A Smithson tours the Smithsonian Exhibit in Marlinton

Marlinton, WV – Over the years, I’ve been accused of having a peculiar last name: Smithson. When people have trouble with it, I always tell them it’s just like that little museum in Washington DC. So when I heard that that little museum was coming to Marlinton, I had to go check it out on the first day it was opened.

And I have to tell you, I was not disappointed. The first thing you notice is that there are actually two exhibits in one. The glitzy, high tech approach of the Smithsonian’s Traveling Exhibit “The Way We Worked” tells the story of America and how work has made us great. Then there’s the more home spun, old time timber and photo exhibit put together by the Pocahontas County Historical Society with photo printing help from the Art Council that explores through photos, the work history of our mountain home.

I met Janet Ghigo, whom I know from the Hospital Board meetings and as the Rescue Chief for the BFD. We talked for a while and she was kind enough to share her thoughts about the various displays.

“I think it wonderful, they’ve got a different variety of things that the Smithsonian brought in of types of work and so forth,” she says. “And I’ve been so impressed with what the county put together for their exhibit, their wonderful photos. A lot of them people may have seen if they’ve gone to the county museum, but here you can come and see them all in the context.”

“I think it blends very well [with] the things that are in the Smithsonian exhibit, so I think we can be very proud and I hope a lot of people will come down and just wander through this. It’s very accessible, and there’s little videos and audios on some of the things; the exhibit is put together very nicely. A combination too I think of quotes from works of literature in the county because we’ve got some of the things about Cass are in there as well as poems from Louise McNeil that apply to the pictures; so I think it’s beautifully put together and I think it’s very exciting.”

I also had a chance to talk to Hillsboro resident Roseanna Groves and she gave me a lesson on how to get even more out of the exhibit.

“These little tags, if you have your cell phone, you dial the number, and then put in the code, and you’ll get a story and it will guide through this display,” says Groves, . “on each section that the things are in.”

She also told me that with some of codes that there is a survey at the end of the presentation that will allow visitors to become part of the exhibit.
The Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit, “The Way We Worked” will be on display at the Marlinton Municipal Building Auditorium until October 22nd. If you’d like to volunteer to work with the exhibit, call Michelle at 304-799-4636 or 800-336-7009.