Har-Ber Village Museum and the surrounding community was recently chosen by the Oklahoma Humanities Council to host “The Way We Worked” as part of the Museum on Main Street project—a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. Grove is one of only 5 communities in Oklahoma in which the exhibition will tour from February 1, 2017, through November 10, 2017.
Maud Duncan at Desk with Typewriter_ca1950s
What would life be like without teachers, doctors or firefighters? Every day Americans are hard at work on farms, factories, in homes or at desks keeping our communities thriving. Har-Ber Village Museum, in cooperation with Oklahoma Humanities Council, will explore the professions and the people that sustain American society when it hosts “The Way We Worked,” a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. “The Way We Worked” will be on view at Har-Ber Village from March 24 through May 12, 2017.
The first in a series of programs to highlight Americans at work will take place on Saturday, September 26, from 9am to 4pm during a new special event, Maud Duncan Day.
Maud, known as the “little printer of the Ozarks,” had diverse and dynamic life experiences that made her a truly amazing woman. During the day visitors will discover the many facets of Duncan’s life through technology, living history interpretation and hands-on experiences as they visit eleven of the Village’s buildings.
- A powerpoint presentation in Building #3 provides an overview of Maud’s life.
- In the Doctor’s Office, Maud’s foster father, Dr. Dunlap, presents a talk on medicine. He was
Winslow’s physician and helped Maud learn the pharmacy occupation. - Maud was one of the first two woman pharmacists in Arkansas. Experience the life of a
Maud setting type
Maud at her desk…All woman town council with Mayor Maud Duncan
pharmacist with a hands-on medicine preparation at the Drugstore.
4. Maud graduated high school and earned her teaching certificate by age 16. At the Schoolhouse,
visit with Maud as a young teacher.
5. Both Maud and her foster mother played the organ at St. Stephens Episcopal Church.
Selections of period church music can be heard in the Village Church.
6. Maud’s daughter Helen died at an early age, and the family home became the Helen Dunlap
Memorial School for Girls in her honor. One of the classes taught at the school was weaving.
In Building #45, see a loom in operation and try weaving on a cricket loom.
7. Maud’s first husband was a telegrapher for the Frisco Railroad. Send messages using a
telegraph key in the Railroad exhibit.
8. Maud and her foster mother were active in the Woman’s Suffrage movement. At the Mayor’s
Home, participate in the suffrage movement using picket signs and Votes for Women
buttons.
9. Meet an older Maud in the Village’s Print Shop printing handbills on her press. Maud used this
Maud playing the organ in church
very press to print the Winslow American newspaper from 1908-1956.
10. During Maud’s time as Mayor, she sold the Winslow town jail. To recreate this event, the Village
Jail will be “up for sale.” Donations for the purchase will be accepted throughout the day
and we’ll announce the total raised at 4:00 pm.
11. In the Village Courthouse, Maud and her all-women town council hold a town meeting
based on meeting minutes from 1926.
“The Way We Worked,” adapted from an original exhibition developed by the National Archives and Records Administration, explores how work has become a central element in American culture. It traces the many changes that have affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years, including the growth of manufactuing and increasing use of technology. The exhibition draws from the Archives’ rich collections, including historical photographs, archival accounts of workers, film, audio and interactives, to tell the compelling story of how work impacts our individual lives and the historical and cultural fabric of our communities.
“We are very pleased to be able to bring “The Way We Worked” to our area,” said Amelia Chamberlain, Executive Director. “It allows us the opportunity to explore this fascinating aspect of our own region’s history, and we hope that it will inspire many to become even more involved in the cultural life of our community.”
“Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Oklahoma Humanities Council,” said Ann Thompson, Executive Director. “With this special tour, we are pleased to be working with Har-Ber Village Museum in Grove, Oklahoma, to help develop local exhibitions and public programs to compliment the Smithsonian exhibition.” Maud Duncan Day is the first in a series of these public programs being planned.
Maud’s business card
“The Way We Worked” is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation and local host institutions. To learn more about “The Way We Worked” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
SITES connects millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. State humanities councils, located in each state and U.S. territory, support community-based humanities programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural traditions. Har-Ber Village Museum serves the local community by collecting and preserving historical items, authentic to the American experience, for the whole family to enjoy and understand within a scenic and inspirational setting. To learn more, visit www.sites.si.edu, www.OkHumanities.org and www.har-bervillage.com.
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