Cold War Museum says it's making progress on a building
The November 1 issue of the Cold War Times is now posted for viewing online at www.coldwartimes.com. Over the past decade, the Cold War Museum has made great strides in honoring Cold War veterans and preserving Cold War history. I am writing to provide you with a brief update.
Location, Location, Location
Progress continues with our efforts to find a permanent home for The Cold War Museum. When negotiations ceased with Fairfax County earlier this year, all options were reconsidered, including collaborating with a museum or university interested in adding the most comprehensive Cold War collections to its holdings. I am pleased to report that the Cold War Museum board of directors has entered into lease negotiations with Vint Hill EDA (www.vinthill.com) for use of 4000 sq ft of storage and exhibit space 40 miles from Washington, DC. Vint Hill EDA and the Fauquier County Industrial Development Authority will contribute a total of $100,000 towards building restoration and provide nine months of free storage space for our $3 million in Cold War artifacts once the lease is agreed to and finalized.
We need your financial support now to help prepare for our future home. Secure online donations can be made at www.coldwar.org/museum/contributions.html. We also need to get help from our volunteers in the Northern Virginia area to help move our artifacts from Fairfax to Vint Hill. The tentative date for this move is Nov 14 and 15. Email me if you are available to assist.
50th Anniversary of U-2 Incident Tour to Moscow and Sverdlovsk
May 1, 2010 will mark the 50 anniversary of the U-2 Incident. To commemorate this historic flight, I am working with AAA to organize a trip to Moscow and the crash site May 1-9, 2010. If you would like to join me on this tour, please email gpowersjr@garypowers.com. An itinerary can be found in this issue of The Cold War Times. More details will follow in the February issue of The Cold War Times.
Artifact Loans, Mobile Exhibit, and Spy Tours
The Cold War Museum continues to work with the Diefenbaker Museum in Ottawa, Canada, the Atomic Bunker in Harnekop, Germany, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC to display some of its artifacts until the museum secures a permanent home. The mobile exhibit on the U-2 Incident, the "Spies of Washington Tour," and related educational activities continue to generate interest and support. The National Electronics Museum (www.hem-usa.org) near Baltimore, MD will display the mobile U-2 Incident exhibit through January 9, 2010. The mobile exhibit is booked at Virginia Historical Society (www.vahistorical.org) in Richmond, Virginia January through May 2010 and will then travel to the EAA Museum (www.eaa.org) in Oshkosh, WI for their 2010 Air Adventure fly-in and air show. Dates are now being scheduled for the fall 2010 and beyond. The educational Spy Tour of Washington (www.spytour.com) is booking group tours online. Email gpowersjr@coldwar.org for more info on exhibit bookings and tours.
In 2005, The Cold War Museum acquired a 5000 sq ft Cuban Missile Crisis Display from the Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. In preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Cold War Museum is in talks with The Virginia War Memorial (www.vawarmemorial.org) as a partner to display this exhibit, complete with a Soviet SA-2 missile, at their facility in Richmond, Virginia in conjunction with this anniversary. If you would like to find out more about the exhibit, please email gpowersjr@coldwar.org for information.
Museum Chapters
The Cold War Museum is pleased to announce the formation of its newest chapter, The Cold War Museum-Moscow. I would like to thank volunteer Jason Smart of Northern Virginia for all the hard work he has done to establish this chapter, which compliments the museum chapters in Berlin, Germany; Hollywood, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Milwaukee, Wisconsin staffed by volunteers. For additional information, visit www.coldwar.org/museum/museum_chapters.html.
The Cold War Museum recently stepped into the "social networking age" and created a virtual chapter, The Facebook Cold War Museum Group (FBCWMG). We have also decided to launch a CWM www.vkontakte.ru initiative. Vkontakte is the Russian equivalent of Facebook and is the thirtieth most visited site on the internet according to Alexa - The Web Information Company.
New Updates
In September, I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at The National Nike Veteran Reunion in Anchorage, Alaska. The reunion was sponsored by Friends of Nike Site Summit, a grassroots organization formed two years ago to preserve the Cold War missile site that overlooks Anchorage from Mount Gordon Lyon. Veterans and others interested attended the reunion. More info online at www.nikesitesummit.org. While in Anchorage, I also was invited to give a speech about the history of the Cold War and the U-2 Incident to over 600 local high school students at Bartlett High School.
On October 2, I attended an event at the German Ambassador's Residence in Washington, DC to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Earlier this year I was invited to participate on the committee that worked with the German Embassy in DC to commemorate this important anniversary as part of their Freedom Without Walls program. More info online at www.Germany.info/withoutwalls.
I am pleased to announce that The Cold War Museum has been accepted as a charity on EBay's Mission Fish. Now you can shop on EBay and support The Cold War Museum. Visit http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=33316 for more details. Get the word out: "Support our cause on eBay" - There you can find great items for purchase that support our cause, create a listing or make a "Donate Now" donation.
Locating at Vint Hill is a very exciting development for The Cold War Museum. Please consider a 2009 year-end tax deductible contribution that will help us prepare for our new home. Your gift will ensure future generations remember Cold War events and personalities that forever altered our understanding of national security, international relations, and personal sacrifice for one's country. For more information or to make a contribution, please visit www.coldwar.org/museum/contributions.html. Together we can make this vision a reality.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Very truly yours,
Francis Gary Powers, Jr.
