Danville's Luke Morrison, 15, Is A Bright, Young Military Collector With His Own Museum.
Morrison is 15 years old and a Ninth-Grade student at the nearby Danville School. His marks are good, he tells me, even though over the past year or so his chores and job tasks at home have increased many times over. Luke seems very able to promote his new military museum, and he has met with early stardom after the New York Times published a story a month or so ago, "The 15-year-old Keeping War Memories Alive."
Bernie Marvin
Luke Morrison looks over the logo he designed for his unique military museum at his home in Danville, Vermont. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Danville, VT – In this small, handsome, typical Vermont town, there are many things visitors find attractive: a variety of small and large animal farming, not much vehicle traffic, a variety of good restaurants that serve breakfast, and a popular military museum.
That's the thing that surprises folks who travel through town on Peacham Road and Harvey's Hollow: there really is a museum in this town, and it carries its own fascinating story about Luke Morrison, the founder and manager of the museum.
Morrison is 15 years old and a Ninth-Grade student at the nearby Danville School. His marks are good, he tells me, even though over the past year or so his chores and job tasks at home have increased many times over. Luke seems very able to promote his new military museum, and he has met with early stardom after the New York Times published a story a month or so ago, "The 15-year-old Keeping War Memories Alive."
The story highlights donations Luke received from area veterans who had personal stories to share about the items. Luke can repeat a story about any piece in his museum, including the story of the Ploesti Oil Fields bomber crew member who somehow survived one of those terrifying raids on what was, in 1943, Hitler's main oil supply depot in Romania.
Luke's military museum is located inside a small camping trailer adjacent to the family's tidy goat farm. The trailer, by the way, is now the first of two trailers, needed because of the increasing number of military items donated to Luke's efforts to feature an even wider spectrum of warrior clothing, photographs, unit patches, media stories, helmets and implements, and a whole lot more!
There it is, laid out there among the parked four-wheel drive recreational vehicles, a dirt bike, animal trailer, 20 goats, a neatly cut yard area, a wooded pasture, and a brace of young oxen Luke's brother Caleb was trying to coax into the pasture.
Luke's little sister Natalie was in the house helping his mom, Carolyn Morrison, and Dad, Earl Morrison, was at work tending to the business efforts of Morrison's Garden Store in St. Johnsbury and the Feed Mill in Barnet among the family businesses the family and many employees tend to.
Both parents get a load of credit from Luke for helping him keep the military museum running smoothly and lugging him and his wares around the area when necessary. Luke has no vehicle operator's license, so their help is essential, he told me.
Early one morning last week, my son, Spencer, and I visited Luke and his mother, Carolyn, at their home and farm area. Luke's main military museum trailer sits with the other smaller travel trailer unit and is also filled with military paraphernalia Luke showed during four grueling days at the nearby Caledonia Fair.
Luke said several hundred guests toured his Caledonia Fair display space, and many promised return visits when his museum opens, usually on weekends. Although he said it seems he has always had an interest in the military, he began his serious military collecting in 2024. He said he has been pleased with the acceptance his museum is receiving so far.
His plan includes accepting donations he will use for expenses and to purchase additional military materials and equipment for the museum. Looking to the future, Luke said he is hoping to eventually find or build a structure to hold his fast-growing inventory. When or where that will be is unknown at this early point.
The trailer that holds most of the museum's artifacts at one time belonged to his great-uncle Dright Cooley, a World War 2 veteran. Luke has nearly doubled his capacity by spending $2500 on another trailer that sits proudly nearby, bulging with war mementos offered by Luke for his military museum.
Anyone who wants to contribute to Luke's military museum efforts or would like to set up a visit can contact him by email at lukesmilitarymuseumvt@gmail.com.
Luke Morrison, 15 years-old, checks on one of the many displays in his military museum. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Luke Morrison admires a B-24 bomber crew member’s leather flight jacket worn during bombing raids on the Ploesti Oil Fields in Romania during World War 2. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Military Museum owner Luke Morrison holds a prized authentic US Marine Corps herringbone twill utility jacket. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Carolyn Morrison, at left and her son, Luke Morrison. He is the 15-year-old owner of Luke’s Military Museum in Danville, Vermont. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.