Smithsonian brings rural life exhibit to Claremont

Jenn Cournoyer, Vice President of River Valley Community College, works with Eric Sutphin, Project Coordinator at the school, to set up

Jenn Cournoyer, Vice President of River Valley Community College, works with Eric Sutphin, Project Coordinator at the school, to set up "Crossroads: Change in Rural America," a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Museum on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Claremont, N.H. (Valley News-Jennifer Hauck) Valley News photogrpahs – Jennifer Hauck

"Crossroads: Change in Rural America," is to be on display at River Valley Community College from Oct. 14 through Dec. 13. It is a travelling exhibit from the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street. The show will be at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Vt., Feb. 8 through March 23. (Valley News-Jennifer Hauck) The exhibit is to be on display at River Valley Community College through Dec. 13.

Ryan Newswanger, director of programs at Vermont Humanities, helps to put together

Ryan Newswanger, director of programs at Vermont Humanities, helps to put together "Crossroads: Change in Rural America" on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Claremont, N.H. The traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Museum will be at the River Valley Community College in Claremont, N.H., from Oct. 14 through Dec. 13, 2024. (Valley News-Jennifer Hauck) Valley News – Jennifer Hauck

By PATRICK O’GRADY

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 10-16-2024 6:01 PM

CLAREMONT — The story of America’s changing rural landscape, from settlement and growth around industry and farming to decline and a rebirth emphasizing the arts, is on display in a traveling exhibit that opened Monday at River Valley Community College.

Some examples of that changing landscape are shown in a small binder that is part of the exhibit, “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” Small rural towns from Georgia to Nebraska, Minnesota to Arizona have established music and theater festivals and other initiatives as they look to capitalize on the creative economy in their communities that have been impacted by shifts in demographics and economic decline.

The exhibit, organized by the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program and co-sponsored by New Hampshire Humanities, comprises several large kiosks titled “Land,” “Identity,” “Community” and “Attractions of a Rural Life,” among others, communicates through photos and text, including lyrics from songs by Woody Guthrie and Loretta Lynn.

One panel describes rural life as often “hard” with change being shaped by migration, business growth and decline, and school consolidation. But, it continues, people often remain for “love of the land, community spirit, persistence and commitment and family and personal relationships.”

The black-and-white photographs of farming families, depict the diversity of ethnic backgrounds of rural America and also reveal the often arduous life of working the land. Other panels mention the industries, such as mining, logging and fishing, that fostered growth in hamlets that were later connected by rail.

“People experienced rural America in different ways and their experiences helped shape our rural culture,” states one panel. “Family farms and bustling Main Streets became icons of a rural identity that still resonate at the core of American identity.”

“Crossroads” has been traveling to rural communities around the country the last few years. It is currently on a six-stop tour in New Hampshire and Vermont.

“The exhibit touches on broad themes of life in rural America,” said Eric Sutphin, project coordinator at River Valley. “Land, identity, community, managing change, those are the overarching themes. The goal is to prompt conversation and questions on these topics which are broad but every community can relate to in some way.”

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The New Hampshire Humanities Council, the liaison with the Smithsonian scouting for locations, reached out to the college, Sutphin said. The council selected the college as one of three New Hampshire communities — Jefferson and Plymouth are the others — to host the exhibit. It also will visit Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph in February and March, and Brownington, Vt., next summer.

Host sites organize events and discussions that connect the exhibit with the local community and some of the exhibit themes.

“The host site brings together programming that brings in the community, whether that is exhibiting objects from the community’s history, bringing in people from the community to talk and beyond that to have people who live here come to talk about this stuff together,” Sutphin said. “That is really one of our main goals is to invite the community here; to realize this exhibit is for everyone. ... We want everyone to engage with it.”

Events at the exhibit, which runs through Dec. 13, include a public opening reception at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and a family-oriented Harvest Fest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 that will include refreshments, live music and pumpkin painting at noon. A roundtable discussion on the Creative Industry is scheduled for Nov. 7.

“So we are talking about how Claremont, over the years, has lost some industry but there has been sort of a wave of creative forces coming in,” Sutphin said, noting the Claremont MakerSpace on Main Street, the Claremont Opera House and new Claremont Creative Center on Opera House Square.

The Claremont Historical Society loaned some items from its collection that provide a glimpse of its past as a strong manufacturing and farming community. There are brief descriptions of the former Coy Paper Mill in West Claremont, the Ainsworth Farm on the Connecticut River with a branding iron owned by Laban Ainsworth and dairy bottle from the Griswold farm of Leverett and Lottie Griswold, which operated through the 1940s.

Just inside the main entrance to the college is a complementary show of work by local artists with paintings, sculptures and photographs and four large panels briefly tell the story of the Claremont MakerSpace on Main Street and the Claremont Opera House, which was saved from demolition in the 1970s.

In promoting the exhibit, the Smithsonian summed up the importance of rural life in America in this way: “These places where people gather to exchange goods, services and culture and to engage in political and community discussions are an important part of our cultural fabric.” Despite the massive economic and demographic changes that influence them, “America’s small towns continue to creatively focus on new opportunities for growth and development.”

For more information and event details, visit rivervalley.edu/crossroads. Exhibit hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.