(audio) Creating Interest: Silly/Serious Sloganeering

Volume 4, No. 5: May 2007
By Michael Bouman




A friend once told me about a sign outside the local "no-tell Motel." It said, Now rat-free!

OK, it's not very good advertising, but let's look on the positive side. That slogan reflects the visitor's needs. A lot of motels are advertising Free internet or Free breakfast. Visitors to this motel probably just needed a clean room without unanticipated life forms! Too bad the owner had to mention the absence of rats. Just try not to imagine a rat when I assure you that the bedroom won't have one!

Slogans come at us like pollen in the April air! I even hear double slogans from the sponsors of The News Hour. I can't say they make twice the impression. To the contrary, they are twice as forgettable.

A slogan says what you are. Writing a good one is an art. You have just a phrase or two, just a little nibble of sound. Since it's an art, I have created a small "slogan museum" in unused space inside my head. Want to see the first display? Remember when Subaru was "inexpensive...and built to stay that way?" Can you identify the company that promised "Better living through chemistry?" Ah.....leaving so soon??

Outside a museum I like very much is a wry little slogan that you see as you leave. It says, "Thanks for visiting our town's best-kept secret." You could say the same for any humanities council. Like Dr. Pepper, we're "so misunderstood." Even worse, we're "under the radar" for almost everyone.

Two weeks ago I thought of some slogans in connection with a visit to The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County. It's an organization that does almost everything right.

Their exhibits are beautifully lit, tastefully designed, multi-dimensional. The room on Native American history far exceeds the norm. It traces the Native American presence in the area from the distant past up through the 19th century.

With such a detailed story line, the Native American room is a strong asset to build on. One idea would be to check the census figures and begin a public conversation about Native Americans in Greene County today. That county enjoys almost twice the state average Native American population, at slightly under 1 per cent. Another idea is to update the information on the Delaware people by forming a relationship with the museum at The Delaware Nation in Oklahoma. Each of those ideas could lead toward a fascinating future.

That's what this museum wants, a future that fascinates the entire population. To deserve that future, the Springfield museum has to be consistently wonderful without making excuses. Sure, it would love to have more parking space, more storage space, more space for programming. It wants to generate more revenue and solve the challenge of too few workers. But operating a museum is never about what you want. It is always about what people want.

What I admire so much about this operation is the drive to create new ways for people to become involved. In fund-raising, money follows meaning. A museum that wants to grow must learn to flood its community with value.

The slogan of this museum is, "The place we call home." It has charm, doesn't it? It implies the involvement of people rather than lifeless things. What you don't want in a slogan are words like "collecting" or "preserving." You don't want to invite people to imagine a community attic.

The Springfield group could improve their good slogan and make it a great one if they could convey energy; the energy of people in the community, people gaining fulfillment through their participation in telling the stories of "the place we call home." The best museum slogan reflects a benefit to the energized stakeholder. "Better living through chemistry" is all about the benefit to the stakeholder. "So misunderstood" is on the opposite pole; its purpose was to stimulate curiosity.

Over lunch we chatted again about the limitations in the building. There are three flights of stairs to get to the museum, or one elevator. It's in good order and might hold six people without crowding. Moving a group to the third floor is a challenge.

I quipped a new slogan, Worth the climb! OK, it's not much better than "rat-free," but imagine this as an un-published slogan, something just for the insiders. If this is your slogan, then everything you do has to result in a visitor experience that is "worth the climb."

Take that slogan one step further and say, Always worth the climb! Now it describes a place that changes things. It wants to attract the repeat visitor. This actually fits the current mode of operation at the Springfield-Greene County Museum. While the main displays do not change, the museum creates new interest with a cycle of changing exhibits. These changing exhibits invite the community to add value to an interpretation. The new display is partly a mirror of community response.

For example, the recent ice storm led to a photo exhibit on Disasters. People contributed photos from the ice storm in a judged competition. Local businesses provided prizes. The museum will have rights to keep copies of the pictures. Much more important, many people saw their own lived experience transformed into "history." I think they will hold the museum in high regard for reflecting their wonder, and often their sufferings.

