Housing over 4,000 books, topographical maps, newspaper clippings, postcards, and other archival material, the historical society Montgomery History celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2019 by displaying objects in its online exhibition 75 Objects + 75 Stories. Selected from the organization’s repository, these 75 objects uncover the evolution of Montgomery County’s identity and the beauty of centuries-old artifacts—shared and surviving memories.
This year, the 80th anniversary of Montgomery History, Director of Collections Sammie Hatton and Director of Library and Archives Sarah Hedlund wrote an article in the Fall 2024 Newsletter spotlighting five more objects that reflect the landscape of 21st century Montgomery County and Montgomery History: the Pride Flag, Odessa Shannon Campaign Poster, Stonestreet Bible, COVID-19 Masks and Patterns and Maria Monisera Retirement Quilt. Rather than being incorporated into an online exhibition, this project was an extension and commemoration of the work behind 75 Objects + 75 Stories.
Overseeing artifact conservation, Hatton serves as a museum curator, recording inventory through an online database. “The 75 objects were created by my predecessor [Elizabeth Lay] and some other volunteers,” Hatton said.
Managing paper and document objects, Hedlund processes and organizes new collections. “I think the primary goal [of 75 Objects + 75 Stories] was to sort of highlight specific and interesting pieces in our collection about Montgomery County’s history,” Hedlund said.
For the 80th anniversary, Hedlund and Hatton explained how they used rapid collecting—recording history as it occurs—to help portray the new 2020s decade. “[These objects] represent that moment in time that we almost lost something and then sort of recovered it through the efforts of those who cared about history,” Hedlund said.
75 Objects + 75 Stories transforms the virtual museum platform into a multimedia storytelling experience. Focusing on the power behind collecting objects from different timelines and contexts and combining this material into a comprehensive journey, the online exhibition encourages visitors to form connections behind an object’s life.
“I just, I was holding something. I was like, ‘What has this seen? How much has it been through? What did the person who owned it go through?’” Hatton said.
“In the same way we connect to our own family members through objects and papers and documents, we can do the same thing with people we have never met, either individuals or groups of people that existed in various places in the county… understand[ing] who lived on their land in the past and connect to them that way,” Hedlund said. “There is always sort of a desire to connect. And objects and papers are a tangible way to do that.”
For instance, the 44th Object in the online exhibition highlights a boxcar gift sent from France after World War II titled MERCI TRAIN/1949. This carved wooden sculpture, standing at a little under 10 inches, depicts a seated man and woman and the words “J. Drèan of Auray” in orange inscription—a port location. This gift was part of the larger boxcar movement during 1948 and 1949—700 United States boxcars containing relief goods, 700 boxcars heading towards New York City, 700 boxcars waiting to be shipped to France. Across the world, 49 boxcar gifts from France departed to the hands of Maryland and countless other states. During the “French Thank You Train Day” Maryland declared in anticipation of the moving boxcar and its hidden gifts, people peeked through the crowds of parades and ceremonies huddling together, and the sound of train tracks called into the distance.
According to the online exhibition website, the Maryland counties made bids to divide up gifts in the French boxcar. Thus, the remaining boxcar gifts in Montgomery History’s Collection include a flax wheel, a miniature portrait of Marie Antoinette and a modern model of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Ultimately, the artifact reflects the universal desire for cross-cultural exchange, reunion and peace.
Outside of 75 Objects + 75 Stories, Montgomery History offers opportunities for historians, students and families to further consult the Jane C. Sween Research Library to access historical documents of specific interest. Specifically, when visitors are interested in finding local historical resources, they might come across the 1794 Griffith Map of Maryland depicting creeks and public buildings with small sketchings. Written at the edge of the border are two words: Sugar Loaf.
In other Montgomery History online exhibitions, curators use different mediums, such as oral history, to capture the diversity of our county. “People coming here as students, people coming here and falling in love and staying for a marriage, people coming to escape more conflict in their original countries—the immigrant experience has sort of permeated across all of our organization in a lot of ways,” Hedlund said.
Montgomery History also collects object donations, such as glasses and ceramics, from families. Whether students are interested in interacting with the traveling pop-up Exhibition called “Tap Into History: A Century of Typewriters” or participating in the History Conversations lectures program, it is undeniable that Montgomery History is crucial to engaging and shaping our perspectives of using objects to reveal local history.
“Sometimes we have that story, and sometimes we do not, sometimes we just have the object. So all you can do is imagine, like, where did this come from?” Hatton explained. “And that just really stuck with me, like, how other people could research [materials] and enjoy and get that same feeling that I did. I wanted to keep [these stories] safe forever.”
Written by Chelsea Zhu
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons