The Military Museum You May Not Know Existed in Shelbyville

A hidden museum on the Shelby Main Street sounds like a myth until you walk through the door and see it: shadow boxes packed with uniforms, photos, and personal memorabilia that span World War I to present day. We sit down with Steven Ebbs, commander of VFW Shelby Memorial Post 1179, and Roger Green, the Post's unofficial historian, to hear how the Post preserves military history while also showing up for veterans in day-to-day life. Their own paths set the tone, from Steven’s 22 years in the Air Force, to Roger’s decades in the Army and National Guard, including Vietnam and other assignments that took him around the world. 

We get specific about what you can see when you visit the VFW museum, including how families donate treasures so a loved one’s service is not forgotten. Roger shares the story behind a World War I German machine gun and mortar, and what it means to steward objects that are rare, heavy with history, and still deeply personal. Steven also previews a project that connects Shelbyville to the wider world: Korean War memorabilia from NFL coach Buddy Ryan, donated with help from his family, plus a surprising link to Bonanza actor Dan Blocker. 

From there we shift to what the Post does right now. Steven lays out plans for the Shelbyville Fourth of July parade, keeping the doors open for breakfast and community visitors, and explains the practical needs of a growing Post, from renovations and storage to the hope for a vehicle to drive veterans to appointments. If you care about veteran support, local history, or things to do in Shelbyville KY that actually matter, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a quick review telling us what local story you want us to chase next.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet The Guests

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Welcome back to Kentucky Hidden Wonders. Our guests today are Stephen Ebbs and Roger Green. Stephen, you are the commander of the VFW Shelby Memorial Post 1179. And uh Roger, as Stephen was saying before we started, you're kind of the uh historian of the group, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:43

I'm also the accountant, I'm the quartermaster.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Okay. Perfect.

Service Stories From Air Force And Army

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Uh so Stephen, Roger, uh, whoever would like to start, just kind of tell us a little bit about your background. And obviously you're with the VFW. So if you would like to talk about your service, uh, get into that as well. But we will let you take it away.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Great. Well, first of all, I'm an Air Force veteran. I served 22 years uh in the United States Air Force. Jobs range from radio operator, personnel specialist, general's aide, Air Force recruiter, and uh just enjoy that. Uh after the 22 years, I uh transitioned into the United States Postal Service, served another 25 years working as a uh supervisor, distribution operations, mail handler, clerk, and uh several details within the uh Louisville area as a supervisor. I retired from there from the uh post office in 2024, already in Shelbyville. We've been here about seven years, my wife and I, and uh I was selected as commander or voted in as commander of the VFW here in Shelbyville. I've been the commander since July of last year.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

I married uh my wife and I, we've been married for 18 years, Ida, and we have three children and six grandkids.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Fantastic. Roger. Roger.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

I was born and raised here in Shelby County and graduated from Shelbyville and went off to college and I didn't come back here for till about 92. And I graduated in 60. Graduated from college and um went into uh I was in ROTC in the Army and I went into the Army and I spent uh oh about 33 years in the regular army and in the National Guard, and I worked for the National Guard till I retired. So and when I retired, I I retired. I mowed grass and take care of the take care of the farm a little farm we got.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

So And you're involved with the VFW. And I think you said you were Vietnam War, correct?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yes, I was in Vietnam. I I like the army because they sent me a lot of different places. And I I was in Europe, uh been to Ecuador, Panama. So yes, it was I didn't mind traveling.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

Well, that's good. I think a lot of people get into the military for that, along with, of course, serving your country. Stephen, I guess you saw a lot of the world uh in the Air Force.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

I sure I sure did. Um my assignments uh were Korea, um, overseas. I was in in RAF Lake and Heath in England, spent some time in Germany and stateside, a lot of uh different bases in in the States. So great time and a lot of travel. And I I saw a lot of the world through the Air Force, not necessarily assignment-wise, but for example, being in England, having an opportunity to go to Paris, you know, through the uh morale, welfare, and recreation, you know. Uh so we were able to see different things by just being in that part of the world. So it was a great opportunity for me.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

Oh, that's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

So the uh VFW in Shelbyville uh is located on Main Street. And for people who have not been, you do have a uh a museum uh on property of different artifacts and things like that. Can you talk about what people can find uh when they when they come visit and you know what the hours and things like that are?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Well, first of all, we

