From Harford County Government:
(Bel Air, MD) – On Friday, May 11, 2012, Harford County Executive David Craig, along with his wife Melinda, hosted a reception welcoming the Smithsonian Exhibit, Journey Stories, to Harford County. Held at the Veronica “Roni” Chenowith Activity Center, more than 200 people were in attendance to learn more about the Journey Stories experience in store.
Through Journey Stories, Harford countians will learn about and experience the history of Harford County through photos, artifacts and words of the people involved that tell their journey stories.
American history is filled with stories of people leaving behind everything – families and possessions – to reach a new life in another state, across the continent, or even across an ocean. Transportation history is more than trains, boats, buses, cars, wagons, and trucks. Journey Stories examines the intersection between modes of travel and Americans? desire to feel free to move. The story is diverse and focused on immigration, migration, innovation, and freedom. It is accounts of immigrants coming in search of promise in a new country; stories of individuals and families relocating in search of fortune, their own homestead, or employment. The exhibit is also dedicated to addressing harrowing journeys of Africans and Native Americans forced to move.
Journey Stories will be showcased in Harford County from May 11 – July 6, 2012 through a partnership between the Harford County Department of Community Services and the Harford County Public Library. The main exhibit will open at the Abingdon Library on May 19, telling the story of immigration, migration, and transportation in America.
Additional activities including exhibitions on the history of Harford County, trains and the building of Bel Air, the journey of food in America, and the Underground Railroad will take place at many library branches and activity centers throughout the county.
The following exhibits will run May 11 – July 6 at the Activity Centers and are free and open to the public:
“Journey through Harford History” at the Veronica “Roni” Chenowith Center, 1707 Fallston Road, Fallston. This exhibit will tell the story of Harford County from its early beginnings to the technology leader it is becoming today. Explore major events through the pages of The Aegis, and consider personal accounts from the individuals who have shaped the County through time.
“Money and Migration: Population and the County Economy” at the Havre de Grace Activity Center, 351 Lewis Lane, Havre de Grace. Changing economies, innovations, and global factors have influenced the business of Harford County and its populations. Women at work, the rise of techopolis and factory successes and failures have brought people in and out of the County. Discover the partnership between the people and business.
“From Trail to Train: The Building of Bel Air” at the McFaul Activity Center, 525 W. MacPhail Road, Bel Air. From the early horse trails to the Ma and Pa Railroad, Bel Air has been the apex of how goods and services were received and traveled in Harford County.
Additionally, the “Meet the Authors” series will be held at the above senior activity centers and branches of the Harford County Public Library. For the schedule of the authors and special presentations at the Activity Centers, visit: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/services/community/doc/1891.pdf. For more information about the Journey Stories presentations and exhibits taking place at the branches of the Harford County Public Library, visit: http://hcplonline.org/programs/js.cfm.
“Journey Stories is about celebrating and honoring the history of Harford County and the State of Maryland,” stated County Executive David Craig. “History helps to broaden perspectives and understanding and „Journey Stories? will prove to be an invaluable resource to our community– we are grateful to the Maryland Humanities Council for choosing Harford County as one of the five locations statewide to be hosting this exciting exhibit and would like to thank the Harford County Historical Society, Inc. for the research and source information for our exhibits,” continued Craig.
Journey Stories was created through a partnership between the Maryland Humanities Council and the Smithsonian?s Museum on Main Street (MOMs) Program.
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