COUNTDOWN TO NASHVILLE:
11 DAYS!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
History That Matters
You might think that the people of Nashville would like nothing better than to forget about the flooding from last May. And for the most part, I would guess that you're probably right. But not the librarians (and historians)!
As I was meandering around the internet looking for more things to post on the blog, I came across this article. The public libraries of Nashville are working on "collecting oral histories, still images, text, audio, video and documents of the aftermath." Historians know that history matters--that the flood was an event that has forever changed the state of Tennessee!
It is the kind of thing people will tell their children and their grandchildren about. For years to come on the anniversaries of the flood, folks will gather around the tables, and talk about how the flood changed their lives: how severe the damage was, the struggle to rebuild, and, ultimately, the joy of re-establishing their lives.
And now the local library will be a place they can go to remember the story of the flood and Nashville's triumphant return.
The idea reminds me a lot of the Johnstown Flood Museum. (Further proving my point of the similarities between between Nashville and Pittsburgh that I talked about here!) It's a living memorial to the tragedy of 1889, also in the month of May. I had the chance to visit the museum a few years ago and was overwhelmed by the tragic history of it all ... but was encouraged by Johnstown's resurgence in the years following their flood.
And now ... we'll get to be a part history through this mission trip in Nashville! I mean, we may not make it into the library's digital flood project ... but our deeds will be recorded in the book on high! (And that's the history that really matters!)
As I was meandering around the internet looking for more things to post on the blog, I came across this article. The public libraries of Nashville are working on "collecting oral histories, still images, text, audio, video and documents of the aftermath." Historians know that history matters--that the flood was an event that has forever changed the state of Tennessee!
It is the kind of thing people will tell their children and their grandchildren about. For years to come on the anniversaries of the flood, folks will gather around the tables, and talk about how the flood changed their lives: how severe the damage was, the struggle to rebuild, and, ultimately, the joy of re-establishing their lives.
And now the local library will be a place they can go to remember the story of the flood and Nashville's triumphant return.
The idea reminds me a lot of the Johnstown Flood Museum. (Further proving my point of the similarities between between Nashville and Pittsburgh that I talked about here!) It's a living memorial to the tragedy of 1889, also in the month of May. I had the chance to visit the museum a few years ago and was overwhelmed by the tragic history of it all ... but was encouraged by Johnstown's resurgence in the years following their flood.
And now ... we'll get to be a part history through this mission trip in Nashville! I mean, we may not make it into the library's digital flood project ... but our deeds will be recorded in the book on high! (And that's the history that really matters!)
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