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Date: | Wed, 20 Sep 1995 14:07:14 -0400 |
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Hello Folks,
I have just caught up to your postings on this topic and have
had several thoughts as I read through them. Please excuse
my coming in late on the topic and the disconnected
nature of my comments.
As the thread began I couldn't help thinking about
agricultural fairs. These were started in the early 19th
century as a way to diseminate information on the best
breeds, machinery, etc., for the promotion of agricultural
production. The horse race snuck-in under the guise of
informing people about the best horses. The other
entertaining aspects of the fairs were close on the heels
of those horses. Now, of course, the fairs that continue
are seen by most people as entertainment and the cute
animals of the 4-H exhibits as just that. However, many
fairs now have their own museums of old farm machinery
and one of the biggest, the Big-E in Springfield, MA, has
a whole village, Storrowton Village, which is itself an
AAM member museum. Interesting mix of education
and entertainment. (Big-E is short for the Eastern
States Exposition.)
A reference I recommend to Eric (and all) regarding
visualizing wilderness would be: *Wilderness and the
American Mind* by historian Roderick Nash, published
by Yale.
[And, as an aside, I was interested in Kevin McCartney's
description of himself as being part of the "Radical
Middle." I have jokingly characterized myself as being, "on
the conservative fringe of the counterculture." Although
by now that statement does sort of date me.]
Edward Baker
Mystic Seaport Museum
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