9/11 Remembrance at Price of Freedom Museum
Published 12:10 am Saturday, September 7, 2024
Known as the Davey Crockett Jeep, this vehicle carried an atomic warhead. Unfortunately its range was so small that soldiers using the weapon were often caught in the contamination and radiation. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
This is a far less well known photo from the bombing at Pearl Harbour. In the center of the photo are the sprays of water indicating where the first two bombs hit, and if one looks closely, one can see in the center then off to the far upper right, the two planes that dropped the bombs. This photo was one donated to the Price of Freedom Museum.
This is one of the most famous photos from the bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese.
One of more than 70 paintings done by John Hurley and on display in the Hall of Honor at the Price of Freedom Museum. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
Over the years, donations have come in that included photos of individuals and entire units, as well as equipment, and even replicas and models. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
There are numerous uniforms throughout the Price of Freedom Museum from different eras, different wars and from all different soldiers and their families. Whenever possible the name of the soldier and the time of service is listed with the uniform. Photo by ES
The former cafeteria of Patterson School that is now part of the Price of Freedom Museum honoring veterans is almost overflowing with photos and memorabilia. The board has hopes of getting the photos on the walls and making this space available for group activities. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
Part of the Price of Freedom Museum is a three-room display of what the inside of a house would look like in the 1940s, including photos on the mantel of founder Bob Mault's four brothers who all served. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
A half-sized replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that was donated to the Price of Freedom Museum. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
The first memorial collection that started what became the Price of Freedom Museum in China Grove, this framed collection started life at the Mault Brothers Texaco Station in the early 1970s. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
Bob Harrison, president of the board of directors of the Price of Freedom Museum, stands with a donated photo that captured the first two bombs dropped at Pearl Harbour. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
CHINA GROVE — During the 1970s, Bob Mault, who owned the family business Mault Brothers Texaco on N.C. Hwy 152 thought it would be a nice gesture to let one of the local veterans who often spent time in at the station, chatting with friends, put up a small display of his military service.
It wasn’t long before the station was overflowing with similar tributes: photos, uniforms, patches, radios, collectibles and even weapons representing the history of untold numbers of local veterans.
When the old Patterson School closed in 1976, Mault made arrangements to lease the buildings from Rowan County Schools. He then moved at least some of the items from his gas station into the old cafeteria, at last creating his dream, aptly named the Price of Freedom Museum. It did not take long, said Steve Stroud, who serves on the board of the museum, for the cafeteria to become full, and Mault needed to open the school building itself.
Mault had worked for years with his friend and partner Frank Albright to create the museum, but as Mault grew older, it became clear he needed to establish an official nonprofit for the facility, and when he did, he invited Stroud, along with Bob Harrison, both of whom are former local police chiefs, to join the board of directors. Stroud is the one member with military history. Even Mault, who had four brothers who were in uniform, did not see military service. He was too young. Harrison is currently president of the board.
The goal of the museum was always to honor those who have served in any of the military branches, to keep their stories alive, and to encourage area youth to consider military service as a possible career. Each of the military branches has a room dedicated to it, plus there are three rooms set up to reflect what a home would have looked like in the early 1940s, complete with the photos of the four Mault sons who served during WWII. Joel Honeycutt photos are scattered through the rooms. In addition, the museum has had a 9/11 room to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
But this year, they decided to change that. This year, for the 9/11 Remembrance Day, the museum has been working to create a First Responders Room, dedicated to police, fire and emergency services workers, many of whom were there on 9/11 to help and many of whom, particularly firefighters, continue to die as a result of exposure on that day, said Stroud.
“A lot of kids don’t know what 9/11 is anymore,” he added. “So we felt this was a better way to honor them.” The hope is that by the day of the event, Sept. 14, there will be items representing each of the county’s police, fire and emergency services departments.
Almost all of the materials that are at the museum have come from within 20 miles of the gas station, said Stroud, and all of the displays have been put together by volunteers.
“Bob would close the gas station, go home and have a sandwich, then come back and spend two hours working on Tuesday and Thursday nights with whatever volunteers showed up,” said Harrison. “He didn’t come on Wednesdays ’cause that was church night and he wasn’t going to miss church.” Each room took between eight months and a year to complete, Harrison said.
Artist John Hartley is responsible for the Wall of Art tribute that includes more than 70 paintings depicting a variety of military images as well as one or two from 9/11.
There was substantial refurbishment needed in the school, including the auditorium, whose wooden floors had some termite damage that had to be repaired. There were no seats left in the room as well, but Salisbury High School was getting new seats about that time, and when the museum called to see if they could have the old seats, the contractor said “Take all you want.” Harrison said he and a crew took about 120 seats from the back of the high school auditorium which were still in great shape and moved them into the museum.
The late Tom Smith was a tremendous benefactor of the museum, at one point building a large garage structure that now holds a number of military vehicles, including a Davey Crockett Jeep that carried a small nuclear weapon on board, and a Searchlight Jeep from the Vietnam era, one of the last in existence, if not the last. In that facility now is a half-scale replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated by the Faith Baptist Church of Kannapolis.
The 9/11 Remembrance Day is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. The event is designed to honor first responder heroes and will include police vehicles, fire trucks, antique tractors, military vehicles, the Hall of Honor art display, all the rooms in the museum and food and drink. There is no admission fee but donations are always welcome.
