Page 10 - French and Electric Blue Summer 2019

Their Mission:

Department Members Past and Present

The Massachusetts State Police
Museum and Learning Center, like
a Phoenix rising from the ashes
of the fire that destroyed the top
floor of its old building two-and-
a-half years ago, is thriving in its
new space, and its events calendar
keeps growing.

The Museum’s current “temporary”
location in South Grafton has more
than five times the display and
storage space as was available at
the old Grafton Barracks, where the
fire occurred in February 2017. The
increased space has allowed the
Museum to display much more of its
collection at any given time, as well
as provide room for special events
such as book signings by MSP
authors and the annual “Runaway
Day” celebrating the famous
Norman Rockwell image of Trooper
Robert Clemens and the young boy
portrayed by Edward Locke.

“We continue to explore
opportunities to rebuild the Grafton
Barracks to house some of our
collection, or perhaps be rebuilt as
a 1940s-era Barracks, but have
been stalled due to lack of progress
on our insurance claim from the fire the Museum’s Vice President, said. “I feel it is extremely important that
which was caused by a painting we maintain a publicly accessible Museum to showcase our display,
contractor,” MSP Lt. Eric Bernstein, while we explore future options to locate a suitable permanent facility to
house our collections.”

The hold up from the insurance claim has not prevented the dedicated
officers and directors of the Museum from moving forward in their
mission to preserve and share the proud history of the French and
Electric Blue. Among the items in the Museum’s collection are antique
cruisers, historical documents and photographs, and old newspaper
accounts of MSP cases, which the Museum hopes to have catalogued
and digitally searchable in the near future. The Museum aims to
show the agency’s history from its humble beginnings as the State
Constabulary enforcing prohibition and labor laws in 1865 up through
the modern era of cybercrime, homeland security and counter-terrorism,
and the emerging challenges of policing in the current era. (Continued)
10 French and Electric Blue