By Paul Leach
Correspondent
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Even before the days of automobiles, Americans liked to get up and go.
It’s how the frontiers were tamed, the West was won and the country was populated.
A new exhibit at the Cleveland-Bradley County Public Library wants to be a roadmap to those journeys.
The “Journey Stories” exhibition opens a six-week run today, a Smithsonian Museum on Main Street project that tells how American travel experiences shaped our nation.
“Americans are a mobile people. These are stories of how America came to be,” said Renee Lastra, co-chairwoman of the exhibition’s host committee. “It is an interesting project to say the least. It has plenty of wonderful stories.”
IF YOU GO* What: Journey Stories exhibition* Where: Cleveland-Bradley Public Library, 795 Church St. NE* When: Today-Sept. 30* Hours: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-8 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday; 1-8 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday* Information: 423-472-2163 or info@clevelandlibrary.org
“Journey Stories,” co-sponsored by Ocoee Regional Multicultural Services and Humanities Tennessee, will rotate topics each week, exploring the travel experiences of American Indians and blacks, of those motivated by religion, industrialization, war and immigration. Programming includes guest speakers, displays and artifacts from Bradley County’s own travel stories.
“Native Americans’ Journeys” kicks off the exhibition with a reception at 1 p.m. today. Russell Townsend, tribal historic preservation officer for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, is scheduled to speak Monday at 7 p.m.
“This exhibit focuses on such a core aspect of any community – how the people who lived here or left here shaped our community and defined our culture,” said Melissa Woody, vice president of the Convention & Visitors Bureau at the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce.
Other Native American programs include “The Journeys of John Ross” (a re-enactment through letters), a Trail of Tears documentary and a Cherokee flute concert.