Pieces of a puzzle contain clues of their own with the curved edges and odd shapes. In the end, they all connect and relate to make sense. Like the curves of a puzzle piece, students at Ball State connected to piece together Wayne County history.
Ron Morris, associate professor of history, sought to explain the origins of the Quaker Trace, Underground Railroad, the National Road and the Whitewater Canal and the formation of the Republican Party in Indiana. The exhibit, "Traces and Trails: Intersections of Wayne County" pieces together the effects of each item on each other and the county.
Wayne County has several impressive museums explaining each of these trails, but none of the museums show the relation the trails had on each another, Morris said. The exhibit features five videos telling the story of each theme, five exhibition panels, catalogs about each theme, and five trunks of artifacts that will travel into classrooms.
The exhibit is currently in the hands of the Indiana Historical Society. Anyone can request the historical society to erect the exhibit for a month to six weeks at no cost, Morris said.
Last semester Morris visited classes across Ball State, sent e-mails to students and asked faculty to help find him the best participants. To be eligible to participate, students had to apply through the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry. The center sponsored the exhibit.
Participants were not required to be history majors. Participant major ranged from geography to philosophy, to political science, to religion, to telecommunications. The students were able to bring their strengths to the group, Morris said.
Jane Schuck, an English education major, also minors in creative writing and history. To Schuck, this project was her calling. Her passion for writing, history, education and her family's Quaker heritage came into play by writing lesson plans for the Quaker trunk. Shuck also wrote a historical fiction narrative about stories centering around Whitewater Canal. Her story will be published in May's Hoosier Packet, published by the Indiana Canal Society. Schuck also enjoyed other parts of the exhibit she helped construct.
"There is so much waiting to be found. I didn't have the time to go back and transcribe," Schuck said about researching the Underground Railroad.
Sophomore Abby Runk, a Fashion Merchandising and Design major in the Honor's College, involved herself in the project because she loves history and meant more than simply digging through a few books. Runk designed the eight-foot exhibit panels and helped execute the opening event in Richmond on Nov. 19.
One challenged Runk faced was how to fit all of the information onto the panels. She said it was difficult to decide which piece of information was too detailed or didn't relate to the panel. The goal for each panel was to give a broad sense of what happened, Runk said.
Runk received 15 credit hours to help her with Honors College requirements. She said it was a huge time commitment as workdays were easily eight to 10 hours. To get the project completed, some even slept at the Virginia Ball Center, Runk said.
"Never would I spend that much time in a normal 15-credit-hours classroom," Runk said.
Students had to speak with historians, preservationists, curators and residents of Wayne County who had stories to tell about the past, Morris said. Field trips took up a bulk of the time, Runk said.
"We're some of the first people to tell this integrated story that these people were living across multiple events," Morris said, "though they weren't living in all the events, their lives cut across these different events."
The group also made a DVD that will be used in parts at Connor Prairie in Fishers, Ind. The exhibit, whether in parts or its entirety is what the project is all about. The exhibit is "designed to be of service to the community and Indiana," Morris said.
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