New Museum To Open Doors

An extensive coin collection, photos of the 1940s Sebring High School band and a draft registration from World War I are just some of the artifacts on display at the Sebring-Ridge Museum.

The museum, located at 145 W. Center Ave., will have its debut opening Thursday during the Gallery Walk from 5 to 8 p.m.

The goal of the museum is to safeguard area history by serving as a repository for artifacts and memorabilia about the lifestyles of early settlers in the area.

"We see progress is coming fast, so we want to make sure we have a place to preserve the past," said Betty Ford-Smith, president of the museum's board of directors. "It seems like it is diminishing so quickly, and we don't want it to be forgotten."

Ruth K. Davis, a lifelong resident of Sebring and member of the museum's board of directors, said she is constantly discovering more about the city's past as she collects artifacts and sifts through memorabilia.

"I learn something new every day," she said.

Portraits of some of the city's prominent residents line the walls, and the shelves of the library are filling with books written by and about local residents. One of the first exhibits on loan to the museum features furniture from the family of a rancher from the early 1900s.

"It's definitely a work in progress," Davis said about the museum. "We want it to evolve all the time, just like Sebring is.

"The people who lived here when the city was founded contribute significantly to its history, but new people are always coming in and helping the city change and grow. They are part of what we are, and they bring new things to help us continue to evolve."

A board of about 10 directors meets regularly to plan the future of the museum, and Davis said they are excited to be opening the doors.

"This museum is the brainchild of a group of people -- some old-timers and some new-timers," Davis said. "We are all working toward the same end of preserving our past."

They are always looking for ways to expand and are especially looking for more exhibits of collections or artifacts, which can be donated to the museum or provided on a loan basis.

"We have a lot of space for expansion," Davis said.

A memory garden is also planned for the building's backyard, and bricks from the former Atlantic Coast Line train station will be used to build a patio. Work on that project will likely start in January.

"The memory garden will be a place for people who have lost loved ones to place a brick memorializing them," Smith said. "It's also a quiet place for people to sit and reminisce about the past."

For more information about the museum, volunteering or making a donation, call 402-1611.