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Virginia's chief executive says he loves Fredericksburg and its history, opens regional museum's new annex to the public Date published: 12/7/2008
BY CLINT SCHEMMER The Fredericksburg area's newest museum got off to a fine start yesterday, enhanced by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's participation. Kaine presided over the grand opening of the Catherine W. Jones McKann Center, an annex of the Fredericksburg Area Museum constructed in a former bank building at William and Princess Anne streets. "You've got an awful lot here in the Fredericksburg area that you should be really proud of," he told more than 120 people assembled in downtown's Market Square. "This museum will be great, as it enables you to tell--in a more detailed and rich way--the story of this wonderful community. We all know about Fredericksburg during the Civil War, but so much other history has been made here." Lauding the region's human and natural heritage, Kaine noted archaeologists' discovery of the remains of George Washington's boyhood home in southern Stafford County, a find the governor announced at Ferry Farm last July. He also mentioned state and local efforts to save Crow's Nest, an unspoiled peninsula on the Potomac River in eastern Stafford with remarkable plant and animal habitat. The legislature and executive branch are working to save Virginia's Civil War battlefields, preserve open space through use of creative financing tools, and offer tax credits to preserve and renovate historic structures, Kaine said. "Museums and cultural attractions are another way we preserve our story and tell it for generations to come," he said. Kaine quoted a favorite line from writer William Faulkner--"History is the effort to create a usable past"--then added: "If it's just about the past, well, maybe some would be interested. But it's not just about the past. Telling these stories and preserving history is more about today and tomorrow, because there are lessons to be learned. "These are stories that can inspire us and stories that can warn us, that we need to be aware of if we're going to be able to live as we should live." History and culture, along with natural beauty, are the pillars of the state's multibillion-dollar tourism industry--one of its largest revenue-producers, Kaine said. Walking across William Street to the museum's new annex, the governor helped other dignitaries cut the ribbon, officially opening the 19,500-square-foot McKann Center to the public. The crowd also heard museum president Edwin Watson, Free Lance-Star publisher and former Fred- ericksburg Mayor Josiah Rowe, Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, and John Janney, co-chairman of the museum's building committee. The McKann Center's grand-opening celebration continues today with special programs and free admission to the center and Town Hall, the museum's original facility. famcc.org Clint Schemmer: 540/368-5029
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