By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
A grand “re”-opening will celebrate the latest additions and the completion of a construction project at the Yukon Veterans Museum.
A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for the grand re-opening celebration set 10 a.m. Saturday, April 13 at the museum, 1010 W Main.
The Yukon Veterans Museum has been housed inside the American Legion building on Main Street since September 2016.
The April 13 grand re-opening is planned to highlight some new military artifacts that have been donated to the museum.
The event also will mark the end of a remodeling project that has made the building Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant, including renovated restrooms.
“The recent construction has been done by the City (of Yukon),” said Rick Cacini, Yukon Veterans Museum founder, president and curator. “We’re in ADA compliance now. We had the City go through everything.”
To thank the City of Yukon for its support, the museum will be open one evening just for city employees to tour. Refreshments will be served.
“We’re going to invite the city for all the work they’ve done for us,” Cacini said. “The City has done a lot.”
New additions to the Yukon Veterans Museum feature a large collection of antique weapons, Nazi Germany display, 125-year-old horse saddle used during the Indian wars, and an almost 230-year-old London pocket watch.
Museum visitors will enjoy viewing a variety of displays, including battlefield gear, flags, historic photographs, uniforms, helmets, weapons, newspaper clippings and military documents.
The invitation list for the April 13 grand re-opening will read like a “who’s who” of Yukon, Canadian County and Oklahoma.
“We’ve invited everybody,” said Cacini, mentioning local and state dignitaries, politicians and Yukon chamber members on the guest list.
The Yukon Veterans Museum features memorabilia donated by individuals, families and veterans of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines.
The museum has 4,100 square feet of usable space and is “busting at the seams,” Cacini said.
“Every time we turn around, somebody’s donating to us,” he said.
The Yukon Veterans Museum’s regular hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Appointments are available outside those hours.
The museum hosts a service day for Veterans Administration benefits from 9 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of each month.
For more information or to schedule a tour of the Yukon Veterans Museum, call 517-1901 or 501-3404.
