Smithsonian Institution Hometown Teams Exhibition Tour Brings Generations Together in Federalsburg
Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America, a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition, tours the state through a partnership with the Maryland Humanities Council. The Federalsburg Museum, the second stop on its tour, welcomes the public to join them on April 4th at 10am for a ribbon cutting and opening reception, a performance by the Colonel Richardson High School Marching Band. The Historical Society encourages attendees to wear their favorite team jersey or uniform for the grand opening and ribbon cutting. The Federalsburg Museum is located at 100 Covey-Williams Alley in Federalsburg, Maryland.
“We are honored to be able to host Hometown Teams, How Sports Shape America. Our journey gathering stories and materials and reaching out to the community has been amazingly rewarding. Young and old will experience events and relive memories, from Little League to High School baseball, uniforms to marching bands, soapbox derby races to NASCAR, and so much more. We thank all of those in the community who have supported our effort to share this story. We can’t wait for Opening Day!” – Wendy Garner, Federalsburg Historical Society
The Federalsburg Historical Society aims to use the Hometown Teams exhibition to cultivate multi-generational audiences. The exhibition is produced locally in partnership with Caroline County Public Schools and Win Transport. As a result of this partnership, all Caroline County third graders will take field trips to view the exhibition. The Federalsburg Historical Society has been preparing for the arrival of Hometown Teams during the last year. They kicked off the project in November 2014 with a “Memories Day,” hosting a luncheon reunion for former Federalsburg Junior and High School athletes from 1947-67. Recently, on March 7th, they hosted a reunion event to bring multiple generations together to celebrate athlete alumnae and coaches from Colonel Richardson High School. Over 100 guests attended. The Federalsburg museum is located at 100 Covey-Williams Alley in Federalsburg, Maryland.
“We are really excited and thankful for being selected as a host site for the Smithsonian’s Home Town Teams Exhibit. The Maryland Humanities Council has helped us immensely in our preparation. This exhibit will allow our community to present a first class learning experience for all ages to the entire Eastern Shore.” – Richard Wheatley, Board President Federalsburg Historical Society
Visitors will also experience a companion exhibit celebrating Federalsburg’s soapbox derby and baseball legacy. Older soapbox derby cars will hang from the ceiling in a large front room. Youth will be able to climb in and out of a real soapbox derby car, and all will be able to view a black-and-white video featuring American professional baseball infielder and manager Ducky Detweiler, and what the Federal Park ball field looked like up until the late 1940’s when the team left town. (Photo: 1954 Federalsburg School Baseball Team, courtesy of the Federalsburg Historical Society)
Special events are planned throughout the exhibition’s run, including a tailgate party and ice cream social at the Museum after a Colonial Richardson High School game.
Hometown Teams runs at the Federalsburg Museum April 4—May 23, 2015. Learn more at www.historicfederalsburg.org or call (410) 924-7573.
Hometown Teams Brings The Smithsonian To Maryland Communities
Hometown Teams is the fourth Museum on Main Street (MoMS) project brought to our state by the Maryland Humanities Council. The traveling exhibition explores our nation’s love of sports and its connection to American culture and identity. The interactive exhibit celebrates the history of sports in our nation, breaking color barriers, fans and fandom, and sports in film and literature and more. Each host site develops a companion exhibit and educational programs for their communities for a seven-week period that tells local sports stories.
Local host sites unearth stories, like the Hot Sox ball field in Galesville, soapbox derby champions hailing from Federalsburg, Cumberland’s Pig Tail and Queen City softball leagues, and athletes who rose to fame at the state’s many HBCUs. Howard County resident and Paralympian athlete, Tatyana McFadden, who has made a lasting international impact on her respective sports, is also part of the national Smithsonian exhibition.
Hometown Teams Maryland Tour
Banneker-Douglass Museum February 7 – March 28, 2015
Federalsburg Historical Society April 4 – May 23, 2015
Allegany Museum May 30—July 18, 2015
Galesville Community Center July 25 – September 12, 2015
Howard County Historical Society September 19 – November 7
MdStories.com Highlights Maryland Sports History and Culture in 2015
The Maryland Humanities Council created mdstories.com to promote Hometown Teams and to celebrate our state’s unique sports culture and history. Follow the blog online or via twitter at @MarylandStories. Visitors are welcome to share content, learn more about Hometown Teams, and enter the “Coach of the Community” contest.
Nominate Your Coach for the “Coach of the Community” Award!
NOTE: Western Maryland residents should submit their nominations by June 1st. The local winner will be announced June 14th. Coaches do much more than develop athletic skills in their players; they are an integral part of the sports-loving experience, and there is no game without them. The public is encouraged to nominate their favorite local coach at mdstories.com and complete the phrase “My coach is my hometown hero because…” One winner will be chosen for each of the Hometown Teams host sites and will receive an award and a set of team t-shirts. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the 2015 Army-Navy game in Philadelphia.
Contest sponsor: Nightmare Graphics.
About Museum on Main Street
Museum on Main Street (MoMS), is a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service program that teams up with state humanities councils to bring high-quality traveling exhibits to small communities through their own Main Street museums, historical societies, and other cultural venues. Residents enthusiastically engage with exhibition content, and diverse community members come together to share and celebrate their heritage. Hometown Teams is a program of The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Maryland Humanities Council. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.