History Burgoo

Beyond the Boring: Interning at the Kentucky Historical Society

I have always loved history. 

My earliest educational memories involve me getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch School House Rock.  In the first grade I may not have been able to spell Declaration of Independence, but oh, could I recite to you its preamble.  As I grew older, my love for history grew deeper.  In the fourth grade I had to introduce the rest of my class to a county in Kentucky.  I introduced Taylor County with, naturally, a heart-shaped poster. In middle school I felt like an amateur history detective—piecing together bits of evidence to find out who killed King Tut; and in high school I wrote my very first thesis paper on the Harlem Renaissance. (And I got an A!) The summer before my freshman year at UK I was agonizing over whether to pursue a degree in Political Science or History.  I tried to let history go, but thanks to the late Dr. Bowman, a wonderful American history teacher with a love for Antebellum America, I realized just how much I missed history and picked it right back up again.  My other passion involves books, which is why I after graduation I am pursuing a Master’s in Information and Library Science.  What does this have to do with anything?  Nothing, other than to introduce myself to you and to show how you excited I am to be working at the Kentucky Historical Society this summer.

My first day here began with me realizing the doors are closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays, due to a gradual decrease of frontline staff over the last 3 years (35% reduction, yikes!) so it pays to have a cell phone number handy.  Check.  Within 15 minutes I go from knocking on an outside window to searching the rare book collection with my boss and things have been that great ever since.  If I had to describe my work experience so far in one word, I would choose overwhelming; not because the workload is impossible, but because the amount of historic information here is incredibly enormous.  One day I am pin-pointing on a Kentucky county map the stops General John Hunt Morgan made in the state during his havoc-causing raids...

...the next I am listening to and summarizing oral interviews made by late Kentucky Governors...

1982OH02--Interview with Governor Wetherby

 

...and the day after that I am looking through a collection of postcards of Kentucky spanning ten-thousand pictures.

 


My favorite aspect of this job is that I learn something new here everyday.  Did you know that during the civil war the term “brothers against brothers” was taken literally in one household in Clark County? The Honorable Samuel and Matilda Hickman Hanson had five sons who served during this war: Two served in blue, three served in gray.  Do you know which Kentucky Governor made the unpopular stand during the Southern Regional Education Board conference supporting the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision?  I could tell you the answer, but what fun would that be for you? Pull out your magnify glass—or reading glasses, whichever you prefer—come visit the library and see for yourself!

 --Kortnie Allen

Images:

Drawing of townspeople preparing for a raid by John Hunt Morgan, ca. 1864. Handwritten caption at botton of image reads "Main Street while Morgan was expected". Laura G. Pugh Photo Album of Conferate Army Officers and Elected Officials, 2000PH05.42.

  "Oldest Brick House in Kentucky, Built in 1782, Crab Orchard, Ky." ca 1910. Black and white photo of the same home as postcard 3.397. This photo includes several people standing in front of the house. Graphic 5 Ronald Morgan Kentucky Postcard Collection, Graphic5.Box3.398.

Women’s History Month and the KHS Pamphlet Collection

 

 

 KHS Collection. 378 L888 Pamphlet. Catalogue of the officers and students of the Louisville Female College for the year 1873-74, including the names of the students who have been connected with the institution between April, 1872, and April, 1873.

Women’s history thrives in the collections of the Kentucky Historical Society, with interesting treasures found in each of our collection areas, ranging from diaries and letters, to photographs and portraits, as well as oral histories, and material collections of clothing and artifacts.  My favorite nuggets are found in the rare books and pamphlets. We have several pamphlets from a variety of early female colleges and academies in Kentucky.  Family historians relish the lists of students and faculty that some of these pamphlets include, but these small volumes also reflect the character of women's education during their respective time periods.

As I mentioned in a blog from July 26, 2010, 
it is always a treat for us to recommend and retrieve pamphlets for library patrons; this is especially true for any of the school pamphlets.  These school catalogues and announcements allow us to visit the specific school at the time of the pamphlet’s publication, briefly becoming a part of its intended audience.

The Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Hocker Female College, Lexington, Kentucky, 1873-74, includes a two-page article about Hocker Female College, signed “Home and School, for July, 1872.”  This article gives insight into the school’s founder, James M. Hocker, as well as a thorough description of the physical make-up of the facility.

