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 Roanoke. Cobb arranged for it to make a special appearance at the College after Dr. Mark Miller, a Roanoke history professor, 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.
She came to Salem on Oct. 14-15 to clean the exhibit and install it, with help from several Roanoke students. Cobb majored in history and international relations at Roanoke.
“The great thing about ‘Journey Stories,’ it’s talking about transportation through personal stories, through quotes and recordings,” Cobb said. “You hear personal impressions.”
The exhibition is open daily to the public.
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