The "disaster photo" exhibit in Springfield is just one way that a place with "impossible" limitations finds a way around them. If you're anywhere near Springfield, a visit to that museum is not only worth the climb (or the elevator ride!), it's worth meeting the Director, John Sellars, and finding out how the museum touches people's lives every day of the week.

http://www.springfieldhistorymuseum.org/home.htm

[Michael Bouman organizes workshops year-round to help heritage organizations imagine a better future. See the guidelines for "charettes" at the Council web site.]

(txt) On Family Reading: The Gift of a Reading Mother

Volume 4, No. 5: May 2007
By Julie Douglas

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.
Strickland Gillilan from “The Reading Mother”

In a recent READ from the START session, a pregnant young woman shared that she had read one of her new books to her unborn child and the baby kicked. The mom-to-be took this as a sure sign that the baby liked the story. And she is probably right! Research shows that a child in the womb will respond to the sound of its mother's voice. What a lucky child; he has a mother who already recognizes the gift of reading to a child.

As a former teacher, I always have to smile when I see the bumper sticker that proclaims, "If you can read this, thank a teacher." As much as my "inner teacher" would like to take credit, I think the there should also be a bumper sticker that says, "If you can read this, thank your mom" (or dad, or other loving adult.) I know that I was blessed to have a mom who read to me and my siblings. She read to us, encouraged us to use the library, shared stories from the newspaper, and modeled a love of reading for us. I remember when I was a child she once told me that one of her favorite places on earth was the nightstand next to her bed. Confused, I looked to see what could possibly be so special about a nightstand. Of course, there sat a stack of books waiting to be read!

In honor of all reading and story-telling moms everywhere, here is a list of children's books that celebrate the special relationships between mothers and children. Happy Mother’s Day!

(For on-line ordering, the link below is a portal to the Missouri Humanities cubbyhole at an Amazon.com charity site named "Giveness." If you click the Amazon button and shop on line, the commissions generated by your shopping are donated to MHC.) http://www.giveness.com/mohumanities




A Ride on Mother's Back: A Day of Baby Carrying around the World by Emery Bernhard (Gulliver, 1996)

Children from a variety of cultures explore and learn while perched on a parent's shoulder or hip. Readers discover interesting facts, but also will recognize the special bond between parents, grandparents, and children that is a part of all cultures.

I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Keyana's mother gently helps her accept and celebrate herself.

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray (Live Oak Media, 2001)
Rich illustrations and lyrical text reveal the relationship of a young girl and her whimsical, dancing mother.

On Mother's Lap (board book) by Ann Herbert Scott (Clarion Books, 2007)
A young Eskimo boy discovers that his mother has plenty of love to share with him and the new baby.

Earth Mother by Ellen Jackson (Walker Books for Young Readers 2005)
Earth Mother considers the complaints of her "children" in this amusing and reassuring tale.

My Mother's Pearls by Catherine Myler Fruisen (Starbright Books, 2005)
A little girl learns about her ancestors as her mother tells stories about a string of pearls that has been handed down from generation to generation.

My Mother's Sari by Sandhya Rao (North-South Books, 2006)
Readers will discover how a long piece of fabric becomes a garment, as well as a prop for a child’s imagination.

Mothers are Like That by Carol Carrick (Clarion, 2007)
Mothers of all kinds, both two-legged or four-legged, care for their children in this quiet, cozy bedtime book.

A Chair for my Mother by Vera B. Williams (Harper Trophy, 1984)
A young girl and her mother and grandmother work together to recover from a fire.

What Do Parents Do? (When You're Not Home) by Jeanie Franz Ransom (Peachtree, 2007)
Young readers will laugh out loud at the antics of the parents in this delightful book by Missouri author Jeanie Franz Ransom.

Deep in the Swamp by Donna M. Bateman (Charlesbridge, 2007)
Swamp-dwelling mother animals and their babies are featured in this charming adaptation of "Over in the Meadow" by another Missouri author, Donna Bateman.

(txt) Chautauquas, Between Fences in Mansfield, Kirkwood Sac and Fox

Volume 4, No. 5: May 2007
Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
and the Missouri Humanities Council


Making More of Web Pages

A web site about a raid on the village of Deerfield, Massachusetts in the winter of 1704 is worthy of being our lead article. I saw mention of this site in the Summer 2006 edition of History News from the American Association of State and Local History. The web site undertakes to tell the story from the point of view of each of the five cultural groups who had a stake in the outcome of that raid.

