What is an exhibit if no one can get in the building to see it? Find out how our museum staff is coping.
A Smithsonian traveling exhibit, Water/Ways, will be at the Wake Forest Historical Museum from Aug. 30 through Oct. 10, but because of the coronavirus pandemic the museum will be closed to visitors for part or all of those six weeks, depending on whether the state is able to further reopen.
In the absence of human visitors, the museum is offering a series of free online talks and book clubs that will explore the cultural, social and spiritual significance of water in our community. Those are:
*The Power of Citizen Science with Dr. Caren Cooper and Crowd the Tap, Thursday, Sept. 10 from 7 to 8 p.m. Learn how you can help create the first robust national inventory of water pipe materials in the United States!
Dr. Caren Cooper will explore the history of citizen science and explain how we can work with scientists to research and discover solutions to real world problems. Dr. Cooper will also tell us about Crowd the Tap, a project that promotes access to safe drinking water by assisting individuals to investigate the pipes that deliver drinking water to their homes.
*Virtual book club, Waters of the World by Sarah Dry, Tuesday, Sept. 8, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. In partnership with Page 158 Books, the museum is excited to announce our first book club, featuring Waters of the World: The Story of the Scientists Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Our Oceans, Atmosphere, and Ice Sheets and Made the Planet Whole by Sarah Dry.
Waters of the World explores the lives of six individuals whose discoveries laid the foundation for modern climate science, including John Tyndall, Gilbert Walker, and Joanne Simpson.
*First in Moonshine: North Carolina and the Illegal Liquor Business, a talk by Dr. Daniel S. Pierce. Thursday, Sept. 10, from 7 to 8 p.m. From the mountains to the coast, the history of distilling in North Carolina provides an example of how water shapes our history and culture. Even the word “whiskey” can be rooted to the phrase aqua vitae, or “water of life.”
The history of moonshining especially shows how people put water to work in creative and resourceful ways. Hulda Nines was one of these resourceful North Carolinians. Nines ran a still on the banks of the Neuse River in northern Wake County for ten years, until her secret operation was discovered in 1902.
Dr. Pierce’s talk will explore North Carolina’s long, tumultuous and on-going relationship with moonshine. Since the Civil War and the passage of the federal excise tax on liquor, North Carolinians—of all races, ethnicities, ages, and genders and in every part of the state—have participated in the illegal liquor business in some shape, form, or fashion. Pierce will discuss how moonshining was an important economic activity, shaped politics and community relations, and helped create a distinctive culture in the state (think NASCAR, Andy Griffith, and “Thunder Road”). Pierce will also particularly focus on moonshining in and around Wake County.
Dr. Daniel S. Pierce is professor of history at the University of North Carolina Asheville. He is the author of Tar Hell Lightnin’: How Secret Stills and Fast Cars Made North Carolina the Moonshine Capitol of the World. His previous books include Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France.
*Virtual book club, The Waterman’s Song, with special guest and author David Cecelski, Thursday, Oct. 8, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. In partnership with Page 158 Books, the museum is excited to announce our second book club, featuring The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina, featuring special guest and author David Cecelski.
Join fellow book lovers as we read The Waterman’s Song and learn about the lives of black boatmen, pilots, ferrymen, fishermen, sailors, and artisans in nineteenth-century North Carolina. From the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Outer Banks, The Waterman’s Song demonstrates the variety and significance of African American maritime culture in North Carolina.
Special guest and author David S. Cecelski will provide opening remarks before participants launch into a discussion about the book.
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