Founder
The Cold War Museum
P.O. Box 178
Fairfax, VA 22038
P-(703) 273-2381
F-(703) 273-4903
www.coldwar.org
gpowersjr@coldwar.org
Location, Location, Location
Progress continues with our efforts to find a permanent home for The Cold War Museum. When negotiations ceased with Fairfax County earlier this year, all options were reconsidered, including collaborating with a museum or university interested in adding the most comprehensive Cold War collections to its holdings. I am pleased to report that the Cold War Museum board of directors has entered into lease negotiations with Vint Hill EDA (www.vinthill.com) for use of 4000 sq ft of storage and exhibit space 40 miles from Washington, DC. Vint Hill EDA and the Fauquier County Industrial Development Authority will contribute a total of $100,000 towards building restoration and provide nine months of free storage space for our $3 million in Cold War artifacts once the lease is agreed to and finalized.
We need your financial support now to help prepare for our future home. Secure online donations can be made at www.coldwar.org/museum/contributions.html. We also need to get help from our volunteers in the Northern Virginia area to help move our artifacts from Fairfax to Vint Hill. The tentative date for this move is Nov 14 and 15. Email me if you are available to assist.
50th Anniversary of U-2 Incident Tour to Moscow and Sverdlovsk
May 1, 2010 will mark the 50 anniversary of the U-2 Incident. To commemorate this historic flight, I am working with AAA to organize a trip to Moscow and the crash site May 1-9, 2010. If you would like to join me on this tour, please email gpowersjr@garypowers.com. An itinerary can be found in this issue of The Cold War Times. More details will follow in the February issue of The Cold War Times.
Artifact Loans, Mobile Exhibit, and Spy Tours
The Cold War Museum continues to work with the Diefenbaker Museum in Ottawa, Canada, the Atomic Bunker in Harnekop, Germany, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC to display some of its artifacts until the museum secures a permanent home. The mobile exhibit on the U-2 Incident, the "Spies of Washington Tour," and related educational activities continue to generate interest and support. The National Electronics Museum (www.hem-usa.org) near Baltimore, MD will display the mobile U-2 Incident exhibit through January 9, 2010. The mobile exhibit is booked at Virginia Historical Society (www.vahistorical.org) in Richmond, Virginia January through May 2010 and will then travel to the EAA Museum (www.eaa.org) in Oshkosh, WI for their 2010 Air Adventure fly-in and air show. Dates are now being scheduled for the fall 2010 and beyond. The educational Spy Tour of Washington (www.spytour.com) is booking group tours online. Email gpowersjr@coldwar.org for more info on exhibit bookings and tours.
In 2005, The Cold War Museum acquired a 5000 sq ft Cuban Missile Crisis Display from the Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. In preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Cold War Museum is in talks with The Virginia War Memorial (www.vawarmemorial.org) as a partner to display this exhibit, complete with a Soviet SA-2 missile, at their facility in Richmond, Virginia in conjunction with this anniversary. If you would like to find out more about the exhibit, please email gpowersjr@coldwar.org for information.
Museum Chapters
The Cold War Museum is pleased to announce the formation of its newest chapter, The Cold War Museum-Moscow. I would like to thank volunteer Jason Smart of Northern Virginia for all the hard work he has done to establish this chapter, which compliments the museum chapters in Berlin, Germany; Hollywood, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Milwaukee, Wisconsin staffed by volunteers. For additional information, visit www.coldwar.org/museum/museum_chapters.html.
The Cold War Museum recently stepped into the "social networking age" and created a virtual chapter, The Facebook Cold War Museum Group (FBCWMG). We have also decided to launch a CWM www.vkontakte.ru initiative. Vkontakte is the Russian equivalent of Facebook and is the thirtieth most visited site on the internet according to Alexa - The Web Information Company.
New Updates
In September, I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at The National Nike Veteran Reunion in Anchorage, Alaska. The reunion was sponsored by Friends of Nike Site Summit, a grassroots organization formed two years ago to preserve the Cold War missile site that overlooks Anchorage from Mount Gordon Lyon. Veterans and others interested attended the reunion. More info online at www.nikesitesummit.org. While in Anchorage, I also was invited to give a speech about the history of the Cold War and the U-2 Incident to over 600 local high school students at Bartlett High School.
On October 2, I attended an event at the German Ambassador's Residence in Washington, DC to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Earlier this year I was invited to participate on the committee that worked with the German Embassy in DC to commemorate this important anniversary as part of their Freedom Without Walls program. More info online at www.Germany.info/withoutwalls.
I am pleased to announce that The Cold War Museum has been accepted as a charity on EBay's Mission Fish. Now you can shop on EBay and support The Cold War Museum. Visit http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=33316 for more details. Get the word out: "Support our cause on eBay" - There you can find great items for purchase that support our cause, create a listing or make a "Donate Now" donation.
Locating at Vint Hill is a very exciting development for The Cold War Museum. Please consider a 2009 year-end tax deductible contribution that will help us prepare for our new home. Your gift will ensure future generations remember Cold War events and personalities that forever altered our understanding of national security, international relations, and personal sacrifice for one's country. For more information or to make a contribution, please visit www.coldwar.org/museum/contributions.html. Together we can make this vision a reality.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Very truly yours,
Francis Gary Powers, Jr.
Founder
The Cold War Museum
P.O. Box 178
Fairfax, VA 22038
P-(703) 273-2381
F-(703) 273-4903
www.coldwar.org
gpowersjr@coldwar.org