A Docent's Journey

A Docent's Journey

Laura Taylor

Laura Taylor

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The Journey Stories Exhibition at the Hazlehurst Depot Museum was a life experience for me. Through my job at the Copiah County Office of Cultural Affairs I was put on loan to the museum for the exhibition. I work through the Senior Aids Program from Co-Lin College in Wesson, Mississippi and the assignment was a surprise to me. This was the first time I’d ever been a docent. At 81 years old, it wasn’t something that I necessarily had on my bucket list, but I love new experiences and this one is one I will always treasure.

Since I’m a people person, the visitors were my particular enjoyment. We had people from all walks of life. The older people said they remember what life was like back then or told stories that their parents told them about their early days. There were a lot of railroad men who came to the exhibit. They stayed the longest retelling stories about a time gone-by. The younger children were amazed to see how hard life was. They liked to see the stories about the wagon trains and cattle drives--about the Trail of Tears by the Native Americans and were touched to know how many lost their lives on that long march. The little ones liked to punch the buttons to hear the voices and families would stand together listening to stories.

My father worked at Ford Motors in Michigan when I was growing up and I found the Ford display especially relevant to me. It brought back memories of my father taking me to River Rouge Plant when I was very young. My strongest memory is seeing hundreds of people standing outside a building. He said that he brought me with him because he wanted me to see “The biggest strike in the history of the United States.” There must have been good reason for the strike. In the photographic display the people looked like they had worked hard for a long time. I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Some of the visitors commented on the harshness of how the people looked in the photographs.

As a docent for the Journey Stories Exhibition I learned something new every day often from the visitors who would tell their own stories. None of the visitors who came to the exhibit knew what to expect. We live in a small rural community in Mississippi and exhibitions like this are for the cities. It was interesting for me to see visitor’s reactions to the beautiful standing, interactive pieces that the Smithsonian had sent us. I was surprised that everyone seemed to get something new from each display and those new ideas broadened my own view. When visitors were leaving they often said they wanted to come back and hoped that we would be chosen to receive another exhibition. Everyone had something nice to say. I urged visitors to come back again because one look just wasn’t enough.

Laura Taylor
Docent
Copiah County Office of Cultural Affairs