The 250th anniversary of the United States this year has inspired a new exhibit at the Geneva History Museum exploring how local people experienced the unfolding of American history.
On Friday night, a members only preview of the exhiibit was held at the museum at 113 S. Third St. in Geneva.
“This exhibition reveals a uniquely local lens on national events, from the struggle for women’s suffrage to the aftermath of 9/11,” a news release from the museum said. “Organized into thematic chapters, this exhibition highlights Geneva’s deep civic pride, its role in honoring veterans, its response to national crises and its celebratory spirit during pivotal American anniversaries.”
The exhibit will run through Dec. 23 at the museum.
Markie Striegel, curator of collections and exhibitions for the museum who put the new exhibit together, explained the thinking behind the displays.
“We chose to do this in correlation with the 250th anniversary of our country. We always do a rotating exhibition every year and it always starts in February and goes until December,” she said, noting the new exhibit explores “different events in America that Geneva has experienced.”
Work on the annual exhibit itself begins in the fall each year, Striegel said, “with just writing it and figuring out what objects are going to be in it.”
“The main install takes place in January,” she said. “I’ve done these since 2019 and over the years, I’ve learned it’s quite a tight turnaround. We give ourselves about a month to do this but I think the team works really well – we jell together well.”
In terms of what objects or items make the cut each year, Striegel said she “initially selects the objects but then I’ll get input from our director, our educator and it’s definitely a team effort.”
“Things that get in – one of the main things is – has it been on display before? But we bring back things that people really enjoy like a Civil War jacket that has been off display for a couple of years,” she said.
At the event on Friday, Joyce Elliott of Geneva said she has been a member of the museum since 2015 and both she and her husband Craig volunteer on a weekly basis.
“Over the years all of these exhibits are very, very informative and uplifting,” she said. “The curator does an excellent job with bringing out new facts and it’s fascinating, especially if you grew up in this town, to see new perspectives.”
“I’m looking forward to looking at the exhibit and seeing things that happened in Geneva that I wasn’t aware of,” Craig Elliott added. “That’s usually the case with these exhibits. Having something like this matters as it’s important for everybody that we know what’s happened prior. We’re glad to have this facility here.”
Linda Fox of Geneva and her husband Andrew said they have been members of the museum since it opened and have lived 50 years in town.
“We’ve seen all of the presidents that have been here other than Roosevelt,” Andrew said. “Our kids were right there downtown when Reagan landed in his helicopter.”
Tracy O’ Connell of Geneva, a board member for the museum, called the exhibits at the display “from the very first glance tremendous.”
“I was looking at the uniforms here and they really stood out,” he said. “Things are just well-displayed and a good history of the city of Geneva and everybody that participated during the war times – especially World War II and World War I. Growing up in the ’60s, you’re not thinking about World War II but to see the history thanks to the museum – plus the Civil War – there’s more than people realized.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
