In celebration of its upcoming 150th anniversary, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is seeking nominations for the exhibit FC150, calling residents of Fort Collins to nominate their most memorable stories, possessions, places, people and things — good or bad – to create a compilation exhibit of what gives Fort Collins its undeniable character.

“The whole idea is that through the summer we are asking the community what story makes Fort Collins, Fort Collins,” said Brent Carmack, project manager. “Their stories can be from 10 to 12 years ago, or it could be something that happened just yesterday.  It could be a big story; it could be a small, individual story, a place, an idea, a person. There are no perimeters of what can be nominated,” Carmack said.

Anyone in Fort Collins can submit a nomination for the exhibition taking place in August 2014, and the museum is in need of many more. Of the nine submitted nominations, there is a wide range of unique content. For nominee Doug Ernest, his story really hit home.

“So many people think of Fort Collins history as only stuff from 100 years ago, but the1997 flood was a big deal for me,” Ernest said. “I’ve lived in Fort Collins, this fall 32 years I guess, and lots of things have happened since.”

On July 28, 1997, Ernest was at home when a “terrific” storm began thundering over Fort Collins.

“All of the sudden I realized there was a lot of rain coming down. Within just a few minutes it covered the first floor. The water was shooting around the hinges of the door,” Ernest said.

“I looked out the window, and it was shocking; the whole neighborhood was turning into a lake,” Ernest said. “The next day, I called friends here in town, and they came over and started helping me. Within the next two or three days, I just threw away tons of stuff: books, record albums, on and on and on. Overall it cost me about $15,000,” Ernest said.

Amanda Miller, a volunteer for FC150, along with the museum’s staff, will review Ernest’s and others’ submitted nominations to evaluate and select winners to present their nominations during the exhibition.

“It’s for the community to share what we don’t want to forget, and memories we want to hold on to.  It’s a great opportunity for the community to be a part of a museum experience,” Miller said.

 Content producer Sarah Prinz can be reached at news@collegian.com  Tanvir Shyduzzaman and Tuan Vo contributed to the reporting on this piece.