Visitors find Wright Museum's lobby exhibit to be inspirational

WOLFEBORO — This year's lobby exhibit at the Wright Museum of World War II is “wowing” visitors as they enter the building.

The exhibit, which took months to complete, commemorates the 1944 Battle of the Bulge. 

“People are blown away at the sheer size of the lobby exhibit, which is about 25 by 16 feet,” said Executive Director Mike Culver.

The exhibit, featuring a winter battle scene photograph and soldier-dressed mannequins, is moving some visitors to tears, which is the case with Meredith resident Carroll Levey.

“What I saw were so many ordinary men — some no more than boys really — plucked from ordinary lives to do extraordinary things for their country, which they loved and honored,” she said. “I get the same feeling from some of my dad’s photos. My dad served in the Japanese theater of World War II.”

In response to her own visceral reaction to the exhibit, Levey said she and husband Marc decided to make a financial contribution and sponsor it for the 2019 season. 

“Marc and I overheard someone mention Pearl Harbor to a young man in his mid-twenties, and his response was, ‘What’s that?’” she said.

She said it is their belief that the exhibit and Wright Museum exist in part to ensure “no one ever responds that way again” to a Pearl Harbor reference.

“We believe so strongly in the Wright Museum’s mission to preserve that critical time in our history,” she said.

For Culver, that sort of emotional reaction underscores the importance and relevance of the Wright Museum’s mission.

“World War II was a time period in human history that will forever shape American culture,” he said. “The Wright sheds light not just on the battlefront, but the homefront. We peel back the layers of the war and the culture around it. I’m touched at Carroll and Marc’s support and generosity.”

The Wright Museum is open daily through Oct. 31. For more information, visit wrightmuseum.org.