Dear Editor,

In Richmond County another step has been taken in preserving history in a museum. This time in Hamlet — again.

The city unveiled the third museum in the Historic Depot Complex on Main Street Friday night.

With the assistance of the N.C. Department of Transportation through G. R. Kindley, Mayor Jeff Smart said the complex represents a $15 million investment by DOT and local contributors.

The new Visitor Center Museum presents a new chapter in local history. Smart said the city was proud that presentations were all created locally.

Miranda Chavis, museum manager, worked for the past six months since being hired to create an outstanding exhibit using her computer and creative history skills.

Her next focus will be on the Hamlet Opera House. She is also the Hamlet Downtown Coordinator.

In the background of this latest effort is the quiet hand of Bobby Moser. His ingenuity is in many ways a part of the exhibits themselves. For many years as a city employee, he has collected and preserved many of Hamlet’s memories for this day.

Exhibits will be rotated from among a vast collection in storage. The museum has become a repository of local history for Richmond County.

The exhibit preview was entitled “Small Beginnings, Big Dreams.”

Not so, Miranda.

This is another “big” event for a continuing dream. It goes beyond the physical exhibits to a devotion to preserve the past in Richmond County so we can understand what made the community what it is today, and learn from it.

Tom MacCallum

Rockingham