History of Working Exhibit Comes to Hartland

Photographs taken from our country’s history in an interactive exhibit are now on display at the Cromaine District Library, village location.

The Way We Worked tells the story of how, why and where we worked over the past 150 years and according to Marketing Manager Carol Taggart, the free exhibit is an interesting piece of our nation’s history that involves people of all ages.

“There’s a whole section on small children and how kids were in the labor force,” Taggart said.

Families touring the exhibit will be able to see images of 9 and 10-year-old kids working in factories, farms or selling newspapers on the corner and shows a history, according to Taggart, that children today could never imagine. 

Coordinated by the Michigan Humanities Council, the Cromaine District Library will be the third of six Michigan sites to host the exhibition and Taggart says it was a great opportunity to explore the roots of working in America.

The Way We Worked exhibit runs through Feb. 9 and is free to the public. Reservationsare required for large groups.

The interactive exhibit includes images of Michigan workers and also allows patrons to call in and listen to pre-recorded messages. Some of them include local voices of working community members such as Cathy Jones from Kahuna Coffee who speaks of her experiences as a small business owner in Hartland. 

The library has also included some of Hartland's own work with a photo exhibit by community photographer D. James Galbraith, along with resident audio interviews from the 1970s.

"We have a lot of stuff that's relevant to the local community," Taggart said. "What Hartland was like in the past and how Hartland has been shaped."

Also, in partnership with the exhibit and local connection, the Hartland Museum will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for patrons to visit and see the "real life" history of Hartland. 

There will also be upcoming program events scheduled around the exhibit that includes speakers from Michigan Works, John Beck the State Scholar for The Way We Worked exhibit and Lora Parisien who will speak about her experiences in the Peace Corps.

For more information or to register for events, visit the Cromaine District Library online or call 810-632-5200.