Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAURICE A. WILLIAMS III STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As the story goes, Julian Stanley Wise was frustrated that his newly formed Roanoke Life Saving and Rescue Squad Crew had not received any calls. So Wise stuffed clothes with rocks, staged a mock drowning and called the media. Once the public learned about it, the squad received many calls.
The rest, as they say, is history.
After witnessing a drowning in 1909, Wise dedicated his life to improving rescue efforts. He organized rescue squads in Canada, Europe and six states and tested new equipment and techniques.
The Julian Stanley Wise Foundation has plans to increase awareness of rescue and emergency medical services squads, as did Wise.
Officials met Thursday at Tanglewood Mall to announce the new location for the interactive museum. Among other things, visitors will be able to experience being a 911 dispatcher and riding in a crash truck. They will be able to see films of dramatic rescues.
"This is going to be our new home. We're looking forward to a long and prosperous future," said I.B. Heinemann, president of the foundation dedicated to the pioneer of the volunteer rescue squad movement. The foundation has begun an effort to raise $200,000 to market the museum and its new location.
"To the Rescue" opened in 1991 at the Roanoke Valley History Museum, but its lease expired this year. Organizers said the move was necessary, and the choice of the mall was a good business decision.
"This is a unique idea. We anticipate increasing attendance," said J. Andree Brooks, the foundation's executive director. She said the move will extend the museum's hours to those of the mall.
The museum, which will be on the second floor next to Goody's, also will increase in size from 3,000 to 4,200 square feet. In addition to showcasing a history of volunteer and emergency medical services, it will have classrooms for teaching EMS personnel.
Chuck Millican, a Salem Fire Department lieutenant and EMS coordinator, will teach some classes. He sees the new location benefiting both the mall and the museum.
"The partnership will be a wonderful experience," Millican said. He recently came here from Charleston, S.C., and said he has realized there is a difference among communities in the commitment to rescue squads.
"Virginia is so unique in that it's strong in the volunteers," Millican said, adding this was especially the case in the Roanoke Valley.
Sig Davidson, a Tanglewood retailer and member of the Wise foundation's advisory committee, said the relocation will not only benefit the museum, it "will put Roanoke on the map as the birthplace of the rescue movement," Davidson said. He said the museum could spark business if national EMS organizations decide to hold their conventions in the area. "We hope that this exhibit will serve as a catalyst."
by CNB