Members, Memories, Programs
This article originally appeared
in Exchange, a
newsletter published by the Wisconsin
Historical Society. (Volume 42, Number
4, 2000) It is the ninth in a series
of articles titled Public
Appeal. The series deals with public
programming and public information. It was
written by Tom McKay, retired local history
coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
Active historical societies find the investment of hours and ideas in presenting creative programs for their members and the public to be time and thought well spent. People involved in historical societies enjoy learning from the special knowledge of an expert speaker or gaining insights into local history through the carefully planned exhibit produced by a paid curator or volunteer museum committee. A number of historical societies also have learned to extend their services by adding programs and exhibits that they prepare with their members and the public.
A large portion of the people in any
community have some knowledge of local
history. An individual may have been
told by a grandparent about the first
tractor used on the family farm, may
have played on the championship basketball
team 25 years ago, or may have attended
the local parade after V-J Day ended
World War II. For topics such as these,
many people have interesting recollections.
A historical society can present an excellent
program for one of its meetings by inviting
the people who attend to share their
memories of a specific event or activity
from the community's past. The topic
should be announced in advance and the
meeting needs one person to serve as
moderator to get as many people as possible
involved in sharing memories. The moderator
also can ensure that one or two people
do not dominate the discussion. It helps
to recruit another person before the
meeting who is willing to share a memory
to get the program started.
Serving as the featured speaker for a historical society meeting requires a depth of historical knowledge and level of comfort with public speaking. Some individuals lack, or perhaps feel they lack, one or the other of these requirements to be a featured speaker. However, these same people may be willing to make a presentation to a meeting as one of several speakers sharing brief prepared remarks about a program topic. A local carpenter might be willing to speak for five or ten minutes about things he uncovered while renovating the old railroad depot for use as a restaurant. A retired school teacher might share memories of taking the train to college. A member of the program committee might conduct research to introduce the program with information about when the railroad first came to town and who the station masters were. An excellent railroad program could emerge from the contributions of three or four members with special bits of information.
Historical societies can use small, temporary exhibits as a format to invite members or the public to present pieces of the past in the museum when a larger or more complex display might not be possible. A society can set aside a case or shelf for small displays of local history items that members have in their homes. A member might have shards from old stoneware crocks and churns made by the pottery that once stood where builders dug the footings for the member's house. The broken remains could make an interesting local history display with a special bonus if any are marked with decoration or the name of the town. A union member might have buttons, tickets from labor temple events, or copies of a strike newspaper that he or she is not willing to part with but would display temporarily in a case reserved for members.
A society that reserves a case to use
for member displays should ask that each
display include a paragraph or two of
text explaining the significance of the
materials exhibited. The society can
help by offering to print display size
text from a computer or whatever method
it customarily uses in producing other
exhibits. It also can assist by having
on hand an assortment of small boxes,
stands, map tacks, photo corners and
other supplies used in preparing temporary
exhibits. The society should retain a
list of the items shown in each temporary
exhibit by members, and it will find
that some of these historical materials
will return eventually to the museum
as permanent gifts.
Organizing a portion of program or exhibit activities to invite the participation of members or the public brings an added bonus to historical societies. The friends and family of the participants will be more likely to attend the society's programs or visit its museum. The society extends its public appeal by encouraging more people to take a role in its work and attracting more people to attend its activities. Both benefits occur when historical societies devote part of their efforts to programs and exhibits that are not only for but also with their members and the public.
An Interesting Program
The Washington County Historical
Society reported success with a program
that involved members recalling the history
of the town of Polk and the village of
Slinger. Seven members or local residents
made presentations. Mike Schuetz gave a
brief history of the community of Ackerville.
LuAnn Schwai, Cedar Creek's oldest resident,
shared her early memories. Harold Groth
showed slides of Gumm's Corner.
Steven Simon, a descendent of the man who originally founded Slinger as Schleisingerville, recounted village history. Mildred Michalski spoke about her family's homestead. Ralph Olson shared memories of his great-great-great grandfather, Lehman Rosenheimer, who was known as the "merchant-prince" of Washington County. Larry Gundrum closed the program with slides of Slinger. The society presented the roster of speakers for its Old Settlers Banquet and more than 200 people attended the event. |
