Remember Me: Highlights from the National Heritage Museum
December 1, 2007 through September 1, 2008

In 1972 Commander George A. Newbury, the motivating force behind the National Heritage Museum's founding, created the institution"... to tell a thrilling story—the story of America." Since then the Museum has been collecting objects, documents, and books associated with American and Masonic history with Newbury's goal in mind.

Every week, the Library and Museum receive offers of material to add to the collection. When staff members are deciding whether to accept a donation or make a purchase for the collection, we find materials that help us tell a story particularly compelling. We want to be able to connect that collection object to a person, event, or time in history and thereby offer visitors a rich and intriguing glimpse of the past.

A new exhibition, "Remember Me: Highlights from the National Heritage Museum," explores some of the stories found in the Museum and Library collections. The exhibition features a wide variety of materials—from household objects and photographs to lodge furnishings. Every object, be it an artfully engraved medal or a scuffed doll's trunk, offers a connection to a person, time, or event.

Some of the objects on view are personal creations, such as the diary of a Maine schoolgirl and a quilt made by an Indiana homemaker. Others are everyday objects like a worn lunch box or a well-loved toy that recall the tasks and pleasures of day-to-day life decades ago. Families have also carefully preserved their memories of milestones such as weddings by saving dresses, photographs and scrapbooks. Over the years, these objects have helped one generation share its history with the next. Now these objects can also show us how the celebration of special events has changed over time.

The Museum is privileged to hold material related to people who participated in events that shaped the course of wars or politics. These objects include a powder horn carved by a prisoner in a Texas prison camp during the Civil War. Over the centuries, Americans have also reflected on their own history. Objects in the exhibition tell how they imagined the arrival of the Pilgrims in the 1600s and marked the 100^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

At the National Heritage Museum, we pay special attention to materials related to the history of Freemasonry and other fraternal organizations in the United States. Over the years, Masons have created objects to help fellow members remember the lessons and symbols they have learned in lodge. "Remember Me" showcases some of the unique material related to Freemasonry, including a tracing board from the 1800s and a sundial decorated with reminders of the Masonic values of brotherhood and benevolence.

Regardless of their age, the way they were used, or where they were made, all of the objects in "Remember Me" offer a window into past lives. The stories these objects tell can help us understand what events and values we as a people have cherished, marked and strived to remember throughout American history.