History exhibit open through December in new campus gallery space

Vivid images, audio and video recordings and real stories shed light into the journeys of immigrants coming to America as part of a history exhibition at Roanoke College through mid-December.

"Journey Stories" is produced by Museum on Main Street, a program by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service which partners with state humanities councils to bring historical exhibitions to small towns.  The exhibition fronts downtown Salem's Main Street and is housed in a newly renovated first floor gallery space inside the College's Bank Building.

Terri Cobb '95, a registrar for Museum on Main Street, helped to bring this former traveling exhibit to the College. Cobb arranged for it to make a special appearance at Roanoke after Dr. Mark Miller, a history professor at the College, contacted her to ask about an exhibition that could be featured in the new gallery space.

The timing was perfect to send "Journey Stories" to Salem, Cobb said. It was closing in California and shipping back to the East Coast, after traveling to 30 different states spanning the past six years.

"It's great to have it out one more time and at my alma mater," said Cobb, who was part of the team that created the exhibition.

She came to Salem on Oct. 14-15 to clean the exhibit and install it, with help from several Roanoke students. While on campus, Cobb also discussed the exhibit's significance with some Roanoke students in a public history class. Cobb majored in history and international relations at Roanoke.

Miller already has received requests from school and community groups interested in visiting the free exhibition, which is open to the public most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"It tells the important story of the settlement of America," Miller said. "It's accessible and awfully engaging on a broader level."