25th Anniversary: A Look At The Largest Single-Event Archive In The Country

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City, News 9 is sharing stories about how the community is making sure nobody ever forgets that day.

In this story, we take a look at the largest archival collection from any single event in the country at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

"They're all like my children," says Helen Stiefmiller, the collections manager in charge of artifacts and archival materials.

"This was part of the Ryder truck. This was left on the fence. These are actually the Ryder truck parts," she says.

Every item has its own unique ID, and each one can conjure up the strongest of emotions.

"I regularly get goosebumps," Stiefmiller said.

The museum collects their stories, their artifacts, preserving them for their children and grandchildren for as long as the memorial exists.

"For me, the hardest time is at anniversary time," she said. "It's a happy and sad occasion. It's like a family reunion in that you're seeing all of these people come back."

It's an incredibly important story to tell. Stiefmiller underscored her pride in working to tell it.

"This had such a big impact on our community, and I feel really honored to preserve the story for future generations," she said.