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Student raising funds for War Vets Museum
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Scotty Crawford, a fourth-grade student at Hilltop Elementary School, held the flyer he made to help him raise funds to paint and clean up the Canfield War Vets Museum. To donate, make checks out to Canfield War Vets Museum and mail to 23 E. Main St., Canfield, OH 44406, attn. Building Fund, or make a donation to the Canfield War Vets Building Fund at Farmers National Bank.
By ABBY SLANKER
Scotty Crawford, a fourth-grade student at Hilltop Elementary School, had a bright idea last spring and is now bringing his idea to fruition. At the end of his third-grade year, Crawford’s class went on a historical walk of Canfield, and that is where he noticed the Canfield War Vets Museum was looking a little run down.
Crawford thought the museum needed a paint job and some clean up on its grounds, and has now decided to raise the estimated $18,000 for the jobs to be done. With the help of family friend Julie Dudash, Crawford was given a platform to talk about his fundraising campaign at Dudash’s real estate meeting April 2.
“This is a community project near and dear to his heart, and I wanted to help him spread the word and get his campaign going, so I invited him and his mom to our morning meeting so he could get the word out,” Dudash said.
Crawford gave his presentation to the real estate agents and included historical information about the museum and the contents in the museum.
“The building was built in 1809 and the War Vets Museum was established in 1988. The museum collects and distributes items from American wars and has over 38,000 items, at last known count. You can look at and touch most items. There are lots of soldiers at war now and the museum teaches us about old and new wars. I think it is important to clean the museum up for those who drive by and want to visit. Our veterans are very important to us and this place is important to us for history and education,” Crawford said in his presentation.
Crawford’s mom, Anne, said she was not surprised he wanted to raise funds for the museum.
“Scotty has a Relay for Life team, so raising funds is not new to him. He appreciates the community he lives in and wants to help. My father thought the War Vets Museum was a gem in Canfield. Many places in town have been updated and cleaned up and it is time for the museum to look welcoming. There is so much history there,” Anne said.
Crawford enjoys visiting the museum and has toured it several times.
“They have lots of interesting items there which represent all levels of war. They have a Nazi flag, which is kinda rare because lots of those flags were burned. They have bullets, rockets, grenades, uniforms, planes, newspapers and a train display in the basement. They even have a scavenger hunt that kids try to spot things in the museum,” Crawford said.
Crawford said he would like to reach his goal by Memorial Day, and if not, then by the Fourth of July and if not then, by Veterans Day.
Crawford passed out self-addressed envelopes to the agents after his presentation, and before he left the meeting, he had a donation in hand.
To donate, make checks out to Canfield War Vets Museum and mail to 23 E. Main St., Canfield, OH 44406, attn. Building Fund, or make a donation to the Canfield War Vets Building Fund at Farmers National Bank. Donations of services and volunteers are also welcome.
For more information, or any questions, call Anne Crawford at 330-286-3882.