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Smithsonian exhibit begins Saturday
Published 7:29am Thursday, February 4, 2010It’s always exciting when a Smithsonian Institution exhibit comes to town. That’s certainly true for county museum volunteer David Thronsedt. A museum volunteer the past six years, he was happy to help on Thursday morning when fellow volunteers and museum staff members set up the exhibit.
The Smithsonian exhibit, “Between Fences,” and the Historical Society’s concurrent exhibit, by the same name, will be open to the general public starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6.
The Smithsonian exhibit runs through March 20. Weekday hours at the Otter Tail County Historical Society Museum are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with weekend hours running from 1 to 4 p.m.
General admission to the exhibit is $4 for adults, $1 for ages 5 to 11, and members and children four and under are free. Large group tours are welcome. Guided tours can be arranged.
“David took a lead role in setting up the Historical Society’s “Between Fences” exhibit, and he came on board right away to help set up the Smithsonian exhibit,” said Historical Society Executive Director Chris Schuelke. “We’re happy that Dave’s wife, Sara, also is active with this project.”
The Thronsedts retired from Burlington Northern in the Twin Cities and moved to Fergus Falls in 2004. They quickly discovered, in their words, “a great staff at the museum and other volunteers who’ve become good friends of ours.”
David also has built shelves for farm toys and other items, installed additions to the various exhibits (including a wood duck at the wildlife exhibit) and has made repairs and touch-ups when needed at the county museum, located along Lincoln Avenue on the west side of Fergus Falls.
“David is a great handyman, as noted by his work with the ‘Between Fences’ exhibits,” said Schuelke. “He does many things for us here, and does them all very well.”
The Smithsonian exhibit explores the ordinary — fences — and delivers the extraordinary, said Schuelke.
“It uses fences, even though we may hardly notice them, to illustrate how they dominate our lives and our history,” he said. “The settling of the United States, as we know it, could not have occurred without fences.”
The fence, according to Smithsonian Institution officials, is not only a functional object but also a powerful symbol.
People coming to see the exhibits at the county museum in Fergus Falls will discover how tightly the fence is entwined with politics, industry, and daily life. “Between Fences” encourages visitors to feel the significance of a crucial aspect of their personal and national heritage.
Between Fences, a Museum on Main Street exhibition, is organized by the Smithsonian Institution in cooperation with the Minnesota Humanities Center.
The Kaddatz Galleries in downtown Fergus Falls are also participating. They’re hosting their own temporary exhibit featuring art work relevant to the subject of the “Between Fences” exhibit from Feb. 9 to May 9.
For more information contact the Otter Tail County Historical Society, 1110 Lincoln Avenue West, Fergus Falls, at 218-736-6038 or log on to www.otchs.org.