Another glimpse into women’s history can be found in the 1887 Annual Announcement and Catalogue of the Millersburg Female College, Millersburg, Bourbon Co., Kentucky. These pages show an example of a liberal arts curriculum that female students followed at the time.

The list of graduates and students found in pamphlets like the one from the Catalogue of Georgetown Female Seminary, Kentucky, 1887-1888, is often used by researchers to verify names or dates.

This online sampling from our pamphlets is a nice little treat, but it is much more satisfying to read them in our library.  We hope you can visit us after our seasonal hours end. We will return to our regular schedule on March 12, 2011.

Happy Trails,
Brenda Smith

 

 Images - Top Right. KHS Collection. 976.902 K37-4 Pamphlet. Live stock show and fair of the Latonia Agricultural Association. Top Left. KHS Collection. 378 H685 1873-74 Pamphlet. Annual catalogue of the officers and students of Hocker Female College, Lexington, Kentucky.  Above Right. KHS Collection. 976.902 B766-1 Pamphlet. 1887. Annual announcement and catalogue of the Millersburg Female College, Millersburg, Bourbon Co., Ky. Above left. KHS Collection. 378 G351 1887-88 Pamphlet. Catalogue of Georgetown Female Seminary, Kentucky.

 

 

 

Trivia for the Week - Who is the Current State Historian?

Image: w1987ph08.Franklin.509. Old State Capitol, Frankfort, Ky., circular stairway, before restoration. ca. 1920

A recent reference request received in the office of the director of the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) asked for information on Kentucky’s state historians. There have been three state historians, Dr. Hambleton Tapp, Dr. Thomas D. Clark, and Dr. James C. Klotter. All three are or were, Ph.D. prepared historians and all shared a special interest in and research background in Kentucky history.

Dr. Tapp had a long and varied professional background, highlights of which included teaching history at Louisville’s Male High School, filling the superintendent’s position for the Eminence school system, and being the director of health and physical education for the Kentucky Department of Education. Tapp was also the founder, developer and director of the Kentucky Life Museum, which became Waveland State Shrine, outside of Lexington. The museum was started in the late 1950s after the state of Kentucky took over the Waveland property. Dr. Tapp later served as executive assistant to the president of UK and as an assistant professor of history. When he retired from the university in 1971, he was named assistant director and editor of the Kentucky Historical Society. Tapp served as the first state historian under Governors Julian Carroll (1975-1979) and John Y. Brown, Jr. (1979-1983). In addition to his editorial duties at KHS, Dr. Tapp also wrote or co-authored four books and numerous scholarly articles. 

Dr. Thomas D. Clark is the one and only Historian Laureate for Life – a title created by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1990. Dr. Clark, born in Louisville, Mississippi in 1903, also led a varied and distinguished career. He began his teaching career at Memphis State University but soon moved to the University of Kentucky in 1931. Clark would spend a career at the UK, stepping down as chairman of the history department in 1965 and retiring in 1968. But retirement did not suit his character and Dr. Clark would go on to teach at the Indiana University until 1973 and after retiring from IU, he went on to teach at Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Wisconsin as a visiting professor and at Winthrop College in South Carolina  as an adjunct professor. His writing is extensive with over sixty books and one hundred scholarly articles to his credit, many dealing with Kentucky, its history and people. Dr. Clark’s tenure as Historian Laureate for Life lasted until his death at the age of 101 in 2005.

Dr. James C. Klotter was named state historian in 1980, and is the second person (together with Dr. Tapp) to hold the title. After earning his Ph.D. from the UK in 1976, Klotter continued working at the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) as editor and historian for twenty-five years and also served briefly as an instructor at UK. Eventually, Dr. Klotter rose in position at the KHS to become its director and guide it into its new home at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Today, he is a professor of history at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY and is the author of nearly twenty books and numerous articles, many dealing with Kentucky history and personalities. 

The title of Kentucky Historian is bestowed by the Kentucky Historical Society Board

 

--Jim Kastner

 

images - top right, Centre College Biography Page, Hambleton Tapp, 1922

above left, KHS Collection. 1995ph2.41AAFRA14.1. Historians Dr. Thomas Clark and Dr. Henry Cheaney chat during a ceremony at the capitol rotunda, ca. 1980s.

above right, Georgetown College, James Klotter

First Day of Seasonal Public Closing...Mark I on the Wall

 - view from my office window this morning. Great weather to start data entry! (hey, I mean that!)

