What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1021166
SEPTEMBER 2-8, 2018 WHAT'S UP! 39 Living History Fifth gallery wraps up Shiloh renovation 'Settling the Ozarks' Curator: Marie Demeroukas "Settling the Ozarks" [is] a look at the people who came to Northwest Arkansas from the 1820s to 1860. Back then, this area was our nation's western border. If you wanted to live, you had to work hard — very hard — to clear land, plant crops, build a home, and make the many things needed for everyday life. I wanted to show visitors what it took to cook and preserve food, to make cloth and wash clothes, and to fashion furnishings back in the days before superstores and home delivery. The artifacts from that time are so cool, and many are displayed within the walls of an 1841 log cabin in as natural a setting as we could make. 'Civil War to World War I' Curator: Judy Costello Many local people had a hand in creating the "Civil War to World War I" exhibit, with hopes of bringing this time in history to life for visitors. A hand-painted mural generically depicts changing life in 1860s Northwest Arkansas. Locally created videos offer a snapshot of two regional battles using the actual words of soldiers involved in the conflicts. Inspired by the enthusiasm for railroad history of a local historian, the exhibit case for railroad artifacts was made to look like a train depot complete with transportation crates which also house artifacts. Even visitors help bring history to life when they try the hands-on activities, such as sending a telegraph message. '1920 to 1950' Curator: Carolyn Reno The modern agricultural industry got started first with fruits and vegetables and then poultry. It's covered in three displays where I hope visitors see that its success was a combination of the initiative of business leaders and the hard work of local and migrant laborers. This is also the era where the power grid and road network, so embedded in our lives now, were fairly new and spread slowly from town to farm. A replica 1940s home display shows how families adapted to electricity, gas heating and telephones. Displays on the Depression and World War II show how people of Northwest Arkansas got along during those times. The exhibit area seemed so large but became so small once we told all these stories. 'Modern Times: 1950 to the Present' Curator: Susan Young My "Modern Times: 1950 To Present" exhibit boils down to two words: "growth" and "change." The driving force during this time was Beaver Lake — the fuel for our economic engine. We could not have grown or continue to grow without this water supply — industrially, commercially, residentially. Expand the story to include agriculture, retail, tourism, transportation and the University of Arkansas, and you have "Modern Times" in a nutshell. 'Earliest Days in the Arkansas Ozarks' Curator: Curtis Morris Ironically, the last section of our exhibit hall to be renovated interprets the beginning: Ozarks geology and prehistory. I hope that, when experiencing this final installment, visitors get a sense of how rich and complex our region's prehistory actually was. … our old perceptions of local prehistoric people as isolated and ignorant are clearly shot down by scientific research and cultural traditions. Anthropologists and modern American Indians agree that our ancient neighbors and ancestors had to be innovative and intelligent to live and thrive here. While they were fully participating in regional cultures and life ways, at the same time they were also developing unique adaptations to life in the Ozarks. COVER STORY