Volunteer discovers, restores 1948-era mess hall furniture | Features | fortleetraveller.com

Cloudy sky. There may be light rain. Low 32F. Wind the NNW at a speed of 5 to 10 mph.

Cloudy sky. There may be light rain. Low 32F. Wind the NNW at a speed of 5 to 10 mph.

Volunteers sent the M-1903 canteen table into the Munitions Museum in Fort Lee on January 5. Lee Holland (a blue jacket) found the piece of furniture in the facility workshop, and the latter donated his time to the museum. After understanding its historical significance, he spent 100 hours repairing the work so that it could be displayed as part of the exhibition.

A volunteer at the Munitions Museum, Lee Holland, presented the M-1883 stool, which was used in the Army cafeteria from the early 1880s to the 1950s. He found stools through a real estate transaction and repaired them to complement the historic cafeteria table he restored for museum exhibitions.

The new exhibition at the Fort Lee Quartermaster Museum includes space heater No. 1 and M-1903 dining hall tables and matching M-1883 stools. In the early 1900s, this was the type of furniture the Army used in its canteens. As the center of the exhibition, the table was restored by a museum volunteer who discovered the work in a facility workshop, and the historical value of the work was not recognized.

Fort Lee, Virginia – Thanks to the keen vision of volunteers and passion for historical restoration, the Army Quartermaster Museum here has a new exhibit.

These objects were found in the museum workshop of Lee Holland, a long-term retired employee who is now retired. When he talked about the M-1903 dining hall table built by Tammany Industries, Ind. in October 1948, he said: "I put something on the furniture, then I looked up on it and saw' The words'United States'."

Holland said the work was in bad condition and had been neglected since it was demolished in 1998 from the bachelor officer’s quarters during the Second World War, and the building is being demolished to make way for the Army Women’s Museum. No one realizes that the table has any historical value.

After some research, Holland knew that the design of the table can be traced back to 1883, which has been nearly 100 years old. He realized that this was not just another piece of old furniture, he decided to repair it so that it could be used in the museum. .

The legs and frame of the table are made of cast iron, and the surface of the table is hardwood, which is "a combination of chestnut, pecan and oak." "They don't care about the mix of materials. It just has to be hardwood."

Holland further described the condition of the table, saying that its surface was damaged by paint and glue, and the table feet were covered with floor wax. He guessed that due to the huge weight of the cafeteria, he never moved when cleaning the cafeteria floor. Moving it requires a team of seven people.

It took approximately 100 hours to restore the table. Holland said that he completely repaired the surface and legs to restore them to their original state.

There will also be ten M-1883 stools on the dining table this year for soldiers to sit on while eating. The Netherlands found several of them in a real estate sale.

According to a display card made by the Netherlands for the exhibition, "Stools are accompanied by a standard cafeteria table. The most common configuration is five on each side of the recruited soldiers." "There are chairs on each end of the table, one for non-profit organizations One provided (without weapons), one is for officers (with weapons)."

The stool was made in the Jefferson Indiana Quartermaster's Warehouse and was used on the dining table from the early 1880s to the 1950s.

Holland said: "I can't find in the literature where the military made tables, but we know they made stools."

The stool is assembled from several types of wood, including oak, maple, poplar and occasionally walnut. Holland spends about six hours at a time to restore them to their appearance in use. Initially, they were wiped with natural oil.

"Sometime after 1900, stools began to appear in the whitewashed coal back," the display card on the furniture showed. "Depending on the unit, the stool seats will appear in the classic branch service colors: yellow represents cavalry, military green represents quartermaster, red represents artillery, blue represents infantry, and so on."

In the middle of the stool is a firebolt-shaped block for soldiers to wear uniform hats when they eat.

There are ten hooks on the underside of the dining table, which are hung on the stool after the meal.

Next to the dining hall table and stools is Space Heater No. 1, which was manufactured by Locke Stove Co. of Kansas City, Missouri in 1942 for the quartermaster army. It has been used to heat a variety of buildings, including canteens. , During the day, orderly rooms and other structures. This heater is very light, so it is considered transportable.

There are space heaters, tables and stools near the museum classrooms. The tables are likely to be used as places for food and refreshments during retirement, promotions and other events held at the museum. Currently, the facility is closed to the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. No reopening date has been set.

The restoration of Dutch history can also be seen in other areas of the QM Museum. His main specialty is military vehicles. He rebuilt the MB¼ ton jeep and WC56 command vehicle from the 1942 era, the 1 ton trailer and WC54 ambulance from 1943, and the GMC CCKW353 truck from 1944. The six-wheeled amphibious vehicle called "Duck" (its actual name is DUKW) is part of the permanent display here.

The other vehicles in the collection are kept in an outbuilding behind his home in Chester. He called the structure his "engine pool," and it was also a reshaping of military history because it was built to the exact specifications of the 700-314 Army Engine Pool program discovered in Fort Lee in 1938. According to Holland, they were used in former motorcycle buildings that were previously located along the workshop road.