World War II display, scrapbook exhibit debut at Ottawa Scouting and Heritage Museum

The north wing of Ottawa’s Scouting and Heritage Museum is covered in newspaper clippings and artifacts depicting life during wartime.

This is in part thanks to Rena Monterastelli’s scrapbooks, the first of which is on display on a large wall.

Monterastelli’s scrapbooks chronicling the entirety of World War II were donated by Jim Ferrero, and feature news stories, letters, photos, Christmas cards, and all sorts of information related to the war.

“There’s people getting deployed and people missing in action,” said Museum Director Mollie Perrot. “People’s whole lives are in here. Sometimes their death.”

Perrot said everything in the display has been collected from donations, including displays that feature uniforms worn during the war along with displays honoring Terry Thompson, an Ottawan who also was a chess master and Eagle Scout. Thompson shares a display with Pete Thomson, another veteran.

Dan Schott, another museum volunteer, showed off a piece of Marston strip in the southern wing. The Marston strip is a piece of equipment made of steel that has risers on each side with holes in the middle like a bottle holder. They are interconnected and could be laid on sand in order to make a runway.

“They were actually used in France after D-Day,” Schott said. “The U.S. military left them behind and the French turned them into wine bottle holders.”

Schott said he’s received visits from veterans who have vivid memories of seeing the Marston strip. One, a World War II veteran, said he never thought he’d see one again. Another, a Vietnam veteran, said he hoped he’d never have to see one again.

“He told me his job in the Army was laying them down,” Schott said of the Vietnam veteran.

Lecture series coming to the museum

The Ottawa Scouting and Heritage Museum is launching a lecture series of its own beginning Jan. 22, when Perrot presents on the Magnificent Mansions of the Past, featuring the mansions of Ottawa’s North Bluff.

These lectures last about 90 minutes each and cost $5 each to attend, or $50 for the entire year’s worth of lectures. The money raised from these lectures will go to the museum’s building fund to create a new addition. There, the plan is to house a 1930 firetruck donated to the museum.

The rest of the lectures are as follows: “Old Downtown Ottawa: Blocks, Buildings and More” by Dave Mumper on Sunday, Feb. 26, “William Reddick: An In-Depth Look” by Lorraine McCallister on Sunday, March 26, “W.H.L. Wallace: Life & Times” by Dan Schott on Sunday, April 16, “The 1892 Ottawa Street Fair: The Real Story” by Perrot on Sunday, May 21, “Radium Dial Girls from a Personal Perspective” by Darlene Halm on Sunday, June 18, “Magnificent Mansions of the Past: East Side” by Perrot on Sunday, July 16, and then a magnificent mansions lecture about the South Bluff on Sunday, Aug. 20.

The lecture series rounds out in fall 2023 with Lorraine McCallister presenting on the “History of Ottawa Glass Making” on Sept. 17, “Charlie Ford: Ottawa’s Last Public Hanging” on Sunday, Oct. 16, and then Dave Mumper will present on the “History of the Ottawa National Guard and Armory” on Sunday, Nov. 19 and the series ends with Perrot presenting on the mansions of Ottawa Avenue in December 2023.

The Ottawa Scouting and Heritage Museum, 1100 Canal St., is completely operated by volunteers. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Call 815-431-9353 for more information.