ELKHART, Ind., –Visitors to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum now have a new manufactured home exhibit to tour, thanks to the generosity of Nappanee, Indiana-based Fairmont Homes, according to Barry Cole, RV/MH Heritage Foundation chairman of the board.
The exhibit, located east of the museum complex, is a brand new modern manufactured home.
Cole said, “This new exhibit is an outstanding addition to our manufactured housing collection. Visitors to the museum will be able to tour historic examples of homes on wheels, experience the recently unveiled ‘Wheel People’ exhibit and then step outside to visit a modern example of a manufactured home. We believe they will be amazed and impressed with how far our industry has evolved.”
Darryl Searer, president of the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum, said, “This project started a few months ago when we sent out a call to manufactured housing companies and asked them if they would be willing to display one of their new units at the museum. Fairmont Homes stepped up and offered to erect one of their homes at the museum for a period of one year. They also volunteered to cover the cost of erecting the home at the museum, plus pay the electric bill while the home is on display.”
In addition to Fairmont Homes, others in the industry made contributions to help bring this project to fruition. Style Crest contributed the air conditioning and many state manufactured housing associations donated money ranging from $400 to $1,000 to cover the site preparation costs, estimated to be approximately $15,000.
Seared added, “Our goal is to present visitors to the Hall of Fame and Museum a complete and accurate history of both the RV and Manufactured Housing industries. While we have many early examples of our industries’ products, we believe our story would be incomplete without showing visitors examples of where we are today.
“And now, with the addition of this latest exhibit, we’re confident that we are giving visitors a more comprehensive picture of the manufactured housing industry, but we could not have accomplished it without the thoughtfulness of Fairmont Homes and others. We thank them for their support.”
Fairmont Homes’ General Manager Brian Cira said, “Fairmont is proud of the industry and happy to support the Hall of Fame in promoting the incredible housing value we offer today’s homebuyers.”
Note to Editors — The photo of the new manufactured home at the RV/MH Museum has been Photoshop enhanced. The lawn and landscaping was added. Until next spring, the yard area will be covered with mulch. At that time, the landscaping will be added. A photo without the enhancement is available.
