FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — A new temporary exhibit of what’s called trench art was unveiled this afternoon during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Thurman Hall, at the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence headquarters building.
And while many exhibits can be found encased around the MSCoE building, this one was a bit more unique — it was designed by a Waynesville High School student.
Rose Cherico is a 17-year-old WHS senior, who is enrolled in a Cooperative Education/Internship program at the school’s career center, the goal of which is to provide students with experience in the workforce while also showing the variety of opportunities open to them.
“They treat it like it’s an actual job, and they grade you based on your performance in the real world,” Cherico said. “Sometimes, we have to choose this over school functions, like assemblies, and that’s fine with me.”
Cherico said she started her internship at the John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex in November. The program provides her the opportunity to work alongside and learn from museum and exhibit specialists here for about 90 minutes a day, five days a week. The topic of trench art was new to her, she said, but with some time and research, Cherico learned a lot about what service members experienced in the trenches of World War I.
“Imagine a gas mask carrier, blank bag, just a square,” she said. “And imagine you painted flowers on it while you were sitting in a trench, all muddy and gross. And you’re just painting these beautiful flowers, or you’re writing poetry on it — that’s trench art. It’s wartime materials that are transformed into something else. This is what people were doing 100 years ago to help cure the boredom and not be so depressed in a time of war.”
Cherico said she was struck by the juxtaposition of such beautiful works of art created under “horrific” circumstances.
“One of my favorite pieces is a gas mask carrier, where a Soldier wrote a poem on it,” she said. “I doubt he copied it — I think he made it all by himself. It’s sad. I have it printed on a text block, so it can be read more clearly, but it’s just a beautiful poem.”
Another piece she decided to include in the exhibit was a shell casing.
“It has these beautiful flowers carved all around it,” she said. “It looks like machine work, but it was done by hand. It’s just so beautiful. This is something you could find in an art museum.”
If the name Cherico sounds familiar in relation to the museum complex here, that’s because Rose’s father used to work there.
“He was an exhibit specialist,” she said. “My first day here, I told them my name, and they said, ‘Any relation to Don Cherico?’ And I said, ‘Yep.’”
While he couldn’t be at the ribbon cutting, Cherico’s mother, Rachel, was able to attend. She said her daughter’s love for the past comes from her grandfather and father.
“My husband’s really into history, and my dad is really into geology, archaeology, things like that, so I think they sparked a little interest for her,” she said. “We have a lot of books around the house that she was exposed to.”
Her daughter really got into this project, Rachel said.
“I was surprised. When she first started talking about this internship, I thought they’d have her filing things, cleaning up the office, things like that,” her mother said. “But she’s really into it; she gets to handle artifacts — I was really impressed. It’s fascinating. I didn’t know anything about (trench art) until she started talking about it.”
Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, Col. Sedrick Jackson — who helped Cherico cut the ribbon on the exhibit — called it a “special event for the regiment,” and thanked the student for the more than 60 volunteer hours she put into the project.
“This really means a lot to us, and we are grateful for Cherico’s contribution,” Jackson said. “We especially recognize the artistic and historic significance of each piece. Hopefully, the service members and civilians, all who walk by here will pause, look at this and take away a little appreciation for the unique talents on display.”
Cherico said she has gained a greater appreciation for what museum specialists do after this experience.
“It’s hard. It’s underappreciated,” she said. “People come in, they take a little look, and then they move on. But it takes so much time to put together an exhibit because you have to think, ‘What people want to see? How can I write this in a way so that people can understand? How can I show people what once was modern, but is now in the past? How can I present dead people’s stories and make you appreciate them?’”
While she’s proud of what she accomplished, Cherico said she was a little nervous about getting so much attention.
“It feels like I’m doing a little assignment, like I’m building a little project for school – and I’m getting the attention of the assistant commandant? It can’t be that big of a deal,” she said.
Museum officials said the exhibit as designed by Cherico will remain in the MSCoE building for a few months, but because there is fabric that tends to fade under bright light, the original pieces will be returned to storage, to be replaced by photos.
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