Clarinda to build Miller museum

Organizers hope they can toot Glenn Miller's horn a little louder with a new museum to honor the late big band leader and native of southwest Iowa.

Miller, who was born in Clarinda in 1904, died when his plane disappeared over the English Channel in 1944. He had been on his way from London to entertain U.S. troops who had liberated Paris.

Now, residents of Clarinda are about to begin construction of a museum to honor Miller and display memorabilia from his musical career.

The town of about 5,600 has held a festival honoring Miller every year for several years, and last fall the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society began a campaign to raise money to build a museum on the property of Miller's birthplace home.

The project has collected about $900,000 in contributions, including $210,000 in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development and $235,000 from Iowa's Community Attraction and Tourism Fund.

Marvin Negley, president of the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society board, said the federal money will be used on museum displays.

"It will be spent on the memorabilia area, everything from mounting items and display cases - anything that is needed to make it look nice and protect the items," Negley said.

He said the construction project is expected to cost about $900,000, but that fundraising will continue in the hope of establishing an endowment fund for the ongoing maintenance of the 5,600-square-foot museum.

The town's annual festival, which wrapped up this weekend, attracts about 3,000 people, and the museum will only add to the attention Miller deserves, Negley said.

"I think it's very important for the state of Iowa, the nation and the whole world," he said. "I think we're very fortunate to have someone like Glenn Miller born in our state."

Jessica O'Riley, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Tourism Office, said that events such as the Glenn Miller Festival may be small in size but have a big impact on the communities that host them.

"It makes a huge difference," she said.

Whether it's the annual Donna Reed Festival in Denison, the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace in Boone or the Andy Williams Birthplace in Wall Lake, the attractions and events are important for the Iowa communities, O'Riley said.

"It's nice to be able to hang your hat on something," she said. "History buffs are drawn to them, or big band fans - they each have their own little niche."

Construction on the Glenn Miller museum is scheduled to start around July 1.

The idea for the museum was hatched in 1990. There were a couple of sour notes along the way because of fundraising problems but, just like Miller, organizers succeeded by refusing to give up, Negley said.

"I guess we're a little like Glenn Miller," he said. "He started his own band in 1937, and it wasn't successful, so it disbanded. Then he organized a second band, and that band soon became the No. 1 band in the country.

"So, I guess we're following the example he set."