The Jane Blain Brewer Memorial Library will host Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, from October 30 through December 12. The exhibit will be on display in the Mt. Olive Volunteer Fire Department meeting room, located across the street from the library, and is open to the public Mondays-Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.
Crossroads is a traveling exhibit offered by the Museum on Main Street division of the Smithsonian Institution. It consists of six free-standing display units incorporating photographs, text, and numerous interactive elements. Requiring a minimum of 750 sq. ft., the exhibit is designed for smaller venues to achieve Museum on Main Street’s goal of bringing the Smithsonian to small town America. The exhibit is free and open to the public to visit. The Mississippi tour of Crossroads is sponsored by a generous grant from Entergy Mississippi.
Crossroads: Change in Rural America offers small towns a chance to look at their own paths to highlight the changes that affected their fortunes over the past century. The exhibition will prompt discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that occurred.
In addition to hosting the exhibit, the Jane Blain Brewer Memorial Library will also host a series of programs that are free and open to the public.
Crossroads events in Mt. Olive:
October 31, 10am: Traditional Fiddle Music of the Rural South presentation, Bill Rogers
November 7, 10am: “The Impact of Rural Electrification on South Mississippi” presentation, Steve Bryan
November 14, 10am: “Railroads in the Development of South Mississippi” presentation, Rev. David Price
November 21, 10am: “Centennial Farms in the Mt. Olive Area” presentation, June Ellis and Nell Cobb
November 28, 10am: “Hometown Makeover” screening
December 5, 10am: “From Snapshots to a Collage: Exploring Rural Mississippi Through Population Studies” presentation, Dr. John Green
December 12, 10am: “Mt. Olive: History and Development” presentation, Sandra Boyd