Touring The Shelbyville VFW Museum

SPEAKER_00 4:27

have established open hours. We're open from 10 to 2 Monday through Friday, and we also serve prefix during that time. And uh the way that we have the museum, we have it set up is as soon as you come into the door, we have uh shadow boxes lined on both sides of the wall, along with pictures of uh different veterans who've served. The shadow boxes contain memorabilia, could range from uniforms to pictures, uh different things that uh family members have brought in to want their loved one remembered by. We have some guns, not loaded, and we have some ammunition, different things that uh attract people coming in to see. And uh just just a whole wide range of things that uh we are proud to have on display for our Shelbyville and local community to uh come by and see.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

Yeah. When I went in, I was amazed at all of the um items that you had. Um it covered a lot of different wars, it covered a lot of different time frames. When um, like from what era to what era are the items in the museum?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

World War I up to the present.

unknown 5:46

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

What would be what is the most interesting item in each of your uh minds

Favorite Artifacts And War Relics

SPEAKER_03 5:55

that you is housed in the museum?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Well, I like the machine gun. Yeah, you you just don't normally send something like that home. But uh we had a gentleman that was in World War I and uh I can't he lived down on Washington Street at the um the big old brick house. Okay. And in the basement he had uh World War I, it's a German machine gun, and he had a German mortar, and he sent more than one home, and I've never have been able to run down the other ones, but they're they're here and just unique because you know, after World War I, you I don't know if anybody had sent anything back from the war.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

That'd be hard to ship or carry or whatever, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, but it was it's a and I thought they were pretty unique, but after start checking with with uh reenactors and things, that machine gun's pretty common. And the mortar, the local, the little, it's about like an 81-inch mortar. There, he said, Well, I thought we had them probably the only one in the states. Guy told me he said there's three or four of them around.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Well, that's not very many. That makes it unique.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Well, it's pretty unique. I was filled artillery to begin with in the army, and I I like to shoot the guns, the big ones. Right. So I I was interested in that. And um I guess that's to me, that was the most interesting.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

But Stephen, what uh in the museum, what str strikes

Buddy Ryan Scrapbook And Famous Connections

SPEAKER_03 7:30

you?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Well, I'm I'm gonna tell you what strikes me is something that we're currently working on. It's a project that we just recently were uh able to obtain, and that was memorabilia, scrapbook, different things from a young Army uh man by the name of Buddy Ryan. Buddy Ryan was a uh football coach in the NFL. He was a defensive coordinator, and uh he finished his time in the Shelbyville area. He passed approximately 12 years ago, and the nurse that was watching over him, taking care of him, uh invited me to her home. Her name's Debbie Ellis, and allowed me to photograph uh numerous items that were uh maintained in the home. And I literally took pictures until my hands were sore. You know, it was so much.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

What war was he?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

He was in the Korean War. Oh, okay. And uh and what was so um fascinating was the day I went over there to their house, um, she had just gotten a package delivered from Rex Ryan, his son, uh, who was a Jets uh coach, and I won't get into his record or anything. But uh he sent his he sent his medals, he sent a plaque uh from Korea. He also sent a certificate uh from uh Korea that showed uh Buddy's uh participation in the Korean War, and it marked the uh 50th anniversary of the war. And she literally took it out, looked at it, and said, I want the VFW to have that. And it just was just amazing to see that kind of feeling come from a person who already had so many different uh memory items, but something that sacred to say, hey, I want the VFW to have it. It meant a lot to me. And we're already in the process of getting uh things uh uh put together for uh display in our posts, in our museum, along with sharing them with the historical society so they can add it to their museum. But one other thought uh along with that, Buddy served, you know, we're seeing a man who served in the military, but he is also uh successful on the outside. But while he was in the military, one of his bunk mates or roommates, whatever, was another famous person by the name of Dan Blocker. Now, most of you older people would know him as Haas Cotwright on Bonanza. Yes, yes. So we're gonna add him to our history as well. So it it just gives us opportunity for people to view someone not only from outside the the military, but just to see where they actually came from. And that's what we want to focus on. So I'm excited about those two pieces being added to our museum.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

I am very excited too. I don't know if Mason, do you know who Hoskite runs? I don't.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

He has to look at some reruns, that's to say. They'll have to look that up. It's the old Bonanza show.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

Yes, I watched many a many an episode, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

And we also got we also were given a football from uh one of uh Buddy Ryan's uh uh game day footballs. So we we'll have that on display as well.

