April 10, 2008

IHS ‘You Are There’ exhibit takes visitors inside period grocery store

By Rod King
If you’ve ever wanted to take a step back in time to the “good old days”, the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS) new interactive exhibit is the place to do it.
In fact, visitors actually step right through a large photo of a 1940s era Terre Haute neighborhood grocery into a detailed reproduction of the store, complete with period grocer, butcher and shopper.
It’s all part of IHS’s You Are There: 1945 Hoosier Home Front exhibit that opens April 16. As Eloise Scroggins, coordinator of IHS Exhibitions Research and Collections, says, “The You Are There experience gets at the heart of why so many people love history in the first place. Any history lover will tell you they have longed to step inside some photograph, painting or film that depicts a time long ago and experience the scene fully.”
The photo of the grocery, Citizens Market, has been replicated meticulously from the scuffed wooden floors and big cash register to signs on the walls and canned goods on the shelves that include Mozart pork n’ beans, American Lady peas and Topmost sweet corn.
Actor/Interpreters portray store owner Ernest Zwerner in his wrinkled apron and shopper Mrs. Watson in her wool coat, dress and flowered scarf. She’ll be doing her weekly shopping while visitors listen in, ask questions and enter into their conversations. Other period participants who may drift in and out of the scene include the butcher weighing meat and filling orders, and a youngster picking up a loaf of bread. An usherette from the nearby movie theater may even run in to show Mr. Zwerner the letter she just received from her fiancé overseas.
IHS staff members began studying the World War II era home front nine months ago in order to build the “set” with faithful attention to detail and historic accuracy. They made numerous trips to the original site of the grocery (the building was completed in 1910 and is still standing, but condemned), and interviewed people familiar with the family, the store, and of course, the community.
In addition, they rifled through antique malls for ration books and other props and spent hours on line learning about 1940s canning labels, cleaning products and perusing the 960-page Clabber Girl database for needed labels.
Designers then used the mountain of research to assemble the store, which takes up about half of the Rapp Family Gallery at the west end of the first floor. Visitors receive some historical background information on what they can expect to see and experience before entering. The original photo of the store appears dramatically before them, the doors open and they enter to find Mr. Zwerner at work behind the worn counter.
In addition to the You Are There experience, visitors can step into the IHS History Lab where they can roll up their sleeves and get hands-on with history. Here they learn about tools and methods of treatment used in the IHS Conservation Lab to preserve letters, maps, diaries, newspapers and other historical documents.
With INvestigation Stations, yet another new experience, they can be history sleuths who study clues, ask questions, analyze and record findings to piece together conclusions about the people, places and events that shaped our history.
You Are There, History Lab and Investigation Stations are just some of the new HIS experiences. Another called Anything Goes features a 1940s nightclub in where participants can dance and enjoy the music of Indiana’s own Cole Porter. It opened Valentine’s Day and will continue on selected dates throughout the year.
Also, Destination Indiana, a time travel program, with visitors navigating back and fourth through the past based on his or her topical interests will open in August. One can check out the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument in downtown Indianapolis, for instance, and through audio visual technology, find out about its history and architecture.
The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Historical Center, home of the Indiana Historical Society, is located at 450 W. Ohio St. Parking is free at the back of the building. You Are There, History Lab and Investigation Stations are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. There is no admission charge.