Sunday will be the last day to take a tour of the exhibit The Return to Normalcy: A Life of Leisure in
Wood County, 1920-1939.
The exhibit features then presidential candidate Warren G. Harding, who wanted a return to the pre-World
War I lifestyle or a “return to normalcy.” Soldiers returned from WWI, to their homes in Wood County
with a desire to succeed, to relax, and to enjoy life. Advancements in technology also created
opportunities for fun in this rural community.
As The Return to Normalcy exhibit leaves, the museum is preparing for a new exhibit to open.
Jacob A. Riis: How the Other Half Lives will open on June 16 and run until August 11, 2019. This
traveling exhibit from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ touring program, “NEH on the Road,”
documents the squalid living conditions of New York’s poor immigrants and laborers in “The Gilded Age”
of the early 20th century.
This contrast to the growing wealth of millionaires, such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, inspired many
reforms of working-class housing. Riis was a Danish-born American photographer (1849-1914). This exhibit
was made possible with a donation from Edwin and Irma Wolf.
The museum will be open for self-guided tours Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and weekends from 1-4 p.m.
(closed on government holidays). Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for children, with discounts for
seniors, students and military.
All events detailed at woodcountyhistory.org. The museum is located at 13660 County Home Road.