'65 Years' exhibit featuring First Division Museum history, storytelling, and artifacts marks Cantigny Park anniversary

Visitors to the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton are about to get an eyeful. Opening May 27 and running through Veterans Day, a special exhibit called "65 Years" boasts 465 artifacts arranged in surprising ways, creating a dynamic visual experience for all who step into the transformed lobby space.

For a sense of drama, the objects are presented in a countdown format starting at 65, a nod to Cantigny Park's 65th anniversary year now in progress. Like the military museum itself, the blockbuster exhibit combines history, storytelling, and innovative curation to make an impression on guests.

The First Division Museum will host an official exhibit opening the evening of Thursday, June 1. It is a ticketed event open to the public. Mingle with the curatorial and research team that made "65 Years" possible. The festivities will include live swing music by The Nite Hawks, accompanied by hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Stop by the museum's pop-up gift shop to enter a raffle for a Cantigny Park prize basket. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit Cantigny.org.

Visitors to "65 Years" will learn about the original museum, housed in the former horse stable that is now the Cantigny Visitors Center.

Opening in 1960, two years after the park, it was called the Cantigny War Memorial Museum of the First Division.

The current-day and much larger First Division Museum opened in 1992 and received a major renovation in 2017 - the earliest fruit of Cantigny's Project New Leaf.

"65 Years" also highlights the museum's leadership and key changes through the years.

"The exhibit is meant to be nostalgic for all the families and guests who have come to the park for generations, as well as a chance to share our deep connection to the First Division and its members," said Jessica Waszak, assistant curator.

That connection begins with Colonel Robert R. McCormick, Cantigny's benefactor, who served in the First Division during World War I. The museum honors his legacy and the service and sacrifice of all military veterans, telling their stories and the story of America's military experience through the lens of the 1st Infantry Division or "Big Red One."

The items in "65 Years" represent the mundane and the momentous, from boots, helmets, and cigarette lighters to heroic patches, medals, and flags. They depict the everyday lives of soldiers while commemorating exceptional lives of service and sacrifice for our country.

Some of the nearly 500 artifacts will be on public display for the first time. The objects are organized into 17 categories, with emphasis on soldiers' personal stories. Underlying the exhibit is the trust that artifact donors extend to the museum in its role of stewarding precious family memorabilia and narratives.

Admission to "65 Years" at the First Division Museum is included with paid admission to Cantigny Park. For more information, visit Cantigny.org.