Voices 2000

 
Sharon voices 2000, an exhibit featuring the voices, stories, opinions and ideas of Sharon residents, will open on Saturday, June 17th and will run through May of 2001. The exhibit, which will include interactive components designed for visitors of all ages, will trace Sharon history and life of the last 250 years using both primary source material and contemporary oral histories.
Sharon voices 2000 will be part of an ongoing millenium project to document Sharon at the turn of the twenty-first century. In addition to the exhibit, the Historical Society will be compiling a rich collection of community resources to be preserved for posterity including oral history interviews and photographs. "The goal of this project is multi-fold," said museum director Liz Shapiro. "We want to make the community more aware of what we do at the Historical Society, while we compile what will be a tremendous resource – almost along the lines of a time capsule – for the future. The project will encompass as many people from Sharon as possible, from the youngest to the oldest, all joining together to share their opinions, thoughts and memories of life in Sharon."

 
Interviews have already been conducted with Sharon residents ranging in age from eleven to eighty-eight! Topics that have been explored include education, social life, industry, transportation and religious life. Articles on display - some for the first time in over twenty years - include miniature portraits of Mr. & Mrs. George King, early Sharon residents, dated approximately 1811; silver pieces belonging to Connecticut governor John Cotton Smith; and a prayer bench and altar painting (on loan from Immaculate Conception Church, Amenia, NY) from St. Genevieve’s Church, built and run by Sharon’s famed (or infamous!) Madame Eckel!

 

Come visit and enjoy the exhibit. Museum hours beginning Saturday, June 17 and running through mid-October are Friday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.