Military museum looks toward future, expansion plans

EASTPOINTE/ST. CLAIR SHORES — Chris Causley stood in his garage in St. Clair Shores on a warm August afternoon, surrounded by an assortment of military vehicles in various stages of repair. His most recent acquisition, three Clark Kat Model 30 tugs with chipped orange paint that he paid for out of his own pocket, were parked just inside the door.

Nearby was a 1943 Clark CT-6 Mil 44, which he said would be primarily used to move airplanes. It was originally his COVID project, he said, and restoration was completed about a year ago, and the tractor recently received a gold award at the Military Vehicle Nationals.

“It’s awesome. The people loved it. The judges loved it. The spectators loved it,” he said. “It’s not a vehicle you see at the events all the time.”

Causley serves as the executive director for the Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society in Eastpointe and does most of the restoration work himself. In November 2021, the museum celebrated 10 years as a brick-and-mortar museum.

One of the main goals of the museum is to teach people how problems were solved in the past. For example, one of the vehicles being stored at his home, a 1944 Clark bulldozer, was used to build airstrips “in the middle of nowhere,” he said.

“How do we get equipment out there that we can build an airstrip with?” he said. “Well, their idea was to come up with a bulldozer that would fit in the back of an aircraft they had.”

The museum also tells the story of Michigan.

“All of these vehicles in here were built in the state of Michigan, by Michigan companies,” he said. “It’s a local story. It’s a national story.”

But while the museum has a physical location, its collection has outgrown the building, and many assets are being stored off-site at various locations — including Causley’s home in St. Clair Shores.

“What’s the point of a museum if you can’t actually see the stuff the museum has?” he said.

Causley said they’re looking to get another building near the current one to store the vehicles in, but the society needs more money. In an email, Causley said in 2016 they looked into adding onto the museum’s current structure, which was expected to cost $1.26 million that year. They have also explored moving into a larger, existing structure, which he expects would cost even more.

The society has been fundraising by going door-to-door and asking businesses for donations.

“Right now, coming out of the pandemic, it’s hard, and I think we’re possibly going into a recession; it’s going to be even harder,” he said. “So we’re just trying to keep the museum afloat, but also trying to keep the museum moving forward.”

For more information on the museum, or to donate, visit www.mimths.org.