Northern N.S. military museum to reopen in April

That same flight there was raised in Germany. That was one of the very first non-German flights raised in Germany during the Second World War. If you have a question about one of these artifacts, Ray Coulson has an answer. He's the curator of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum. That's the Amherst Hotel downtown. It has a new home after operating out of the Amherst Armory for 40 years. The federal government closed that building last year due to health and safety concerns. But renting a new space isn't so simple for the Regimental Museum. The Army's not allowed to rent space in a building to house a Regimental Museum. So that's part of where we come in, and so we've had to do some fundraising. And we searched around the town of Amherst. We've had help from tons of people. Todd says the community council's goal is to raise more than $220,000. That would cover rent and utilities over five years. Four major donors have already contributed. And soon the public will be welcomed into the regimental museum again. We're having our grand opening on the 24th of April and we're we're going to combine that with a statue unveiling as well. We've had a statue donated from Belgium and they are hoping to turn this into a bit of a trade mission. As well as a symbol of friendship between the two nations. It's been a team effort moving and unpacking artifacts with volunteers hoping people can remember North Nova Scotia Highlanders who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields of Europe all the way to Afghanistan. I hope they can really see the military history A, that the town of Amherst has B, that the Nova Scotia Highlanders have in general And, uh... Maybe it'll inspire some young kids to sign the dotted line and serve. Cool. Coulson is grateful for the work of the community council, but hopes the museum can return to the armory someday. You walk in that military building and you get a military museum. You walk in here, you've got a civilian building, and it's not the same. Dartmouth-based charity Vets Canada wants to revitalize the building with 20 units of veterans' housing, additional services, and a permanent museum. Luke Ettinger, CBC News, Amherst.