seen hundreds of uniforms in their basement stored in similar conditions. My guess is that due to to the size of the museum those uniforms donated In good faith will never see the light of day. My suggestion is to photograph every uniform and post it on line with the history of the uniform’s owner. Otherwise it is nothing more than part of the museum owners private collection. 

 

       Can't speak for the Ohio museum, but what you say is likely correct, uniforms donated in good faith. That said, if done properly the idea of an item going on display is addressed at the point of donation and made clear to the donor. In the current post, the size of the museum and future plans have been addressed. 

      Most museums have storage like us, and most rotate exhibits to allow for new stories and also to rest the items for the sake of preservation. As it said in the initial post, every item is cataloged and photographed before going on exhibit or into storage. 

      We have no owners, we have a Board of Directors so no, its not part of a private collection, but if it was, how is that any different than your collection? These museum assumptions are ignorant at best, and at worst insulting. As I have stated on here many times in the past, so many make these claims about museums but are also first in line when we have excess items to sell. As for conditions, this is our old location and not the current one. Our collections are climate controlled, bagged, tagged, cataloged, in a secure facility with alarms, cameras, and pest control using acid free materials which cost a small fortune when dealing with tens of thousands of items.  As the new storage is many times larger than the one shown, there are no current pics. 

      Scott

[atb]

Better to use unbleached muslin instead of those plastic covers over the uniforms in storage. The plastic is not good long term. Styrofoam head forms (if that's what they are) without barriers between the object and the form are bad as well.

[ScottG]

46 minutes ago, atb said:

Better to use unbleached muslin instead of those plastic covers over the uniforms in storage. The plastic is not good long term. Styrofoam head forms (if that's what they are) without barriers between the object and the form are bad as well.

 

      UGH, the items are all archival and meet museum standards... Not that any of this was what the post was about.  Scott

[jerry_k]

Wow, that is great, congrats! 

ps. It looks like you invested a lot of $$$ in Yank's mannequin as well...

[ScottG]

3 hours ago, jerry_k said:

Wow, that is great, congrats! 

ps. It looks like you invested a lot of $$$ in Yank's mannequin as well...

 

         Thank you and yes, there are many Yanks Mannequins, we find them to be a great value and stable platform for uniforms with field gear.  Scott

[atb]

9 hours ago, ScottG said:

 

      UGH, the items are all archival and meet museum standards... Not that any of this was what the post was about.  Scott

Very good to hear that. First impression was a dry cleaner's hanging rack with all those plastic bags. Showing the realities of a museum's collection's storage space is always going to generate comments if all kinds.

[4th Miss Cav]

Since I was fortunate enough to see it first hand about a year ago, I don’t believe these pictures do it justice. It was incredible to see it in person. Of course you have 5 more years of donations since these were taken. Great museum. 
 

David