Two years in the making, the Wabash County Museum in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, will soon be opening a new exhibit showcasing the history of The Lone Ranger on radio, television and motion-pictures. The display is nothing small, I can assure you, so anyone who happens to be passing through can stop by and check it out. Often during my travels I check to see what displays are open to the public and make a momentary detour for a pit stop where I can be enlightened with additional pop culture nostalgia. As I will be traveling through the area in June, this new Lone Ranger exhibit will be on my itinerary.
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| Advanced sneak peak at some of the displays in the exhibit. |
Appropriately called “Hi-Yo Silver,” the display features a comprehensive timeline with legacies of both Brace Beemer (radio's Lone Ranger) and Fred Foy (the announcer that became synonymous with the opening tagline). There is also a broadcast booth including actual items from the original WXYZ studio in Detroit such as one of the microphones used for those broadcasts and the original door to the broadcast studio.
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| Fred Foy, radio announcer for The Lone Ranger. |
In case you are curious to know why Mt. Carmel, the small town is the birthplace of Brace Beemer and the same town that held Lone Ranger Festivals in the past.
The exhibit opens on Saturday, May 2, 2020, beginning 10 am. For those who wish to attend the grand opening on that day, you want to become part of the ceremonies when they bury a time capsule containing original artifacts from the show scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in a small garden nest to the museum. There will be a special memento of the Grand Opening for all attendees plus other mementos to buy and plenty of friends and fans to visit with during the day. There is no fee for the event.
Whether you can attend the grand opening or plan to stop by months later to check out the exhibit, the address for GPS is 320 N. Market Street. Feel free to browse some of the photos below for a sneak peak at the museum display.