So, it is the first day of our seasonal closing. (Yes, we are still working here at KHS. The seasonal closing doesn't mean the organization is shut down or that we are turning off any lights.) To be honest, the staff here at KHS has been working towards this day in anticipation for weeks now, so it is a bit surprising to wake up this morning to find us actually here - those of us not snowed out, that is. I know we have been talking in this blog about what we plan on doing and how we are setting goals to make sure we accomplish those plans as we are sacrificing continual public hours for 3 months.

To give you some insight into the minds of the worker bees, I can tell you we are disappointed to not be able to keep the doors open for everyone to come in and see us for these winter months. We enjoy our interaction with the public and truly want to offer access to our collections and continue on with those educationally encouraging moments with youth of various ages. That is the bitter part of the closing, the sweet part is that we can now devote some serious time to making those collections accessible in the future.

This doesn’t mean that we have lost or misplaced any collections, I know we keep talking about “finding” things, but what we are really saying is that we are going to do a more detailed inventory. All of those records from 50 years ago that say “flag” or “journal” or “image of man on horse,” we are going to go through and detail a flag of what, a journal by whom and what was that guy doing on a horse anyway?  We are also planning on getting more of these collections – at a more detailed level – in our catalog, where you can search for them from home. OR in our digital catalog, where you can view them from home.

(IMAGE, right: The special collections and library staff are working on cataloging microfilm for all of the counties. You can tell what we have done as of today.)

Unfortunately, because of budget cuts in the last few years – as I am sure you are tired of hearing about – we don’t have the staff to effectively do both--keep the doors open year round AND created detailed level of online access for our collections. To strike a balance between the two, here we are – doors closed to walk-ins for a few months. BUT, for groups of 10 or more, including researchers, school groups, etc… we will open up for you with some advanced notice. We are also open the second Saturday for January and February, so plan your trips around that. We would love to show you what we have been doing while we were away.

(Image, left-- Behind the scenes, the museum collections and exhibition team is keeping track of their progress on this wall-size chart. You can see the points already accomplished.)

My goals are developing projects and writing lots of grant applications, as well as catching up on our recent oral history collections donations in our record keeping software, PastPerfect, as well as beginning my new skill of cataloging oral history collections into our catalog. I want you to know what the 10,000 items we have in our oral history archive are – other than awesome, that is. I don’t want a repeat of what a student doing research in our library told me a few months ago, which was “the only reason I knew this oral history collection was here was because someone told me about it.”

I can’t wait for the day when that isn’t an issue. Thanks to the tough decision to adopt seasonal hours for 3 years, hopefully that will be a non-issue by 2014.

Of course, we will be updating you on our “findings” as we move on with the inventory/cataloging process. Keep checking back in and don’t be afraid to let us know what you think…seriously.

Sarah Milligan

A New Way to Search the KHS Collections Catalog

 

Over the past few months, the Special Collections and Library staff have provided several updates on how our microfilm cataloging project is coming along.  As we’ve mentioned before, the purpose of the project is to make the materials we have on microfilm just as easy to locate as our other collections.  Librarians and archivists just love it when it’s easier for researchers to find our “stuff,” because we want people to use the books, archival collections, oral histories, and of course the microfilm that we have.

Today we’ve added another way to search our collections catalog – by county!  Kentucky has 120 counties, and often researchers want to look for materials relating only to a particular county.  The new “County” tab of the KHS Collections Catalog lets you do just that.  You can also include additional search terms if you are interested in certain records or a specific topic for that county (such as the Civil War in Franklin County or marriage records in Boone County).

 

Since the first phase of the microfilm catalog project is county records, the County search page also includes a county map of Kentucky that lets everyone see our progress.  All the counties that are colored have been added to the catalog.  (See image at the beginning of this post)

 

If you come to visit the library, you’ll see that we have a similar map hanging outside the entrance to the library so staff, patrons, and other visitors can keep track as we move forward with the project.  Within the next few months, our goal is to finish 29 more counties, or nearly 2500 rolls of microfilm!!  Watch our progress as you’re searching for materials about your favorite Kentucky county using the new County Search option in the catalog.

Annual Oral Historian Brain Swap - Whew, What a Conference!

