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.
Cherished Quilt of Valor presented to WW2 veteran Earl Aremburg
Aremburg, a popular and well-known lifelong resident and retired businessman in the area who is approaching his 100th birthday, was there with a large group of family, friends, and veteran well-wishers, including his daughter Marie Bigelow and son Raymond Aremburg.
The large quilt, resplendent in bright and patriotic colors, was hand-stitched by VFW Auxiliary member Bonnie Burroughs. She was present for the ceremony, as were Jane Graham and Carolyn Bruckner of the QOV organization.
Bernie Marvin
Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary member Bonnie Burroughs, who created the Quilt of Valor that was presented to WW2 Sailor Earl Aremburg last week, displays the quilt for all to see and admire. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
North Haverhill, NH – The honored Quilt of Valor (QOV), a homemade quilt presented to WW2 Veteran Earl Aremburg as a way to say "Thank You" for your service to our country by members of the National Quilts of Valor organization, was presented at an impressive service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Thursday evening, August 20, 2026.
Aremburg, a popular and well-known lifelong resident and retired businessman in the area who is approaching his 100th birthday, was there with a large group of family, friends, and veteran well-wishers, including his daughter Marie Bigelow and son Raymond Aremburg.
The large quilt, resplendent in bright and patriotic colors, was hand-stitched by VFW Auxiliary member Bonnie Burroughs. She was present for the ceremony, as were Jane Graham and Carolyn Bruckner of the QOV organization.
Members of the Sew Far North Quilt of Valor group of Littleton displayed and presented the quilt. The QOV organization was founded in 2003. The organization's mission is to honor veterans and active service members who have been touched by war, with a quilt to say thank you for your service to our country.
The local group was organized in 2021, and to date they have awarded 130 quilts; nationally, 454,000 quilts have been awarded, and more than 11,000 QOV members make and award these highly praised quilts.
A Quilt of Valor is a reminder that those of us who made them remember all who have made the sacrifice of service for our freedoms. The QOV has three layers; the top layer has many colors and shapes of fabric. These represent the communities and the individuals who stitch the quilts, representing the love, gratitude, and sometimes the tears of the maker.
The center layer, the batting, provides warmth and represents hope, comfort, and peace, offering healing to the individual who receives the quilt. The back layer, called the backing, is the strength of the quilt, and the binding that holds all the layers together.
The Quilt of Valor is priceless; it cannot be bought, sold, or raffled. It is not a birthday or Christmas gift. The value is a thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
The VFW Honor Guard, under the command of Jr. Vice Commander Bill Burroughs, began the ceremony; there was a call to order, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Chaplain Fred Delman offered prayers, with the ceremony being conducted by Jane Graham and Carolyn Bruckner of the Quilts of Valor organization. Assisting in the ceremony and with the display of the Quilt of Valor, Bonnie Burroughs was the VFW Auxiliary member who created and sewed the Quilt of Valor that was presented to Earl Arenburg.
During the ceremony, Earl Aremburg was wrapped in the quilt to symbolically show how it will provide warmth and comfort to the recipient.
Fireman First Class Earl Arenburg joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 at the age of 17. He trained as a gunner in Norfolk, Virginia, and was assigned to a 36-man unit on the SS Taylor, a cargo ship. His first trans-Atlantic trip was in a convoy of 100 ships carrying troops, equipment, and supplies to the Mediterranean. During the 30-day voyage, German submarines posed an ever-present danger and sank many of the convoy's vessels.
His ship was then assigned to carry cargo around the Mediterranean from North Africa to Naples, Italy, before returning to the United States. In Baltimore, he was transferred to a second Liberty ship with a mission to refuel ships that were on their way to action in northern Africa.
After the war in Europe ended, Earl was transferred to the Pacific theater in advance of the planned invasion of Japan. He served as a gunner and a machine gunner aboard the USS Manila Bay. Earl continued his service in the Marine Corps Reserves until August 1956, when he retired as a Sergeant of Marines.
Earl Aremburg of North Haverhill, at right, received an award of a Quilt of Valor at ceremonies last Thursday night, August 20, 2026. With him are his daughter, Marie Bigelow, on the left, and fellow VFW member Harvey Keyes. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin
Wrapped in the Quilt of Valor in ceremonies at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building in North Haverhill is WWII US Navy veteran Earl Aremburg, with Quilt of Valor official Jane Graham at right as she narrates the presentation program. Aremburg received the Quilt of Valor for his service during WW2 in two different theaters. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Presenting the cherished Quilt of Valor at recent ceremonies to WW2 US Navy veteran Earl Arembiurg, seated at center, were Quilt of Valor official Jane Graham, at right. Also at rear, Quilt of Valor official Carolyn Bruckner, at left, and the quilt creator, Bonnie Burroughs, at right. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.