The site made a big impression on me because I've been wondering how to tell layered stories of things like the Black Hawk War, the Indian "settlement" of parts of southeast Missouri, or the curious and fascinating heritage of the white and black residents of towns like Fulton in the Civil War. An "inclusive" history of any place would approach the task in the manner of Deerfield, I think. I'll provide the link to Deerfield and some more information on this topic in the attached piece on layers.
Complete article


That's Entertainment Chautauqua Update

Now is your chance to participate in a "living history" festival that your community will remember for years to come!

MHC is now accepting applications from communities interested in hosting MHC's Chautauqua in June of 2008. Information about Chautauqua and community applications is available on the MHC website at http://mohumanities.org/programs/chautauqua/index.htm

You can request postal copies of the information by calling 1.800.357.0909 or sending an email to patricia@mohumanities.org. Applications are due to MHC no later than May 30, 2007. Three Missouri communities will be selected and notified early this summer to allow a year of planning for the event.

As announced in our March E-News, "THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!" will be the theme for MHC's Chautauqua 2008. "From circus acts to movies, and popular fiction to popular music, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! spotlights a broad range of mass entertainment by portraying innovative figures that helped democratize this field. Far from the highbrow, these figures brought often-inexpensive entertainment to new kinds of audiences."

We are also accepting applications from Scholars interested in applying to participate in MHC's Chautauqua 2008. Link here for the Call for Chautauqua Scholars and application instructions. Inquiries should be sent to patricia@mohumanities.org.


May 18-19 Chautauqua in Nevada, Missouri

Notable women from history will take the stage at Cottey College when the Women's Leadership Council of Nevada presents a Community Chautauqua on Friday evening, May 18, and Saturday afternoon and evening, May 19, 2007.

In partnership with the Woman Chautauqua Institute at Cottey College, now in its second year, the public programming will offer a lineup of characters that includes Bess Truman, Settlement House founder and Nobel Peace Laureate Jane Addams, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, geneticist Barbara McClintock, Mohawk writer Pauline Johnson, and more.

The Chautauqua performances will take place in Cottey's Missouri Recital Hall, located in the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts, at the corner of Tower Street and Highway 54 in Nevada. There is no admission charge. An outdoor food court will offer old-fashioned foods and cold beverages at reasonable prices throughout the two-day event.

Nevada is located near the western border of Missouri, 90 miles south of Kansas City and 60 miles north of Joplin. For a detailed schedule and directions to the Cottey campus, please send an email request to: CWL@cottey.edu


"Between Fences" at the Mansfield Community Center

Nearly every year, we are able to help Missouri towns obtain a touring exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. We like the exhibits that come from the "Museums on Main Street" program (MOMS) because every town that sponsors the exhibit creates all sorts of activities to enhance its value. Typically, more people visit these activities than live in the county!

Spite Fence c. 1906-1910 by Gilbert B. Ellestad. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home in Mansfield is taking the lead in creating activities in Mansfield. You can see the "Between Fences" exhibit at the Community Center beginning May 11 and ending June 22. This will be your last chance to see this exhibit in Missouri. Also, be sure to visit the Wilder Home and Museum. It's a destination for tourists from all over the world.

You can find details of all the activities as well as directions to the Community Center at the excellent Wilder Home web site: http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com


Kirkwood Public Library Hosts Sac and Fox Heritage Exhibit

The touring exhibit on the Sac and Fox Heritage will end its first year of circulation during the month of May at the Kirkwood Public Library, through May 28. Created by Sac and Fox tribal members in three states, the exhibit is a large panel with photographs and text. The exhibit is reserved by various venues through the end of this year, but is available for January and February 2008. The library web site is at http://kpl.lib.mo.us/

I'm scheduled to deliver a talk about the creation of this exhibit on Saturday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m. The Sac and Fox exhibit curator, Sandra Massey, will be with me to share the podium. Replicas of the exhibit in poster size will be available for sale at the Library's gift shop.

Lose Your Mother Book Review
I read an outstanding reflection on the long shadows cast by the institution of slavery. The book is by Saidiya Hartman, and I've quoted just one of many marked passages in my new blog, "Creating Interest" at http://creatinginterest.blogspot.com/2007/04/chosing-your-past.html