Local military museum searches for new home

TIJERAS, N.M. – A one-of-a-kind museum dedicated to military life and artifacts is on the move.

For more than a decade, Allen Dale Olson has poured his heart and soul into the Museum of the American Military Family in Tijeras.

“The museum is the only one of its kind, it’s dedicated to collecting and preserving the stories, photographs, documents, of family members of our members of the military,” said Allen Dale Olson, co-founder of the Museum of the American Military Family. 

Now, he finds himself packing up all those artifacts and searching for a new home.

“Fortunately, they aren’t going very far, so we don’t have to pack them as if they are going to Japan or Germany or a typical overseas move. But we do have a lot of wrapping paper, a lot of boxes, and we do make sure that the delicate things get protected as they are packed,” said Olson. 

Olson admits they were already thinking about moving the museum, but after their landlord passed suddenly and new ownership took over it sped up their timeline – they have until the end of the month to move. 

“We have some leads we have talked to the City of Albuquerque, the county commissioners, we’ve talked to the officials in the East Mountains, all of them are aware that we have a need. Most seem really interested in helping us but so far nothing firm,” Olson said.  

Olson says the museum has become a research destination for six universities in New Mexico and one in Germany. He hopes to keep contributing to the military community even when the boxes are stowed away in storage. 

“We would like to stay here because the people are coming out here and helping us. We would like to stay here. Yes, our first interest is let’s keep serving the community that has been good to us, and we want to be good to them,” said Olson. 

Community members who would like to help them pack can stop by Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. People can also donate packing supplies or to the museum’s moving fund.