05/31/2026
Here are the facts about a frustrating story that has a happy ending!
There’s a lot of detail that we don’t have time to go in to, so we’ll give you the short version. What is described below wasn’t a partisan event, the RTC had no input in the planning and it wasn’t on our radar because it was a neutral, opportunity for all.
Back in March, the bipartisan Columbia 250 Committee arranged to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience come to our small town. The Federal Government, through a partnership with both government organizations and NGOs, established a very small fleet of mobile museums available to visit locations all over the country. The Town of Columbia was to be one of the small number of host towns and the only one in Connecticut.
Once the word got out, there was a small but vocal contingent through an active left wing advocacy group, who felt that this portable museum was divisive because they disagreed with the entities that the program partnered with for content promotion, not content creation. They are also opposed to it being associated with the current administration because it was a federal project. It should be noted that the idea behind these mobile museums is very similar to the 1976 bicentennial Freedom Train, which included corporate sponsors such as Pepsi, GM, etc. working in concert with the Carter administration.
No one who opposed the truck has viewed its content. They were against it simply because of their own political bias, with some of the opponents openly rude, interruptive and condescending when addressing the subject. This was a case of emotion and not fact-based resistance. It was another case of guilt by association. And what was the verdict for that guilt? Cancelation which finally came in the form of a concern about town infrastructure that in hindsight, was not a factor considering the myriad of similar activities sponsored and hosted by the town. That all-to-common political tactic of cancellation is in large part, responsible for the division we see today.
Our town's historian was in favor of the truck and gave impassioned speeches about not excluding it because of the personal bias of a few.
The content of the trucks has been vetted and approved by the federal America 250 commission which is non-partisan.
The bottom line is that a vocal politically motivated minority prevented this voluntary opportunity from being experienced by those who would have wished to attend. Or so they thought.
Instead of giving up, a few people in Columbia lead by 250 co-chair Paul Zator, started networking and going to bordering towns and then finally to Suffield where the VFW Post 9544 came through and allowed the truck to be at their location!
So even though we must drive a little further, cancel culture didn’t win. The freedom to experience something very special did! And to top it off, what did the opposition accomplish? Only creating a buzz about the truck! More people will attend than if they had just left it alone! Common sense won!
We encourage everyone to visit the truck June 5 – 7 at the VFW at 972 Sheldon St. Suffield, CT. Enjoy this free and educational opportunity!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22iqYSqgfMg&si=q62OCAimP5f-2P9o&fbclid=IwY2xjawSJm1lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe2VrHTw0RlGrOuAVfATo9yyXcpJrAmu-sPfJ7TYuDmSZUavH_F70JaQtSVOU_aem_gv2BDeOE-TflIzTBBrj_3g
A fleet of six Mobile Museums, known as "Freedom Trucks," are traveling throughout 2026, bringing the story of American independence to students, families, a...
