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June 23, 2010

Exhibit looks at Lawrence in the 1930s

By Yadira Betances ybetances@eagletribune.com

LAWRENCE — Walk into the gallery at Lawrence Heritage State Park and it's like stepping into a one-room tenement from the 1930s.

In one corner there is a tapestry covered Morris chair next to a radio once used to listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats." An Italian royal flag rests on top of the radio and on the chair there are darning needles stuck in a ball of yarn.

The replica of the tenement is part of the exhibit, "A New Deal for Lawrence: Federal Works Project, Then and Now."

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held today at 5:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Heritage State Park Gallery, 1 Jackson St.

"It gives people a sense of what Lawrence was like in the 1930s," said Barbara Brown, executive director of the Lawrence History Center. "It introduces people to the Depression and how it impacted Lawrence."

The exhibit begins with a timeline of Roosevelt's plan for the country and how it was implemented in Lawrence.

Brown said they started doing research for the exhibit five months ago on ways the Work Progress Administration put Americans back to work.

Emily Levine, a history center volunteer, is curator for the exhibit.

Brown said Levine and volunteers Kathy Flynn and Linda Seigenthaler went through hundreds of original documents, editorial cartoons, newspaper advertising, books, films, news headlines, photographs and artifacts to show what life was like in Lawrence in 1934 and 1935.

"The problem was how to limit what we had and how to tell the story," Brown said.

The solution was to concentrate on the major topics outlined in Roosevelt's plan — from ball parks and cultural events to public health issues, job training and major projects.

She said Lawrence benefited from the Work Progress Administration by the major projects completed in the city, including the gazebo at South Lawrence Common, road projects, and construction at Lawrence Municipal Airport.

"As citizens, we need to learn what benefits and failures came from the past," Brown said.

In the replica of the tenement, a wooden crate is used as a shelf, with empty bottles from city companies; an ironing board with a broken pad stands near a steel washboard in a traditional pine frame.

On the walls, there's a framed image of the Virgin Mary, calendars from local businesses, including Webster Co. and Lawrence Spa. On the floor is a braided rug made from wool scraps from city mills.

Coupled with that is a photograph of the Lawrence High School class of 1933, which produced local luminaries such as the late Dr. Nina Scarito and the late Mayor John Buckley and photos of members of the Boys Club and employees of a local mill at an outing.

The Lawrence Heritage State Park Gallery is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lawrence Heritage State Park is also hosting its annual free film festival this weekend.

This is the 13th year the festival is being presented. Foreign films are offered this year.

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Exhibit looks at Lawrence in the 1930s
by By Yadira Betances , ybetances@eagletribune.com , Wed Jun 23, 2010, 12:49 AM EDT
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