Mockingbird Exhibit
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on February 26, 2004 1:57 PM
People have the chance to relive or learn more about the 1960s thanks to a new exhibit at the Wayne County Museum.
The exhibit called, "When the Mockingbird Landed: The Changing World of the Early '60s," opens today at the museum at the corner of William and Mulberry streets and will run through June.
The Wayne County Historical Association was still planning, as of this morning, to hold a reception with refreshments and period music at 5:30 tonight. The event is free and open to the public.
However, people planning to attend should call 734-5023 to make sure the event has not been postponed.
The exhibit has been in the planning stages since November and is being done in conjunction with the Wayne County Reads program, which encourages everyone to read "To Kill A Mockingbird."
Tara Humphries, public information officer with Wayne Community College, and Matt Shaw, a reporter at the Goldsboro News-Argus, have been researching the time period and have brought many authentic items together to bring the exhibit to life.
"The whole thing has been a learning experience for us," said Ms. Humphries.
The exhibit shows how Wayne County, North Carolina and the United States faced the time between 1960 and 1965.
It has four display cases containing a variety of memorabilia, including a first edition copy of the novel. One display case includes 1963 and 1964 Goldsboro High School yearbooks that show Glenwood Earl Burden, the one black student who attended the school at that time.
It also has pictures of the Goldsboro library at the time, other books and newspapers from that era, replicas of "Mockingbird" movie posters, Henry Belk's original typewriter and copies of his editorials on racial harmony, and a 1959 Goldsboro and Mount Olive phone book.
The centerpiece is information on sports, science and technology, business and economy, and arts and entertainment during the time.
Visitors will also have the chance to write their thoughts about the exhibit and their experiences from that time period in a book, which will become a part of the exhibit. There will also be music playing reminiscent of that time during the reception. The exhibit will probably be up until June.
"We really want people to come by and see it," said Nancy Delia, president of the Wayne County Historical Association.
The museum's hours are from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.