Museum Romagne Newsletter March 2021
View this newsletter as we send it to our subscribers
Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, March 1 2021
WHEN WILL ROMAGNE RE-OPEN?
When will our beloved museum re-open its doors? That is a question that concerns us all. If only we knew! The coronavirus is still not under control and at the time of writing the strict restrictions are still in place.
We are quietly hoping to reopen sometime in the spring, but perhaps it is more realistic to aim for the summer, when the vaccination programs should begin to bear widespread fruit.
Jean-Paul can't wait to open his doors again to receive his visitors - first and foremost the schoolchildren - and to do what he loves most: to tell the story of the Great War, in his museum amidst his impressive collection, and to spread his message of peace.
It will be clear that the mandatory closure has had major financial consequences for the museum. And it still continues to do so. By the end of last year, the financial situation was so critical that permanent closure seemed only matter of weeks.
GLOBAL RESPONSE TO CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
In that crisis, our hopes were pinned on a crowdfunding campaign. What to expect from it, no one could predict. But fortunately the responses poured in, and welcome help came from an unexpected quarter. At the end of 2020 well-known American documentary filmmaker Indy Neidell, who had himself recovered from Covid-19 in May, made an appeal for financial support for Museum Romagne 14-18 in his Great War Channel on Youtube.
This appeal led to many responses, especially from the United States. Nearly 400 people raised a sum of nearly EU 7,300 in November and December.
In the end, the crowdfunding campaign raised EU 19,000. A wonderful result that has helped the museum enormously. All donors have personally received a Thank You!- email on behalf of Jean-Paul de Vries and the Friends of Romagne Foundation.
Indy Neidell, supporter of Museum Romagne and well known for his Great War Channel on YouTube
With these donations, the museum can survive at least until the spring of 2021. The donations were spent on fixed costs such as taxes, maintenance of the security installation, necessary repairs and maintenance of the building. It was also partly used to support Jean-Paul and another part will be invested in the Bed and Breakfast project (see below).
These actions have given Jean-Paul and the museum some breathing space, but as long as the corona crisis continues, the financial situation of a closed museum remains troubling and every euro will be gratefully received. Your support, in whatever form, therefore remains more than welcome.
ROMAGNE- A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT, A HARD PLACE TO LEAVE
We already mentioned it. After his move to Cunel Jean-Paul is now busy converting his former house in Romagne into a Bed and Breakfast that will accommodate up to eight people. Offered is an overnight stay. You can make your own breakfast as sparse or copious as you wish since the morning meal is not included. Quality Bed and Shower would therefore be a better description.
With accommodations in and around Romagne becoming scarce, this new service will be very welcome. And a welcome new source of income as well.
Romagne is a place that cannot be fully appreciated in only a few hours. The museum may be the central point, but there is so much more to discover in the immediate and wider surroundings of the village. The Verdun battlefields for instance are only less than an hour's drive away.
With its B&B, Museum Romagne will be the ideal base for a longer visit. We already have a slogan: Romagne. A great place to visit, a hard place to leave!
The pictures below give an idea of Jean-Paul's work in progress. We can't wait to make the first reservations!
ROMAGNE14-18.COM - VIRTUAL MEETING PLACE OF OUR MUSEUM
Romagne14-18.com is the central source of information and news concerning the museum. But we hope that our site will be something more. Something special. A site to which our visitors can make a substantial contribution. By means of columns, photos, personal recollections, facts of interest. Let our site be a meeting place for sharing First World War knowledge and personal experiences with the subject.
We invite you to contribute. Please don't hesitate and feel free to share your thoughts, your writings, photographs etc. with a like-minded and global audience.
Those who recently visited the newspage of our site will have already noticed the results of some of our ideas. Veteran Romagne photographer Marco Magielse posts contributions like 101 Reasons to go to Romagne. We look forward to his series Romagne Then and Now.
Journalist Cor Speksnijder delights us with interviews with WWI connoisseurs. After his meeting with Bruce Malone, superintendent of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetry in Romagne, in March it is Leo van Bergen's turn to talk about his latest book A Cap of Horror, an anthology of poetry by forgotten female war poets. In preparation is an interview with Paul Moeyes about his recent book on the Franco-German War of 1870-1871 and its relevance for the Great War. All the more reason to keep a regular eye on our site!
If you feel like making contributions, you are most welcome.
Please send your content to info@friendsofromagne14-18.com
We will certainly get in touch with you. Please do!
KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING
‘Keep the home fires burning’. That was the title of a 1914 song with music by Ivor Novelo and lyrics by Lena Guilbert Ford. The song was an appeal to all those at the home-front to keep courage and faith while the soldiers were fighting overseas. In other words: keep the home fires burning. You can listen to the song via Youtube if you like.
An appropriate theme perhaps for museum Romagne 14-18. Despite the difficult times, Jean-Paul keeps his home fires burning. He is full of energy and overflowing with ideas.
His plan to provide online classes to schools has now become a reality. The first Romagne ‘lectures’ have been held and the response is very promising. The applications are coming in. A very promising development that fills one with hope. Jean-Paul Online is a much needed new source of income.
Jean-Paul’s virtual headquarters in the heart of his museum
Despite the encouraging developments museum Romagne 14-18 is certainly not safe yet. The upcoming months will continue to be challenging. So we continue to repeat our appeal to support Museum Romagne 14-18.
If you want to support please press the DONATE button on our website www.friendsofromagne14-18.com
In the meantime we continue to keep our beloved museum alive and kicking. Please keep following us, via our site and Facebook page.
For all your questions and comments, please email us at info@friendsofromagne14-18.com
Spread the word: subscribe to this newsletter - if you haven't already done so - and ask your friends to do the same.
You can subscribe via romagne14-18.com
Until our next newsletter!
best wishes,
Jean-Paul de Vries
Friends of Romagne 14-18 Foundation