The recent meeting of the national Oral History Association in Atlanta, GA – I must admit – was very interesting. I don’t know an exact count of participants, but it seems that there is a steady attendance for the last few years, somewhere around 400-500 participants. From what I heard and saw, the Wednesday pre-conference technical assistance workshops were well attended (digital preservation, digital audio, oral history basics, digital video and oral history and the law). The opening program was a short view of a on the WPA Federal Writers’ Project – Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story - I have been waiting to see, as well as a panel of participants discussing the topic and the documentary – including Stetson Kennedy, a Florida WPA writer and folklorist I always enjoy.

After this great start of engaging panels and technical workshops, the OHA conference itself , Thursday – Sunday, seemed to follow the lead. There was a good mixture between reports on new model projects (ie: Audio Histories and Tours of Change, Hope,and Adaptation), discussions on theoretical issues (Theoretical and Practical Challenges in Oral History, Ethical Dilemmas Undercover) and practical applications for oral history in a variety of settings (Oral History in the 21st Century Classroom, Oral History in the Reclamation of Cultural Space). There were Plenary Sessions every day, the Thursday plenary was exceptionally interesting as it dealt with oral history projects in post- Katrina Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, 5 years after the hurricane.

There were many Kentucky projects represented, as well as Kentuckians in attendance. I was pleased to see our oral historians and oral history project leaders represent their state as well as lend their support – once again – on a national stage.

There were so many things I participated in that were interesting, inspiring and just useful as far as oral history for Kentucky in the context of the global discipline. I am so grateful I was able to attend. Please let me know if you have questions about specific panels or presenters, I am happy to tell you more about what I know or connect you with those on a national level that were presenting.

Also extremely exciting is a new book by the revered oral historian, Allesandro Portelli, THEY SAY IN HARLAN COUNTY: An Oral History. Portelli is known in the oral history world for ground breaking oral history examinations and since the early 1970s has been conducting oral histories in Harlan County, KY about the people, the culture and the industry. This new publication is a culmination of this research and is getting great reviews. Although Portelli is from and lives in Italy, he often returns to Kentucky to revisit his friends and work. The original interviews are archived at the Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky.

Please, check out the online program to see more about what was discussed during the 2010 Oral History Association meeting.

Next year is in Denver the second week of October. The topic will be focused on “Memories of Conflict and Disaster: Oral History and the Politics of Truth, Trauma, and Reconciliation.” I will be sharing the call for proposals in the coming weeks. Please consider sharing our state’s oral history participation with the West. As for me, you will see me there – early and late – since I have been asked to join the conference program committee.

- Sarah Milligan

New Books in the Martin Schmidt Library

                 
Our library just received a generous donation of books on Tennessee history and genealogy. Among them include:

• Anderson, Truman D.  Guidebook to Historic Places in Roane County, Tennessee. 1997.

• Carr, John.  Early Times in Middle Tennessee. 1984, c1958.
  

• Fink, Paul M.  Jonesborough: the first century of Tennessee’s first town.  1972.

• Kelley, James C.  Portrait Painting in Tennessee. 1987.

• Kelley, Paul.  Fort Loudoun, the After Years, 1760-1960.  1961.

• McMinn County, Tennessee Records: W.P.A. transcript. 1991. 

• Shell, Malcolm.  From Frontier Fort to Town Hall: a brief history of Farragut, Tennessee,1787-2005. n.d.

• Smoky Mountain Historical Society. Gentle Winds of Change: a history of Sevier County Tennessee, 1900-1930.  1989.

• Sykes, E. T. Walthall’s Brigade: a cursory sketch, with personal experiences of Walthall’s Brigade, Army of Tennessee, C.S.A., 1862-1865. n.d.

• White, Gene.  Briceville Through the Years. 1994.

•  Bertsch, Friedrich. A German Hurrah! Civil War letters of Friedrich Bertsch and Wilhelm Stangel, 9th Ohio Infantry. 2010.

• Bowers, William.  The Line: combat in Korea, January-February, 1951. 2008.

• Brandt, Dennnis.  Pathway to Hell: a tragedy of the American Civil War. 2010.

• Leonard, Elizabeth.  Men of Color to Arms! Black soldiers, Indian wars, and the quest for equality. 2010.

• Merchant, Carolyn.  American Environmental History. 2007.

• Mersman, Joseph J.  The Whiskey Merchants Diary: an urban life in the emerging Midwest.  2007.

