Attending an exhibit on work was anything but a chore for all the folks who turned out Friday evening for an opening gala to celebrate the arrival of a piece of the Smithsonian Institute at the Oxford Public Library.
‘I’m really impressed,? said Oxford resident Ray McNally. ‘The graphics are great. The photographs are great. The narrative is weaved really nicely throughout the whole thing. I’m still going through it and having a great time.?
Using photographs, songs, video clips, artifacts, statistics and interactive elements, the Smithsonian traveling exhibit entitled ‘The Way We Worked? chronicles the evolution of labor, explores its importance in American culture and celebrates all of its forms over the past 150 years.
Included with the Smithsonian exhibit are many local photos and unique artifacts spread throughout the library. Many are on loan from the Northeast Oakland Historical Society (NEOHS), which operates the museum in downtown Oxford.
The entire exhibit will be on display through Feb. 1, 2015.
‘This exhibit is not just about the Smithsonian, it’s about all of you. Your stories, your community, your small town as it relates to work and everyday life,? said Jan Fedewa, interim executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council (MHC), as she addressed the crowd. The MHC is one of the exhibit’s main sponsors.
‘This exhibit brings to light the who, the what, the where, the why and the how of Americans at work. It explores places America’s worked, from farms to factories and mines to restaurants as well as in homes,? Fedewa said.
In addition to examining the impact of technology and automation on labor, Fedewa said the exhibit also shows how workers strove to improve ‘working conditions, wages and hours,? and fought against racial and gender discrimination in the workplace.
Overall, Fedewa was very complimentary with regard to the way Oxford incorporated and connected local history with the national exhibit.
‘I think that, in itself, really makes the exhibit more powerful,? she told this reporter.
Compared to other host locations for previous MHC-sponsored Smithsonian exhibits, Fedewa said Oxford ‘is probably at the top of the list as far as a community being so engaged and putting together such a wonderful (local) display that complements the national display.?
Folks who toured the exhibit had nothing but good things to say about what they saw and its value as an educational tool.
‘It’s impressive,? said Ron Hall, a 1957 Oxford High School graduate. ‘Younger people need to appreciate what work used to be like ? how hard their parents and their ancestors had to work to make a living.?
‘I think that younger people will really come to understand what it took to (build) this country ? all of the backbreaking labor that was involved,? said Lapeer resident Kevin Bayliss. ‘They complain about their (working) conditions, but they have no idea what people went through 50 or 100 years ago.?
‘It’s very fascinating. I love the pictures,? said Jean Patterson, retired Oxford teacher and a member of the library Board of Trustees.
Patterson said the photos, particularly those of children working in factories, will help young people visualize the past in ways that mere words cannot.
‘It really brings it home that it hasn’t always been like (it is now),? she said.
For Library Director Bryan Cloutier, one of the most meaningful artifacts in the exhibit is the sign for the Christian-Slayton Public Library, established in 1925. That’s what Oxford’s public library used to be called.
The simple black-and-white sign, which hung outside the library from about 1939 until the late 1960s, has been under the care and preservation of the NEOHS as part of its extensive collection.
On Dec. 1, it returned to the library to be part of the Smithsonian exhibit. It currently occupies a place of honor above the fireplace.
‘It really exemplifies everything that we’re about,? Cloutier said. ?(It) reminds us of who we are.?