When the idea of starting a museum was just that, one of the questions posed to the small group of friends who helped to form MMHM was “what happens to all these individual collections when we are gone?” Most of the original group were collectors of some type of militaria and all were interested in seeing the stories preserved. That question was asked in 2013 and all we had was an idea to do something to answer it.

So we filed articles of incorporation and launched this idea that is now Michigan’s Military Heritage Museum. The small group grew a bit and the museum idea grew with it. As we picked up some steam in Grass Lake we held meetings and partnered with the local historic society to have a home. Shortly after that we began heavy discussions about obtaining a building when tragedy struck and we lost our first member, Liam Collins. Liam was young and his death was fairly sudden. He brought so much knowledge about Michigan history and archaeology and we were saddened by the news of his passing. In his honor we continued with the planning and had a new realization that not only were we telling the stories of these veterans, we were also preserving and remembering the contributions Liam made to the effort.

Within a year of Liam’s passing we had a new dedicated building in Grass Lake and the museum was growing. All were pitching in and working together when we received news that another of the original group had passed. This time it was a collector and friend who had been asked “what happens to this stuff when we are gone?” Don Cartwright gave us our first answer when he left us his collection to include our Civil War cannon and much more. A beautiful memorial plaque was hung in the museum to honor Don and once again we were reminded that the work of our members would live on in the contents of the museum and in the existence of the museum.

The museum grew and soon outgrew the Grass Lake location. In 2021 we worked hard to renovate a new building in Jackson, operate the location in Grass Lake and move the collection. We opened in October of 2021 and began to settle in. On a cold February morning in 2022 I received a call that our Sunday morning worker and Board Trustee, Mike Fensler, hadn’t shown up to open. I drove to Mike’s house as he had never missed a day at the museum. I found Mike on the floor of his bedroom awake but clearly impaired and with all the signs of having suffered a major stroke. Mike was transported to the hospital and within two weeks he passed peacefully. Mike had no children and I was asked to help clear out his estate for his Brother Frank who was appointed executor. I enlisted our Treasurer Dennis and founding member John and for several months we worked to settle Mike’s estate. We purchased a cemetery plot for Mike and his Brother Frank purchased a beautiful headstone memorializing Mike as a historian and former Air Force Officer. Mike’s military career is highlighted as an exhibit in the museum along with his Fathers and Mothers and once again MMHM stood as a testament to the work of one of its volunteers. While we had lost Mike, we gained a friend in his Brother Frank and we also learned that many of us were unprepared for death.

Our Treasurer Dennis Skupinski held a small class to show all that were interested how to do a will. He made one for himself and had Board Trustee Frank Nefzger and museum volunteer and founding member John Beeler witness it. We all learned how to do an easy will and Dennis was able to complete his. Not too long after that we learned that our friend and cabinet maker Dennis Wayne had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS. Dennis still stopped in when he could and we visited with him as this terrible disease progressed and took its toll. Each week our Treasurer Dennis and John would ask about how Dennis was doing and we talked about how terrible this disease was. All the while John was not feeling well and undergoing tests and I had been diagnosed with colon cancer. My diagnoses came in August of 2023 and I had surgery in September to remove a large portion of my colon. John and Dennis picked up much of the slack around the museum along with our other volunteers. John was a friend for nearly 50 years and so he came to visit me in the hospital and kept me up to date on things even though I was only out for slightly more than a week.

Shortly after returning to the museum, John received a devastating and sudden diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that had progressed beyond treatment. Still he asked about Dennis Wayne’s condition and worried about my recovery. I was told my cancer was removed and that I didn’t need follow on chemotherapy. John very quickly deteriorated and within a week of his diagnoses he all but stopped eating. Then another tragic phone call and we learned that Mike’s Brother Frank had been found dead in his home. He apparently suffered some type of medical emergency and was unable to call for help. I had to tell the rest of the staff as well as John, all were saddened and also preparing to lose John. On a Sunday morning in November we received the call that Dennis Wayne had succumbed to ALS and had passed in hospice care. Once again we had lost a friend who would be remembered at the museum. That same evening John had been moved to hospice care and I went to sit with my friend of nearly 50 years. He knew I was there though he couldn’t speak much. On Monday a group of us friends sat with him most of the day telling stories of days gone by and of happenings at the museum which John loved. On Tuesday I again sat with him and said my goodbye. John passed shortly after I left and we buried him on what would have been his 60th birthday. We were all devastated as we not only lost a friend, but part of the heart and soul of the museum.

John left items for the museum and a legacy which we all talk about to this day. Our Treasurer Dennis proposed that the museum name its artillery exhibit in honor of John as he was an avid reenactor in an artillery unit. Upon my release from the hospital and return to the museum, we were introduced to a new friend, John Bailey. John is owner of Bailey Excavating with his Sons Jacob and Jordan. He came to see the museum, thought what we had was pretty amazing and he made a generous donation through his family foundation. We had several talks and he came to visit several times. Dennis proposed that we invite John to a meeting and see if he would like to join our Board? John agreed to come out and see what it was about so we scheduled a meeting for December 17th. On the 16th John secured a generous donation for us from one of his friends. There was much excitement as I called Dennis to tell him. He was thrilled and we looked forward to discussing it with John at the meeting the next afternoon.

The 17th came and the meeting was held but Dennis didn’t show up and didn’t call. I fumbled my way through it without a Treasurer and did my best so that we could get John to have an interest in joining our little group. Later that evening I received the worst news possible. After telling Dennis Daughter that he didn’t show up for the meeting, she sent her husband to check on him. Dennis was found in his home and he appeared to have suffered a sudden heart attack. Our last conversation only minutes or hours before was such a happy one and the future of the museum was looking bright through all of the recent darkness. Clearly the saying “it’s always darkest before dawn” was never more appropriate.

We learned that the will Dennis had made, and had been witnessed by John, allowed for a donation to the museum of cash or in kind items from his collection. Once again “what happens to this stuff when we are gone?” Well, we decided to honor Dennis’ passion for WWI by assembling one of the most comprehensive public exhibits of WWI uniforms in the country. This collection was primarily from Dennis and was accepted as an in kind donation or purchased from his family through grants and through the sales of items that John had asked us to sell. It was and is a bittersweet end to the lives of our friends.

The walls of this building stand to honor the service of Michigan’s service members in peace and war. That is our mission statement. That said, we learned very quickly that they also stand as a testament to the hard work and dedication of those who helped to start it, build it, staff it, and give it a part of themselves. New friends have come in the years since we began, all are like family to us and all are continuing the mission that was begun when the original question was asked. Those that have left us will always be remembered and their stories will be a part of this organization, after all it was their hard work and dedication that has allowed us to preserve the stories we have and it was their life lessons that paved the way for others to become involved and keep this amazing place alive. The soldier, sailor, airman, and marine serve alongside one another and when called fight for one another. Here at MMHM we know this and we also know that just as it serves to unite our service members in a common cause, it also has united a group of friends to build and maintain a very special place, a place where the service members and the friends, old and new, will always be remembered.