Straw Boaters and Pink Elephants

 

This week’s Columbia Association e-newsletter contains a link to current happenings at the Columbia Maryland Archives. You should definitely click that link. Of interest is this featured exhibit:

Image from Columbia Maryland Archives 

CMA hosted its second annual Summer Field School in partnership with Howard Community College (HCC) History Department. The five students not only learned Columbia history but experienced skills in archival research, public history, digitization, and curation. Their final project was to create a display using collection material, click here to explore the digital replica!

If you are interested in community theatre and/or Columbia history, you will find this digital exhibit to be delightful. I’m afraid to say too much because I don’t want to rob you of the joy of discovery. It’s fascinating to see how the performing arts were valued from almost the very start in Columbia. A tip of the hat to HCC students who researched and curated the exhibit: Melissa Amoss, Mira Karpati, Darrin Martone, Josh Mass, and Gitanjali Raghava. 

Bonus content on the Archives site:

 …the last edition of the slide show display created by The Rouse Company that played at the Exhibit Center from 1989. This "slide show" was created to promote Columbia's amenities and values to potential residents. 

If you haven’t seen it, you definitely should. It gives you a glimpse of “the way we were” while also revealing what were considered to be strong selling points. Pretend you’re considering a move. Would this presentation seal the deal? 

There’s a moment where you hear a woman’s voice say

…certainly Columbia has its share of problems, and we’re working them out at a grassroots level…

Captured from CA slide show, circa 1989. Property of Columbia Maryland Archives

Oh, that hat. That old school electioneering sort of hat. It says “Owen Brown” in case it’s hard to read from this screenshot. I think I’m glad that Columbia Village politics no longer requires such headgear. It reminds me too much of this.

In searching for a photo credit for the image above I stumbled across this article in the Baltimore Sun:

This week in Columbia's history: Segregationist George Wallace held controversial rally in new, integrated Columbia, Libby Solomon, Baltimore Sun, June, 2017

Most of us are familiar with this landmark moment in Columbia’s history. I know I’m not the only one who has been thinking about it this week, as Merriweather Post Pavillion hosts Jason Aldean in the New American City. We like to think that George Wallace would have no home here today but - - that jovial woman on the left of the photo? - - I feel sure that her daughter has turned in that ceremonial straw boater for matching t-shirts at school board meetings. “Parental Control” and all that jazz.

Plus ça change…

If you are able to access the Baltimore Sun article, scroll to the bottom. There’s quite the unexpected Columbia slide show down there. I’m serious. Fifty-one photos, many of which I had never seen before. Can someone explain that pink elephant?

Back to the archives. One of my greatest (local) regrets is that I never had the Exhibit Center experience. I wonder if previous iterations of “the slideshow” were saved. I guess that’s a question for my friendly neighborhood archivist.

Before I go, a request. Can someone drop a large sum of money on the Archives for the purpose of streamlining their website? It’s such a valuable resource but accessibility is hampered by a rather bumpy user experience. Or maybe it’s just my iPad?

I wouldn’t have the first idea of how to fix this but I’d love to see some homegrown philanthropist invest in the Archives website. Now that much of the collection is available online, making it easy to find and understand would be a huge upgrade.

Anybody win a big lottery jackpot lately?