• Rhodes, Allan.  Profiles of Paducah People.  2008.

  - Shirley Ackerman

Historians Unite!

KHS Collection: 1990ph2.2JEFA8. Meeting of Campfire Girls at Cabbage Patch Settlement House. ca 1910.

The lingering question, I know, is “what is the oral history dept. up to these days?” Besides answering KOHC grant application questions and working peripherally on an NHPRC grant application to catalog our folklife collection, we are beginning the discussion which will hopefully steer oral history documentation in the state for the next 5-10 years! Can you tell I am excited? You could if you saw me.

This Saturday from 11am – 2pm, KHS is hosting a contingent of historians and archivists/librarians to begin to discuss the future of 20th and 21st century collecting for the state. We are looking at a few different things:

1) What have institutions been collecting successfully on the topic? (And what do we have an abundance of)? 

2) What Kentucky history topics in this time period have historians been successfully publishing – print, online, video?

Once we discuss these topics we will move in to...

3) What do we need to be very deliberate in documenting? What topics are historians looking at as important in this range of history? Do we have the documentation to support that research in our repositories?

Did you ever think that historical perspectives, publications, and textbooks are based on research that is gathered, collected and made accessible by people in collecting institutions? Institutions rely on the general public (you) to participate in the conversation about what papers, artifacts, narratives are out there that can proportionately and accurately illustrate and tell the history of ourselves. But outside the conversation that the public brings to our doors, we are also actively discussing what items we NEED to intentionally seek out and collect to tell specific stories. 

Oral Histories are a great way to actively document recent history and why the KOHC is leading the discussion this weekend about what our focus might be. If oral history documentation can be intentional on a topic, and repositories are working in tandem on the topic, they may be deliberate about collecting letters, diaries, images, artifacts that help support the topic. If we begin to purposely document a facet of our history (like we have with the civil rights movement) the fuller version of this historical event, place or period is fuller and more complete for those historians to research, publish and create textbooks. 

What are your ideas for collecting 20th and 21st century history?  Let us know, I can tell you what we have on the topic and take the innovative ideas to the meeting this Saturday.

 Images: above right: KHS Collection. 1987PH05.15074.1.A8 Senator Jack Stout and Happy Chandler. 1940

middle: A History of Kentucky by Thomas Clark. 1992. J. Stuart Foundation

bottom: Civil Rights Database, KHS

-- sarah milligan

(Sampling) Food is Good for the Spirit

In my family, a good recipe is the most treasured heirloom.  Dishes from family recipes are prepared frequently. And while the food is almost definitely shared with “outsiders,” the recipes usually are not.

Simply stated, food and culture intertwine almost inextricably, as several of our folklorists have written—and Kentucky traditions show up in our recipes as often as they show up in our collectibles and our events.  Food is something we celebrate, share, and take immense pride in—and we should. For the most part—and I know I’m biased—Kentucky food is unbeatable. 

At KHS we recognize our love affair with food, and think September is a great time of year to showcase some of the best foods and eateries in central Kentucky. As a result, we will host “A Kentucky Food Sampler” from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on September 23 right here at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History.

In just one stop, our guests that evening can sample foods from five of the Bluegrass region’s most iconic restaurants. The menu for the event includes duchess potatoes and green bean bundles from the All the Way Shoppe in Bagdad; Kentucky country ham and biscuits and bread pudding with bourbon sauce from the historic Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg; Stonecross Farm roast pork with spiced fruit chutney and Happy Jack’s butternut squash gratin from Holly Hill Inn in Midway; Jonathan’s Kentucky burgoo and Capriole goat cheese salad with cayenne-pecan brittle, fresh peaches and peach preserves vinaigrette from Jonathan’s at Gratz Park in Lexington;  and meatloaf and fresh apple cake from the Whistle Stop in Glendale.

In addition to all these foods, two cookbooks and recipes from them will also be represented at the event. Authors Kathy Mayfield and Suzy Smith will bring My Mare’s Mini Hot Brown appetizers and furlong mushrooms in phyllo shells, both of which are represented in “Sterling Bits Cookbook.” David Domine’, author of “Splash of Bourbon: Kentucky’s Spirit,” will offer Kentucky gumbo and bourbon brioche.  The two cookbooks, plus a cookbook from Jonathan’s at Gratz Park—“Jonathan’s Bluegrass Table: Redefining Kentucky Cuisine”—will be for sale at the event.  Mayfield, Smith, Domine’, and Jonathan Lundy will be on-hand to discuss and sign their books.

