DALTON, Ga. — The walls of the Emery Center’s military room in the past have featured photos of veterans from Dalton.

Now the room features displays and uniforms focusing on three Dalton natives — Lt. Chelsea “Joe” Bartenfeld, Capt. Murray Lumpkin and Rear Adm. Mack Gaston, representing the Air Force, Army and Navy respectively. The Marines are also represented. Four mannequins are fully dressed in uniforms representing each branch.

Carol Lumpkin, wife of the late Murray Lumpkin, said her “passion” for keeping his memory alive was a contributing factor in the upgrades. During the past year Carol Lumpkin worked with Curtis Rivers, director of the Emery Center, an African-American Heritage and Multicultural Center, on the changes in the room.

“The idea sort of evolved from me not wanting to give away Murray’s uniform and have it thrown in a pile of clothing,” said Lumpkin. “That’s really where it started, it was a passion of mine not to have his uniform ignored.” 

Murray Lumpkin was a longtime doctor in Dalton whose career included serving as chief of surgery at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Pennsylvania. He died in 2015 at the age of 86.

“I didn’t want to give his uniform to a resale shop,” Carol Lumpkin said. “I wanted something to be done with it.”

Lumpkin said after calling several organizations in the area looking for a place that would properly display his uniform she remembered the military room at the Emery Center. She said Rivers gladly accepted the uniform, but suggested it would be nice to have a mannequin wear it.

Lumpkin agreed and purchased mannequins online for the uniforms of her husband, Gaston and the Marine. After searching for months for a local person to donate a Marine uniform to no avail, she found one on eBay.

Bartenfeld, whose uniform was donated to the Emery Center years ago by his mother, also purchased a mannequin.

The uniforms of the Dalton natives are accompanied by a framed biography of each man.

Bartenfeld, 72, now lives in Atlanta. He said the military room and the upgrades are “fantastic.”

“It demonstrates how loyal our community was to the military,” he said. “People forget how many people were involved from Dalton.”

Bartenfeld served from 1966 to 1971. He said the military room is a great opportunity to recognize veterans. 

Rivers said his wife Patricia named each room in the center when it opened, but it was Monroe Blackwell’s idea to honor servicemen and servicewomen. Blackwell, also known as “Mr. Military,” was an Army and Air Force veteran who gave tours of the room in his uniform, Rivers said. A large poster of Blackwell hangs on the wall outside the room.

“Curtis is a rare individual that had a dream to make a vision happen and saw it through,” Bartenfeld said.

Lumpkin also praised Rivers for his hard work.

“My appreciation for Curtis is unlimited, this project has been a labor of love,” she said. 

Rivers said he appreciates the continued support the center receives from community members.

“I look at the Emery Center as a landmark for Dalton and all of northwest Georgia,” he said.