After looking at this great online exhibit of the history of New York in 50 objects, think about creating a list for your hometown. What’s most important? How far back would you go? What would you choose to represent your hometown today?
Professor M. Och
ARTH 114 and ARTH 115: Introduction to Western Art, University of Mary Washington
I am from Harrisonburg, Virginia and after reading and looking at this article, I thought of just a few things that I would include in a list of 50 objects from Harrisonburg. I would include photographs of: a historic sign that states where Thomas Harrison (a settler who settled in the Shenandoah Valley) and his wife deeded land for the Rockingham County public buildings in 1779, a photograph of Kline’s Dairy Bar (an ice cream shoppe that Harrisonburg is known for), James Madison University as well as Eastern Mennonite University, I-81, the old Lucy Simms schoolhouse used for black students during segregation and now the modern Boys and Girls Club, the Skyline Drive, Spotswood High School (my former high school and also the school named after Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood), Josh Sundquist (Paralympian, bestselling author and motivational speaker), Massanutten Mountain, and the beautiful fields that are found everywhere around Harrisonburg.
This is an interesting topic for garnering interest in the history of people’s towns and making them proud and aware of their town’s history. I’ve never thought about how I would represent my hometown of Burke, VA, because I’ve never really been interested in it’s history, but this question makes me want to research it more. I would definitely include a picture of the Silas Burke house, the house of the man who the town is named for. There is a also a historic railroad line that is still being used today, that was constructed in 1840, so I would include a picture of that. A popular place to eat in Burke is Spartan’s, which is a Greek and American food mom and pop restaurant, so I would include a menu from there. I might also include a figurine of an airplane, since in 1951 the US Civil Aeronautics Administration was going to use Burke, VA as the site for Dulles International Airport, a plan which was abandoned due to lobbying by the residents and was moved to the site where it is now near Chantilly, VA, and so a figurine of an airplane would show what Burke could have become, but didn’t.