Now first of all, this is a lot of food. But I’m not finished. Our friends at Red Dot Wine and Spirits will also be providing a wine tasting for our guests and will tell you how to pair the wines with the food we will serve.

If you have never tasted foods from these restaurants or aren’t sure what types of wines are really for you, this is a great way to get an idea of the many tastes the Bluegrass region offers. But even if you are a frequent patron of these iconic eateries, this sampler is a one-stop, economical evening out on the town.

Reservations are required for the event, and the deadline for making reservations is Friday, September 17.  Tickets are $35 for KHS members and $40 for all other guests.  You can contact Julia Curry at Julia.Curry@ky.gov or 502-564-1792 to reserve your spot.

One final note: Membership to the Kentucky Historical Society pays for itself! Included in an individual membership, you receive the Chronicle, the KHS quarterly membership publication; either the Register or Kentucky Ancestors; and free admission to the KHS history campus for yourself and a guest. Along with that, you also receive discounts to KHS events and programs.  As the holiday season approaches, remember KHS memberships as an option for gifts for your loved ones.

--Laura Coleman 

Top Image: This guy looks like he's having fun!  George Conrad making his annual Christmas fruitcake while the grandchildren watch. Rumsey, 1989. KHS Digital Collections. 
Middle Image: This cookbook, "Jonathan’s Bluegrass Table: Redefining Kentucky Cuisine,” will be available for purchase at the event. Don't forget to have Jonathan sign it!
Bottom Image: If this family were at our event, they'd be so much more excited. Family around picnic table. Ashland, ca. 1916. KHS Digital Collections.
 

O’ Ye Authors and Books, O’ Ye Actors and Rehearsals!

“[My teacher] Mrs. Harris said, ‘Education gives you satisfaction,’ but I had rather be ignorant and have fun, than be educated and have satisfaction."  Thus quotes the young Virginia Cary Hudson, in the year 1904, at the precocious age of 10.  But you know, that sounds like something my daughter Bella might say today, over 100 years later.  Times change, fashions change, but children will always say what they think.

 

Virginia Cary Hudson wrote her comment, and a host of many more in a series of essays for her Episcopal boarding school.  Many years later they were discovered by her daughter and printed in the book, “O’ Ye Jigs and Juleps” published in 1962.  The book quickly became a Top National Bookseller with over one million sold to date.  The small coffee table book includes Virginia’s honest and hilarious thoughts about everything from education and marriage, to dead cats and the sacraments. Many critics believe the book was creatively edited with an adult sense of humor and insight.  You’ll have to decide that for yourself, but I thought that was an interesting angle that needed to be explored.

 

So, last month a young actor named Emma Bryan worked with the Museum Theatre program to bring the words of Virginia Cary Hudson kicking and screaming into the 21^st century.  Ms. Bryan is a bright and beautiful girl of fourteen, and not at all as precocious as the troublesome Ms. Hudson.  And I am a man of …well …let’s just say I’m not 14, and I am very precocious. (I guess that is where my daughter gets it from.)  Together, during a series of rehearsals, we reinterpreted several selections from the book.  Emma's young perspective provided a playful connection, while my …well…older perspective discovered hidden meaning and layers in the writing.

 

The performance takes place in the recreated State Law Library of the Old State Capitol, and is the first in a new series for the Museum Theatre program called Novel Readings:  New Interpretations of Old Literature.  The concept is simple; select historically popular books from the collections of the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library, work with an actor to present selections from the text before an audience of museum visitors, and engage them in a discussion that connects the text to current issues or modern thought.  In this case, we wanted our guests to compare modern children with children from the past.  What differences or similarities are there?  How have things changed?  What caused these changes?  Our audiences made lots of interesting observations and indeed discovered new interpretations of old literature.

 

The next time you visit our beautiful building, climb up the long curved stairway that leads to the library and read from an original printing of O Ye Jigs and Juleps.  I visited with my daughter and she loved the book, especially the part about sliding down the long stair rail.  But I convinced her that would not be a good idea to try on these stairs.

“Like” it or not, kids have a mind all their own. Always did, and always will!

 

- Gregory Hardison, Director of Museum Theatre