BY KADIE VICK
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — The LaFayette Fire Chief, Jim Doody, has begun planning to restore the Chambers County Museum located near the LaFayette Fire Station.
“One of the main things I’m working on right now is trying to get the city to take over the buildings,” he said. “We also need to get power back so volunteers can begin work to clean it up.”
Doody said he sees the museum as a location for local schools to bring their students to see historical items from their own community.
“It would be such a great opportunity to bring school kids by to see how people in their community used to do things,” he said. “I would leave everything the way it is, but I would obviously clean it up, seal it up, get the birds’ nests and leaves out, fix the doors and other necessary things. But it is such a perfect opportunity for school tours.”
The history found in the items from the Chambers County Museum would cater to more than just local students. Doody said that he hopes that people from across Chambers County would enjoy visiting as well.
“The history here is so incredible,” he said. “This would be great for everyone, not just schools, especially for someone like me who enjoys history. People used to come from all over to see this museum, we have names written in the guestbook from Auburn, Opelika and more. I’ve been here in LaFayette for six years now, and the museum was closed before then.”
Doody said he has connected with the Alabama State Museum curator and is excited to utilize the curator’s advice and support through this process.
“I’ve had the Alabama State Museum curator come here, and I gave him a tour,” he said. “I basically asked him if I am wasting my time, or if this is something that can be revitalized. He said, ‘Absolutely 1,000% this is something that should be revitalized.’ So now I am working on getting the 501(c)(3) back together. Once I do that, the Alabama State Museum Curator said he will sign a letter supporting the renovation.”
Currently, the Chambers County Museum items are not stored to prevent decay and deterioration, and the longer these items are stored improperly, the more difficult they will be to restore.
“Right now, climate control is an issue. The museum curator sent me a list of ways to help preserve some of the items, but the longer we go without ventilation, HVAC and proper preservation, the harder it will be,” Doody said. “We will also need to do an inventory. We have a lot of people in town who have been here a while and can help us figure out what a lot of this stuff is.”
Doody said that he is hopeful that the community will work together to restore the Chambers County Museum so that it can be enjoyed by the community.
“When I walk through the buildings, I ask myself, ‘Why are we letting this sit here?’” he said. “My goal right now is to get the 501(c)(3) board back up and running, apply for grants, bring a bunch of volunteers out here one day to clean everything out and hopefully get everything running for the community to enjoy.”
