Museum to Feature Exhibit on Former School Bus Manufacturer

RICHMOND, Ind. — A local museum plans to unveil an exhibit on the history of a former school bus manufacturer here that had once been one of the area’s well-known employers, Palladium-Item reports.

Starting on Aug. 13, the Wayne County Historical Museum’s exhibit will feature memorabilia from Wayne Works, which was at one time a leader in school bus manufacturing, according to the newspaper. The event is closed to the public, but those with direct connections to the former manufacturer can attend.

The exhibit will run for about six to nine months and will feature donated photographs, documents, and transcribed stories from former workers at the plant, Palladium-Item reports. The plant opened in Richmond in 1876 after having moved from Dublin, Indiana, and closed in the early 1990s after it was bought by a competitor, according to the newspaper.

Jim Harlan, the executive director of the museum, told Palladium-Item that the museum is still accepting donations for the exhibit, and is looking for former workers at the plant to contribute accounts of their experiences to the exhibit. Harlan added that a significant amount of plant history was preserved by searching through the trash at the site of the former plant: After items were thrown away, people collected about 17 boxes worth of materials. Those materials will be on display in the exhibit.

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