{"id":41736,"date":"2022-12-22T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=41736"},"modified":"2022-12-22T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T11:01:00","slug":"smithsonian-exhibit-reveals-past-hopes-for-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2022\/12\/22\/smithsonian-exhibit-reveals-past-hopes-for-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Smithsonian exhibit reveals past, hopes for future"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Patricia Roy <\/b>
\n Landmark Correspondent<\/i><\/div>\n

RUTLAND \u2013 The Rutland Public Library is welcoming a distinguished visitor this month, and in a way, that visitor is everyone whose family has lived here for generations or just moved in.<\/p>\n

More specifically, the visitor is the prestigious Smithsonian Institution\u2019s traveling exhibition, \u201cMuseum on Main Street,\u201d an outreach program aimed at small towns and rural communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrossroads: Change in Rural America\u201d examines the highlights of population shifts in our small towns in the 20th century \u2014 when about 40 percent of Americans lived in rural areas \u2014 and the response of small communities to this change.<\/p>\n

The demographic impacts on the rural countryside are examined in this exhibit and are planned to spur conversations about how small towns can address growth and development, yet retain the features that make them unique. How has change affected the community? What are the goals for the future?<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian display, which runs through Jan. 28, features photos, videos, interactive panels and audio clips. Educational resources and programming are also part of the \u201cCrossroads\u201d exhibit.<\/p>\n

Library director Kerry Remington is heading up the exhibit, although she notes that it was the town\u2019s 300th Anniversary Committee that first applied for the program.<\/p>\n

Remington and four volunteers went to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum for training on how to assemble the contents of the 16 crates (some as big as 6 feet tall) for the exhibit.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian received 19 applications to host the exhibit; Rutland was oneofsixtownsinMassachusetts to have the chance to host. A stipend of $10,000 to host related programs comes along with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (The Smithsonian Institute) want them to be good programs, and they want them to be well-attended,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Along with the ability and interest in hosting, Remington had to produce six pieces of programming to run concurrently with the display dates.<\/p>\n

A book discussion on \u201cThe Pioneers\u201d by David McCullough will be held Wednesday, Dec. 28, funded in part by Mass Humanities. The book covers the exploration and settlement of Ohio and places west by families from Rutland. McCullough visited the Rufus Putnam House during his research.<\/p>\n

Remington has scheduled Finnish Life in Rutland for Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one time about 90 percent of the town\u2019s population was of Finnish descent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 8, Director of Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources John Lebeaux will lead a Farmer Forum.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealthcare through the Ages in Rutland\u201d will be held Jan. 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I think of when I think of Rutland is the hospitals and all of that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then I think about what we did during COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hospitals treated tuberculosis, veterans and many others. The health care legacy reached down through the years as the library became the focal point for administering vaccines for Central Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Rutland, stepping up to the plate and hitting it out of the park every time,\u201d said Remington.<\/p>\n

David Libby, local historian, will present \u201cThree Lawsuits,\u201d dealing with a Native American slave who lived in Hardwick, on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

The program series wraps up Jan. 22 with a \u201cTaste of Rutland.\u201d<\/p>\n

All programs will run during the day and are open to all in the Wachusett area, as is the display. Arrangements have been made for school groups from the Wachusett Regional School District to visit. Refreshments will be served and music provided by Hans Betancourth. The programs are free. All programs with guest speakers take place at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Remington is also setting up a scavenger hunt for kids to give them things to look for in the display.<\/p>\n

The Historical Society plans to open during the programs in conjunction with the library.<\/p>\n

Launched in 1994, Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a Smithsonian outreach program that engages small-town audiences and brings revitalized attention to underserved rural communities. The program partners with state humanities councils like Mass Humanities to bring traveling exhibitions, educational resources and programming to small towns across America through their local museums, historical societies and other cultural venues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUTLAND \u2013 The Rutland Public Library is welcoming a distinguished visitor this month, and in a way, that visitor is everyone whose family has lived here for generations or just moved in. More specifically, the visitor is the prestigious Smithsonian Institution\u2019s traveling exhibition, \u201cMuseum on Main Street,\u201d an outreach program aimed at small towns and rural communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}