STURGIS, S.D. – The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street, in cooperation with the South Dakota Humanities Council, presents “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.”
The exhibition, examining the evolving landscape of rural American, opens at the Sturgis Public Library on Monday, March 13.
“Crossroads” will be on view through April 29.
“Crossroads” is part of the Museum on Main Street program — a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations.
“Crossroads” explores how rural American communities changed in the 20th century.
“The exhibition looks at economic, social and many other aspects of change and how that change has impacted rural America,” said Christopher Hahn, Sturgis Public Library Director. “We want to convene conversations about what makes our community unique and have developed local programs to complement the Smithsonian exhibition.”
The opening reception will be 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and there will be weekly events through the end of April.
“We will have interactive displays throughout the library and then we have a number of local events to support it,” Hahn said.
Those events range from the history of downtown Sturgis to the Sturgis sale barn to women’s suffrage.
“We’ve tried get something that’s going to keep everybody interested. We’re trying to have something every week,” he said.
Hahn said he has seen the exhibit when it was first set up in Brookings. He said he appreciates that overall the exhibit is very interactive.
“You can see video and audio clips and kind of add your own recollections to the exhibit,” Hahn said.
All events associated with the exhibit, except for the Humbletown concert on March 25, are free.
Following is a list of events:
- Grand Opening, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, March 13, Sturgis Public Library
- MusicSpeaks, “But I Can Play the Radio!” the influence of records and radio on home music making, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, Sturgis Public Library
- History at High Noon: Sturgis Downtown Through the Years, noon, Friday, March 17, Sturgis Public Library
- Humbletown concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, Sturgis Community Center, Admission $5
- “What Crossroads Means to Me,” Sturgis Brown High School Speech Team, 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, Sturgis Public Library, Bob Lee Area, upstairs
- Close Connections: Fort Meade and Sturgis, 1 p.m., Saturday, April 1, Sturgis Public Library
- Women’s Suffrage in South Dakota, Dr. Molly Rozum, 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, Sturgis Public Library
- Agriculture Production Past & Future, Dave Ollila & Tanse Herrmann, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, Sturgis Public Library, Chamber of Commerce Mixer
- MusicSpeaks: Gerdan: Changes in Rural Ukraine (concert and discussion), 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 20, Sturgis Public Library
- History at High Noon: Sturgis Sale Barn, noon, Friday, April 21, Sturgis Public Library
- Exhibition closes, Saturday, April 29
You can listen to our interview with Chris Hahn about the event below:
