HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Camp Parks Collection0,~.~ OF DU~~ti
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SUBJECT:
AGENDA STATEMENT
HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION
MEETING DATE: March 8, 2012
ATTACHMENTS:
RECOMMENDATION:
FINANCIAL STATEMENT:
Camp Parks Collection, Public Access and Future Exhibit
Elizabeth Isles, Heritage Park and Museums Director
None
Receive report
The Dublin Historical Preservation Association is donating $400
toward the creation of the temporary exhibit of the Camp Parks
Collection
DESCRIPTION: In 2011, the City of Dublin accepted "The Camp Parks Collection," a
historical collection of artifacts on permanent loan from the U.S. Army. The collection is currently stored
in a locked area within the expansion space of the Dublin Public Library. Steps are being taken to allow
the public to access the collection. Heritage Guild Volunteer, Steve Minniear; is cataloguing and
repackaging the collection; and has added the Camp Parks collection to the Heritage Museum's "Past
Perfect Museum Software."
Minniear has also completed a book titled; "Fleet City: Selected Images." Dublin's Fleet City included
Camp Parks, Shoemaker Hospital and Camp Shoemaker. A copy of this book has been given to the
Reference Desk at the Dublin Library to allow the public to access information while protecting the
primary source materials.
Maggie Stockel, a graduate student in Museum Studies at San Francisco State University, has chosen
Camp Parks as her culminating project subject. Maggie will curate an exhibit with the artifacts in the
Camp Parks Collection. Ms. Stockel's exhibit statement is as follows:
We Can Build, We Can Fight: The U.S. Navy Seabees in WWII. Dublin:
In January of 1943, 150 men enlisted in the U. S. Navy arrived in Dublin, California. Their mission:
to build, Camp Parks, a Replacement and Recuperation Center, that would service the Navy's
Construction Battalions deployed in the Pacific Theater.
We Can Build, We Can Fight features historical documents and artifacts from the recently
acquired Camp Parks Collection. Come explore the significance of Dublin's very own naval base
through original uniforms, first person narratives and historical photographs. Discover who the
Seabees were., why their motto was "Can dol"and what they did while on base in Dublin.
COPIES TO: Dublin Historic Preservation Association ~~~~~~
ITEM NO.: 8.1
G:\HERITAGE COMMISSIONIAGENDA_STMTS\2 0 1 213-8-1 2 Camp Parks 8.1.doc
Core Idea/Curatorial Intent
The goal of the exhibit We Can Build, We Can Fight: The U.S. Navy Seabees in WWII Dublin is to
present the Seabees as neither perfi~ct military machines nor super-human heroes. Instead, the Seabees
are presented as ordinary people vvho, caught in the traumas of warfare, attempted to continue living
"ordinary".lives.
Military action represents only a fr2~ction of the Seabee wartime experience. Therefore this exhibit will
focus on what some would consider the less glamorous state-side experiences: training, recuperation,
recreation and contact with home.
-The main themes of the exhibit are:
• Brief history of the Seabees and their typical duties in the Pacific Theatre
• Brief history of Camp Parks and its role as a military base
• Recreational activities Seabees participated in (both on and off the base)
The exhibit structure will be thematic/non-chronological. The main themes will be the Seabees and
answers to the questions; "What are Seabees?" "What did they do?" "What is Camp Parks?" "Where is
Camp Parks?" "What were-the main responsibilities of base?" The exhibit will answer these questions by
exploring training, recuperation, recreation and contact with home. There will also be other activities and
interactive elements to the exhibit including; `Song of the Seabees' and WWII music, a bridge building
activity for children, a family activity guide with kid friendly questions, a "Nautical Simon Says" and
Signal Flags activity. The exhibit will also utilize object-based resources such as reproductions of posters
and text panels.
The exhibit will open on April 29, 20'12, in the 'Little Classroom' at the Dublin Heritage Park & Museums.
Concurrently, there will be refreshments and "The Fighting Seabees" film viewing in Old St. Raymond
Church. In addition, there will be a round table discussion on Camp Parks and World War II Dublin in the
- Sunday School Barn.
The exhibif will. run for 11'weeks, and be open during regular museum hours through July 21, 2012.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission
receive the report. ,
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