BLOOMFIELD TAKES ON BIG MUSEUM PLANS

The small Southeast Missouri town of Bloomfield has taken on a big project of national -- even international -- proportions. Construction of the first part the Stars and Stripes Museum and Library is well under way, and the ambitious plans call for spending $4 million to $5 million before it's all over.

Bloomfield's claim to Stars and Stripes, the newspaper that has informed millions of American servicemen and women around the globe, is a historical one. The first edition of the newspaper was published there during the Civil War. It was right after the Nov. 9, 1861, battle in which the 8th Illinois Regiment routed Confederate forced from the town. As it turned out, some of the Union soldiers had newspaper experience. So they took over the offices of a local newspaper, The Herald, and produced the first Stars and Stripes to herald their victory.

Only one copy of that first edition is known to exist, and it was recently donated by the Stoddard County Historical Society to the new museum.

This donation is only one of several substantial contributions that have helped propel the project. The Stoddard County Commission donated 7 1/2 acres of land -- the old county poor farm -- to the museum. A former member of the Stars and Strips staff from California gave $40,000. An architect in England whose father worked for Stars and Stripes in World War II is designing the museum project. and Stoddard County businesses and individuals are stepping in to see that the first of six connected buildings is completed.

Stars and Stripes has had a long and illustrious history as a dependable source of military and world news geared specifically to members of America's armed forces. It shut down following the Civil War, but it started again during World War I and has been published continuously ever since, now offering several editions around the world.

Bill Elmore, project director, masterfully understates the potential of the new museum: "I think it will be great for Bloomfield. It should put us on the map."

Certainly the project as envisioned by its supporters would be of interest to hundreds of thousands of current and former military personnel who might be likely to make Bloomfield a travel destination. After all, who would ever think of making a trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., if it weren't for the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Give the folks in Bloomfield credit. They have something no one else has: historical ties to an institution that is known everywhere. Good luck to them as they push ahead with the Stars and Stripes museum.