Spokane Valley Heritage Museum opens World War I exhibit honoring local veterans

The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum’s new exhibit commemorates the date the United States entered World War I with a series of displays showing local photos, letters and other memorabilia.

Museum Director Jayne Singleton said 183 young Spokane County men died in World War I.

“We honor them and their service,” she said, “and the day we officially entered the war, which was April 6.”

Singleton said the museum has had exhibits on other wars and conflicts.

“When we plan our exhibits we look at what happened nationally and locally,” she said.

One example of a local tie to what was first known as The European War is a huge dedication sign from the original Argonne Bridge.

That bridge was dedicated on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1920.

When it was torn down to be replaced the museum acquired the plaque.

Among the Spokane men who died in World War I are Charles Muzzy and Edwin Olsen, said Singleton.

“They are buried in the Argonne Forest in France,” she said.

The Argonne Forest in northeastern France is where The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or the Battle of the Argonne Forest, took place in the fall of 1918. That battle became one of the bloodiest in WW I before it ended on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918.

“We have a list of all the local men who died in WW I, where they died and how,” Singleton said.

When school classes come to visit the exhibit, Singleton takes the opportunity to talk to students about communication during World War I.

“Many of them have cellphones, and I tell them that back then you just waited for a letter,” Singleton said.

One letter in the exhibit was sent to a mother in Creston, Washington, telling her that her son had died in the war.

“We use that to show students just how long it took,” Singleton said. “For people here, at the time, Europe was as far away as outer space.”

The exhibit remains up until the end of September, including Memorial Weekend and Veterans Day.