The Sporting Life of Union County opens to the public at the museum

It took upwards of 5 years of consideration, investigation, planning, interviewing, searching, informing, hoping and working, working, working. But the Union County Heritage Museum has, once again, accomplished the focusing of all eyes upon the community it serves so well.

The museum’s astonishing new permanent exhibit, “The Sporting Life of Union County” had its public opening on September 30, 2023.

Museum Director Jill Smith is quick to credit all the sponsors, donors, contributors, sports fans, athletes, board members, community partners, staff members, etc. who have come together to bring this exhibit to life. The fact, though, is that it was unquestionably Jill Smith’s vision and ability that pulled the myriad pieces of community sports life from the depths of “history” into the light of day.

BNA Bank is the Premier Sponsor of “Sporting Life,” and there have been many generous donations from the community. Smith says, “It is still possible to donate to the exhibit and to honor a player or make a donation in memory of someone. We will continue to add individuals and teams to the searchable database as they are nominated or as we discover them.” When the exhibit opened, there were about 5000 names in the digital, searchable archive. The plan is to update this archive a few times annually. So, it is still possible for someone to make nominations and provide data and photos to the museum for inclusion in The Sporting Life of Union County.”

The oral history portion of the project started about 2 years ago as players, teams and coaches were interviewed by museum staff. Those interviews can be accessed by going to the YouTube Channel of the Union County Heritage Museum and searching the Sports Play List. If you are an athlete or coach and would like to be included, let the museum staff know.

NEMiss.News hopes our readers will enjoy a few photos of the public opening of The Sporting Life of Union County, but please know that it is a “must see in person” event.