The Centennial at the Grass Roots: The Great War and the Panhandle-Plains Region

The Great War and the Panhandle-Plains Region is being presented at the Panhandle-Plains Museum on the Campus of West Texas A&M University at Canyon, Texas, from January 28, 2017- December 30, 2017.

Exhibit Entrance

Of the regional and local organizations that will be presenting commemorative exhibits on the war, the museum is taking a unique approach. Using artifacts (militaria, uniforms, souvenirs, weapons, photographs, archives, and etc.) from PPHM’s collections, the exhibition will examine the before, during, and after lives of specific soldiers, Marines, sailors, and nurses (there was no air force) from the Panhandle-Plains region who served in the "Great War.” In the Panhandle-Plains region, many of the men who went "Over There" served in either the 36th Infantry (T-Patchers; T over an arrowhead); 90th Infantry (Tough Ombres; TO); or the 35th Infantry Division (Santa Fe Division). It is accompanied by the parallel exhibit "A Picture from Home: Snapshots of the Great War on the Plains."

The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is the largest history museum in Texas, with more than 285,000 square feet—and over two million artifacts—dedicated to preserving the region's past. Canyon sits 15 miles south of Amarillo (which is on Route 66/I-40) off I-27, and 12 miles west of Palo Duro Canyon, “the Grand Canyon of Texas.”  

Horse-drawn Ambulance

Trench and Dugout Scene

Helmets and Gas Respirators of  Featured Veterans  

Uniform Case  and Home Front Display

Thanks to Michael Grauer, Associate Director and Curator of Art & Western Heritage at the Museum for this material.