The Barton County Historical Museum and Village is honoring men and women in the armed forces this summer with free admission, and by displaying historic military uniforms and modern heirloom Quilts of Valor created especially for combat veterans.
     Executive Director Beverly Komarek said the museum, located just south of the Arkansas River bridge in Great Bend on U.S. 281, is normally closed on Mondays, but it will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day to give more people a chance to view the latest exhibit. Regular summer hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
     The museum has military history items from the Indian Wars through World War II in its collection, and is exhibiting several uniforms at this time. Two Quilts of Valor with patriotic themes are on loan to the museum; the display will change in June when the first two quilts are delivered to veterans.
     The Quilts of Valor Foundation (www.qovf.org) is made up of volunteers who supply lap-sized quilts which are individually presented to returning servicemen and servicewomen. Shannon Royer of Otis and Sandy Vink of Great Bend visited the museum this week to talk about this program.
     Quilts of Valor groups can be found across the nation, but the nearest monthly QOV sewing gathering — known as a Bee — meets on the second Saturday of each month in Wichita.

     Ninety-seven percent of the quilts made here stay in Kansas. Vink said some have gone to the Kansas Soldiers’ Home at Fort Dodge, VA hospitals and the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Riley. But quilts may also go to hospitals in Germany, which is where many U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated.
     “Often, it’s their only link to home,” Vink said of the quilts they are given.
Royer said the Wichita group’s goal is to make 275 of the heirloom quality quilts this year. The quilts have to meet certain specifications, starting with the material being high quality cotton fabric, so they can withstand multiple washings and give years of comfort.
     “These are definitely meant to be used,” she said, adding the veterans love them because it shows people care about them. “It means a lot to the veterans.”
     The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in Blue Star Mother Catherine Roberts’ sewing room in Seaford, Del. Her son’s year-long deployment to Iraq provided the initial inspiration to create a grassroots community service effort to see that returning warriors are welcomed home with the love and gratitude they deserve. According to QOVF sources, the quilts are stitched with love, prayers and healing thoughts; they are tangible tokens of appreciation.
     Nearly 100,000 of these quilts have been delivered worldwide since 2003, and the goal is “to cover ALL combat service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.”

     Individuals may help by completing a quilt top, joining a monthly Bee sew-in, or machine quilting completed tops. Or they may also help with tax-deductible donations to offset the cost of making and delivering quilts. For more information about the Wichita group, contact Martha Smith, 316-253-0286 or martha.smith@qovf.org.
     The Barton County Historical Museum and Village is situated on 5 acres and includes several period buildings. Admission for anyone 16 years of age and older who isn’t a member of the Barton County Historical Society is $4. However, the facility is a participant in Blue Star Museums, which means military personnel and their families can enjoy free admission all summer.
     Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2014. The complete list of participating museums is available at http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums.