Historical naval display can be seen at Snow College Social Science Building

By Lauren Evans

Staff writer

11-8-2018

EPHRAIM – A new collection of historical U.S. Naval artifacts is being showcased at the Snow College Social Science Building.

The owner of the artifacts, Margret Harris, has agreed to display a collection of pieces from her great grandfather, Franklin Heins, who joined the Navy in 1875 and served as ordnance man with trained specialization in weaponry.

He served in England, the eastern U.S. coast and Washington D.C. He also refereed boxing matches and coached the naval basketball team during his service. Heins retired in 1941 as a lieutenant.

The pieces include medals, photographs of Heins and his family, photographs of ships, souvenirs from abroad and records from Heins’ service at the beginning of the Spanish American war.

“What better way to help education and honor my great grandfather than to display these things I have inherited,” Harris said. She has loaned Snow College the artifacts for three years and she hopes the display will become permanent in the future.

Snow College professor David Graham said, “We are excited to have this rich historical collection in place at Snow College.  It is a welcomed addition to the Social Science Building. In the short period of time since the display’s creation, many students and visitors to the Social Science building have spent time examining all the interesting artifacts and photographs in the collection. The items included in the display represent a pivotal moment in American history and American naval history, in particular.”

The display is located in the hallway of the second floor of the Social Science building and is open to the public.