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of the courageous men and women who keep us safe, both within the United States and abroad, to disappear. Unfortunately, too many stories have already been lost as a whole generation of soldiers returned home and never talked about their military experiences, and have now left us. Because of Andy Chafoulias’ generosity and interest in the museum, we now have a physical footprint in Rochester. We intend to work to expand and enlarge that footprint, with the knowledge that this will involve a new location and substantial funds from donations. Q: Tell us about the VESM. How are exhibits developed? A: The Veterans & Emergency Services Museum is working to bring attention to the museum throughout Southeast Minnesota and beyond. The location in the newest Hilton Hotel helps achieve that goal, as do events such as the open house that was held last Thursday. Richard Krom is responsible for the exhibits currently on display. He and his wife Sharon were working on them before her very unexpected death in January of 2020. Shortly after that, Covid-19 shut down virtually everything. During that time, Richard continued to work on the exhibits singlehandedly. He talked with people from the Rochester Police Department, Rochester Fire Department, the ambulance service, and a number of veterans. He did a tremendous amount of research to pull the stories together. He searched the Internet for items needed to complete the exhibits. The display cases were built by a professional company in the Twin Cities, but Richard put the story boards together, built the stands for them, and constructed some of the other props in the displays.
There were several speakers at the grand opening celebration including Mayor Kim Norton and Senator Carla Nelson.
Artifacts from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office will be added to the exhibits in the near future. Mr. Krom has an incredibly creative mind and sees the finished product in his mind long before it is completed. We plan to feature the Korean War when the exhibits are changed. To learn more about the Veterans & Emergency Services Museum visit www.vesm.org Happy Memorial Day!
Advantage Magazine | 27
May 2023
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