Fourth Of July Parade Plans

SPEAKER_02 10:51

So uh change your gears a little bit beyond serving as uh a community, a gathering space for veterans of foreign wars, can you talk about different events or things for the general public uh that the VFW does or hosts or anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Sure. One thing I'll say is every year we put on the Fourth of July parade for Shelbyville. And this year it's it's gonna be just as big as any other ones. Uh this is our 250th, and uh that only comes around every so often. So we're excited about that, and we're gonna have uh participants not only in from Shelbyville but the surrounding uh cities as well. You know, they're all invited to come out and be a part of that uh parade.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

Okay. If I wanted to be a participant, does it cost anything or how do you it do you have to sign up? How do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

We have a uh flyer that's already gone out and we'll continue to disseminate that through our businesses, through our social media uh advertising the parade. It's gonna start on the 4th of July, which is a Saturday at 10 a.m. sharp. At 10 a.m., it will start. All right. Rain or shine, it will start at 10. And there's no fee for entries, and that's something different from last year. And uh the only exception is because of the construction that's ongoing, there will be no semis uh entered into the parade, and that's just for safety aspect, making the turn at the end of the parade.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Right. Uh what is the parade route? Where does it start? Where does it end? Where can people view it?

SPEAKER_00 12:31

The parade starts um at the first Baptist Church. Okay. On uh in Shelbyville, and it will roll straight down Main Street and it will end around 2nd Street. Okay. Perfect.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Any other upcoming events after the 4th of July? Um, even inside. Um and you did mention I do want to go back um about the breakfast. Let's say some visitors come in. Do they can they have breakfast as well?

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Or is it just for the the they certainly can. Okay. You know, and we're we're open for that. We want people to come in and again take advantage of the museum, take a look around. And uh again, while you're there, you know, you want a nice meal, we'll we'll provide that for you as well. And uh we're we're doing that now, but we also have a grant that's been submitted to support that in the future. And we we have that with submitted through the uh Shelby uh foundation. So we're we're hoping to get uh that grant so we could continue to to work with uh serving meals, keeping the uh posts open during those times to provide a place for people to come to and sure everybody's welcome.

SPEAKER_03 13:46

Wonderful. My uh my dad was World War II, now foreign war. Of course, he's passed now. We were just talking about how few uh veterans of uh World War II uh are even around.

Breakfast, Grants, And Veterans Opening Up

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Um, but he never talked about his what happened, never. I mean, I it wasn't until after he was gone and I found the medals and I found the information that I even knew. Is that typical of people that have served overseas that they just don't talk? They may talk like if he was alive, I bet he would love to be involved with the VFW and talk with other veterans. But is that typical of veterans?

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Yes, that's very typical. I had several uncles and relatives in World War II, and uh it was only after they got older that uh you could hear a little about their experiences, but and that's just it's the same way with any war, Korea, Vietnam, yep. They're just reluctant to but if you get people that you served with and stuff like that, that's that that's helpful for any veteran uh to get with another veteran and they they can talk about their experiences.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

Right. Yeah, I just was thinking back to that and how quiet he was about anything. And I I was young and I didn't even think to ask very many, very many questions. But um now, Roger, as the historian, you were saying that this is not the first VFW in Shelby County, that there was another one somewhere else. Do you have have any history you want to uh give to us that and the folks that are listening about the VFW?

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Well, after World War II, and I think it was 1948, they had a uh VFW, and uh it was out on the east side of town on what the Vincent Road, it used to run into Highway 60, and it was a Quonset hut. And uh they had their weekly meetings there, and they like all good veterans after the war, you know, you get a little while, and uh they eventually closed it. But uh and the same guys that were members then, that's that's how come in 1983 we got to got established another VFW. They wanted a uh another VFW, and if it's the same guys, they're a lot older and a lot calmer. And uh, you know, most VFWs have a bar, and they wouldn't they didn't want to have a bar because that's the reason they didn't have the last VFW. Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

Well, it's a it's a neat building you're in as well. I'm uh um gonna give you a question you I don't know if you can answer or not. What what did that um building used to be back in the day before it was the VFW? Do you recall?

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Uh a Goodyear store. It was a uh home and loan store. And uh Gail Stuyvers, a local real estate guy, he owned half of Shelbyville, he sold that one area of the building to uh the VFW at a very cheaply because Gail was a World War II veteran. And uh that's that's how we we got that building. And uh I often told the guys when I joined when they brought me in that uh you know we should have named it the Gail Stivers Memorial VFW, and he had given us a building.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Oh that that name those naming rights that can he would have given us the building, but no, it's yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

That can do a lot. Yeah. So how many uh different uh commanders have there been of the shall we call BFW round two, I should say, the second second edition?

