[Bail_Khan]

So is anyone interested, personally I would rather have something like a southeast Asia themed museum but thats just my aesthetic preference. I wonder if it will make money or not, didn't the place fail at the other city it was at before FS got it.
I wonder if we are just getting the place because our mayor has a thing for cowboys?

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Bail_Khan

So is anyone interested

Uh....yes.

The U.S. Marshals service is a large part of our history, our present, and our future.

From the colonial days, through the wild and wooley west, the Capone era, and into the "Homeland Security" days, they have provided a plethora of services to the public.

If you are relocated on the WitSec program, transferred from one federal prison to another as Noriega, the "Teflon Don", and many others have been, or if you are a federal fugitive being tracked, it's the U.S. Marshals doing it.

From the mundane, to living on the edge of the razor blade.

Agencies like the U.S. Marshals, and the Texas Rangers, no matter what they have morphed into fom their origins, deserve respect and recognition.

[Stormcrow73]

The Marshals museum really fits the history of Fort Smith. I think it's potentially a great thing for the community so long as it gets proper hype to become a good attraction for drive through visitors. I doubt it will ever be a destination attraction.

I'm pretty sure this is the first Marshal's museum and it didn't fail at another location but Fort Smith was competing with another city for it. I don't remember where exactly the other city was but Fort Smith won. IIRC, somewhere in Kansas??? Few real museums "make money" in the regard of turning a profit from gate receipts and merchandise sales. As with many community attractions, they merely hang on with support of a deep pocket benefactor. Many professional sports teams are in exactly the same boat. Corporate sponsors pay the bulk of the bills either through cross promotional agreements or paying inflated prices for luxury box seats that sit unused for much of the season. Folks like us paying to see them are just along for the ride, we make little difference in the bottom line of these organizations.

The city of Fort Smith did not conceive of this idea and bring it about on their own accord. It has nothing to do with the mayor's affinity for anything cowboy. They responded to an RFP issued by the US Marshals office specifically for this museum. The RFP would have been open to any city or locale to bid on the project. The federal government will be footing at least part of the bill for it. I would imagine the city, along with some corporate sponsors, will chip in the remainder.

I do think a museum dedicated to the southeast Asian population displaced to the Fort Smith area during the Vietnam Conflict time frame would be very fitting as well.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

The Marshals museum really fits the history of Fort Smith. I think it's potentially a great thing for the community so long as it gets proper hype to become a good attraction for drive through visitors. I doubt it will ever be a destination attraction.

I'm pretty sure this is the first Marshal's museum and it didn't fail at another location but Fort Smith was competing with another city for it. I don't remember where exactly the other city was but Fort Smith won. IIRC, somewhere in Kansas??? Few real museums "make money" in the regard of turning a profit from gate receipts and merchandise sales. As with many community attractions, they merely hang on with support of a deep pocket benefactor. Many professional sports teams are in exactly the same boat. Corporate sponsors pay the bulk of the bills either through cross promotional agreements or paying inflated prices for luxury box seats that sit unused for much of the season. Folks like us paying to see them are just along for the ride, we make little difference in the bottom line of these organizations.

The city of Fort Smith did not conceive of this idea and bring it about on their own accord. It has nothing to do with the mayor's affinity for anything cowboy. They responded to an RFP issued by the US Marshals office specifically for this museum. The RFP would have been open to any city or locale to bid on the project. The federal government will be footing at least part of the bill for it. I would imagine the city, along with some corporate sponsors, will chip in the remainder.

I do think a museum dedicated to the southeast Asian population displaced to the Fort Smith area during the Vietnam Conflict time frame would be very fitting as well.

Ft. Smith has more U.S. Marshals buried there than any other city in the country, and the largest population of Marshal's families, so I think that may have had weight.

Vietnam 'conflict'....I gotta grin when I see that.

When I came back, I went to a VFW and said I wanted to join.

Big ol' guy with his ribbons on from "The Big One", looks at my DD214 and says, "You can't".

When I asked why, he said, "Because Vietnam wasn't a war".

I replied, "Well, it seems nobody told the <vietnamese> that, 'cause they kept shooting at me the whole time I was there".


Semantics..............

[Bail_Khan]

But will enough people be interested for the place to make Fort Smith money?
Hey what was the name of the town that had it before FS? I'll go ask them what they think.

[Clay Lady]

Stauton, VA was the other town in the "final two". A group from Fort Smith worked very hard for the museum to be in their town. The museum is more about honoring than profiting.

[Bail_Khan]

Originally Posted by Clay Lady

Stauton, VA was the other town in the "final two". A group from Fort Smith worked very hard for the museum to be in their town. The museum is more about honoring than profiting.

Ok, fair enough.

[bchris02]

The Marshals museum fits the culture and heritage of Fort Smith. I am honestly glad to see the town get something on this scale. But as was said, I don't think this nor Fort Smith will ever be a destination location in itself.

[ArkansasTraveler]

Originally Posted by RogMar

Big ol' guy with his ribbons on from "The Big One", looks at my DD214 and says, "You can't".

When I asked why, he said,

I was looking for 2F, 2F ---

I got "WAR ZONE" bonus pay just as soon as we sailed across the line. That be 100%, a money making war for everyone but the ground ponders.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by ArkansasTraveler

I was looking for 2F, 2F ---

I got "WAR ZONE" bonus pay just as soon as we sailed across the line. That be 100%, a money making war for everyone but the ground ponders.

I dunno....at the time I got combat pay PLUS flight crew pay, and with the economy of the area, and of the R & R spots, we felt like we were big time.

Here, in today's economy, it wouldn't be near minimum wage.