Some of the treasures that James Lane creates in his wood-turning hobby.
CREATING IN WOOD
James Lane, one of the curators for the Military Museum in Bladenboro is also a wood-turner and is giving special weekend displays and sales to help raise money for the Bladenboro Historical Society and Museum.
BLADENBORO – Every day there is history made and each week it seems, the Bladenboro Historical Society and Museum has new things to offer including living history.
Over the next two weekends you can see an authentic North Carolina wood turner and military veteran, James Lane who is also one of the curators of the Military Museum at BHS&M.
Manned mainly by Bobby Ludlum James Lane who both have uniforms on mannequins in the museum built most of the exhibits in a garage and then trucked them to the building at 818 S. Main Street.
“I’m a retired Army officer,” Lane said. “I didn’t want to live in Cumberland County when I retired, and I’d always passed through Bladen County which had some nice little communities. I bought a place here and now I’ve lived here 22 years this is my home.”
There are a lot of military museums worldwide, but in southeastern North Carolina, there is a special mystique to the Bladenboro Military Museum.
“This is a representation of all those service members from Bladen County that served in the Armed Forces,” Lane said. “All the mannequins represent actual people that were born, raised, served in the military and donated their uniform after they finished their military career.”
In 1997, several Bladen County military veterans began envisioning a place to pay homage to those men and women from The Mother County who had served in the armed forces. When Col. Earl E. Frink donated seed money to get it started, the Earl E. Frink Military Museum was born.
Lane has picked up wood turning as a hobby during retirement and has turned some incredible pieces of art and practicality.
The turning exhibition begins Nov. 1 at the Bladenboro Historical Society and Museum and all of the pieces that he creates will be for sale – in hopes that the museum can raise money to help keep the doors open and the lights on. All proceed will go to the Bladenboro Historical Society.
The BHS&M is located at 818 South Main Street in Bladenboro. The doors are open each Saturday from 2 – 4 p.m.
“All wood turners please stop by and let’s talk shop,” Lane said.