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Round two, I'm the 12th commander. Okay. So we've had 11, uh, well, not 11 previously, because some have served multiple years, but yeah, there's been a total of uh 12 commanders. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

And so how you said you were elected to that role. So is that uh what is kind of your what does that entail? What does being the commander of the VFW mean? What does that what does that look like?

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Well, first of all, you're the representative. You have the honor of representing a group of men that have served over uh uh decades of service to the military. So with that responsibility comes uh fostering relationships that

VFW History, Leadership, And How To Help

SPEAKER_00 18:21

continue to support the veterans uh through activities inside and out. And uh as a commander, one of the things that I foster is to go out and visit the different organizations. And I've been very fortunate to have been able to speak at the Rotary Club and different organizations. Uh we're speaking at the Kowanas Club next month and just an opportunity to just tell people about the VFW and what we stand for and what we also stand in need of as far as moving forward, looking for people to partner with us on certain projects that we have. Uh we've taken on the role of an auxiliary, uh, something that uh you know adds a little bit to the post, to have another group working side by side with us in efforts to uh support the activities uh serving veterans and their families. That auxiliary started with zero. You need we needed uh roughly 15 people to be a part of that, and now we've grown that to 30 members. Uh now with our membership at the VFW, we had I think 85 members last year, this time last year, and we've grown to 130 as of today. Okay. So people are finding the interest, people are coming around. In fact, today I just signed up a member that was a member about 18 years ago that has come back to join today. Wonderful. We're we're excited about that. And again, as commander, you know, one of the things I want to do is just continue to uh be there for the veterans as a veteran, you know, uh being a servant to serve in those that capacity. It's an honor for me.

SPEAKER_03 20:06

And then membership into the VFW, how does that work?

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Well, to be a VFW member, you you would have had to been involved in uh in a in a veteran or be a veteran of a foreign war, uh serve combat. And also there's certain uh criteria if you um have um, for example, if you worked in a uh area that you receive hazardous duty pay, that also qualifies you for membership uh in the VFW.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

Okay. And are there membership fees?

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Yeah, the membership fees for our uh VFW, and it's it it varies by post, but our membership fees are $33 per year.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

I think that's a bargain. That's a that is a bargain.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

And depending on upon your age, and right now we've got a lot of senior, senior senior veterans. It uh the life membership for a person that's 79 years and older is $172 for life. Yeah. So, you know, we we we offer that a life membership dependent upon your age, you know, it it determines how much you pay. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Something you mentioned just a little bit ago is uh one of the things that you do as commander is you talk about the things that the VFW needs. What are what are some of those things?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Well, if I could say the biggest thing, we we need more space, but that's not gonna happen right now, you know. But uh as far as the building that we're in right now, you know, we have um a few areas that could be repaired. Uh right now we're renovating both our bathrooms and uh, you know, those renovation projects have been covered. Um we've got some renovation work in our kitchen that needs to be done and uh some outside work. We've got a uh garage that we want to transform into an extended museum or extended. extended storage. And we've got some areas in our basement that we've got a a lot of materials, a lot of memorabilia that we want to get off the floor and into proper shelving. So those are some things that we're working on. We'd like to have a vehicle. You know, we take veterans to appointments, we take them on errands and a vehicle will certainly help us in in those needs to get that done. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

Wonderful. So if um somebody out there listening would like to donate something to help, how can they contact you?

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Well they can they can contact me directly through my phone number 502-419-0150 or they can email me at Stephen S-D-E-V-E-N ebbs58 at gmail.com or they can stop by feel free to stop by our post at 619 Main Street Shelbyville Kentucky we can also take donations through the mail we have a P.O. box it's P.O. box 25 Shelbyville Kentucky 40066 for the P.O. box number. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

Fantastic. Is there something that we haven't covered that you wanted to make mention of, whether it be historic or um something else? Anything come to mind that we didn't that we didn't go any closing thoughts? Yeah. Any closing thoughts? Thank you for being here too.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

I I think we covered a lot and it was really great as a great opportunity to just uh have a chance to let people know about the VFW and what we stand for. We certainly uh appreciate it and we look forward to uh working with uh veterans working with their families and uh moving forward and just assisting in the way we can