Veterans, students, history buffs and everyone in between had a chance to step back in time last week.

The World War I Mobile Museum stopped at Oxford Glen Memory Care Thursday, Feb. 7. From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., visitors from all over the Sachse area had a chance to view authentic uniforms, shrapnel, utensils, toys, newspapers and more.

Keith Arden Colley, the museum’s curator, began collecting items as a way to assist victims of memory loss.

“I worked with patients that had Alzheimer’s, and one was a World War II veteran,” he said. “The guy couldn’t remember yesterday. His dad was in World War I and he kept reflecting back to his conversations with his dad. I did some research and found that with Alzheimer’s patients, the more you tap into their senses, the better response you’ll get. I decided to order an artifact and got a shovel from Bulgaria. I took it to him and placed it into his hands and he started crying, and then he started flooding me with stories. I thought that if this works on one guy, why don’t we make it bigger?”

For the full story, see the Feb. 14 issue or subscribe online.

By Morgan Howard • [email protected]