People are buzzing with activity and hammers are flying with a purpose at the Delta Gateway Museum, 210 West Main Street, as construction workers are yet again making progress with brining more of the DGM dream to life.
The workers have begun the (approximately) one-month process of transforming a portion of the museum into the venue's first professional exhibit designed to take visitors back in time to the Nodena Phase (1400-1600 AD) era.
The Native American exhibit is the first of four planned exhibits, with the other three featuring the formation of the Delta region, agriculture and modernization (with an emphasis on the recycling industry). The Native American exhibit was chosen first based upon a poll that measured which exhibit the community desired first.
Each museum exhibit will cost a minimum of $50,000 and continued community involvement and generous donations are a must for success to be realized.
The exhibit currently being built, estimated to cost approximately $58,000, will not be paid for out of the city budget. The museum did, however, receive a GIF (General Improvement Fund) Grant from the State of Arkansas in the amount of $10,000 and another $10,000 from the City Advertising Tourism and Promotions Commission (CATPC). The rest of the monies came from individuals and some businesses through events such as the one the museum is hosting this weekend.
Saturday, the museum will be hosting their primary fund raising event of the year, their 5th Annual Heritage Party, with a theme to "celebrate our agricultural roots with a 1930s barn dance". For more information regarding the event, see lifestyles page 2.
Fundraising methods such as being held this weekend will become even more important for continued success and growth of the museum, particularly in light of the fact that Governor Asa Hutchinson has called for their elimination during a January 12 speech to the Arkansas Municipal League. Therefore, it is hoped that area businesses and agricultural companies will step in and fill the void.
Also on display right now, is a temporary exhibit that explains the civil rights experience in Blytheville. The exhibit examines two specific events from the very early 1970s and through the examination of those two events, some clarity is provided for visitors regarding what it was like to be African American in Blytheville in those years and obstacles that had to be overcome in order to bring justice and equality to their lives.
Hester said that in June, the Smithsonian Institute's traveling exhibit "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America" will be at the DGM. Securing the exhibit is quite a prestigious honor for the young museum in that that Arkansas Humanities Council has chosen only six sites in Arkansas to host the travelling exhibit and the other five are the Dallas County Museum (Fordyce), the Cross County Historical Society (Wynne), the Delta Cultural Center (Helena), Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia) and the Old Independence Regional Museum (Batesville).
The exhibit will "offer visitors a unique opportunity to explore the history and culture of sports in America. Arkansas host sites will work with the Arkansas Humanities Council, schools, community organizations, and scholars to offer programs and exhibitions specific to their communities and surrounding areas."
Plans are also already underway for the museum's second permanent exhibit, which will feature the Delta's agricultural history. Those wishing to purchase tickets to the event this weekend, or seeking more information about the museum or ways in which they can volunteer, donate or help, please call 870-824-2346, email lhester43@yahoo.com or visit the museum on the web at www.deltagatewaymuseum.org.
thenry@blythevillecourier.com