My Role in Cumberland County Historical Society’s A Woman’s Place: The Changing Role of Women in Cumberland County Exhibition

This thesis project involved the creation and installation of a major exhibition at the Cumberland County Historical Society: “A Woman’s Place: The Changing Role of Women in Cumberland County.” This document details the steps that I took in assisting Rachel Knapp, Museum Curator, and Peggy Huffman, the former Assistant Curator, in creating the exhibit. The exhibit highlights a diverse group of women who impacted Cumberland County by breaking out of traditional feminine roles and entering into the public sphere. The featured women were chosen partly on class and race in order to ensure that the exhibit represented all women. Prior to the selection, we created a timeline that began with (local) Native Americans extended to the early twenty-first century; this timeline reflected the progression of a woman’s role outside the home. The captions tied local happenings to mirroring national events and time periods. Throughout the exhibition, we showcased women’s fashion on mannequins and curated select artifacts to enhance the women’s stories. Additionally, Ms. Knapp and I created two museum interactives: the first demonstrates the steps to the Foxtrot and second, called Strike a Pose, presented fabrics used in clothing paired along with facts. Additionally, I created two Windows to History displays that inform visitors about Eisenhower’s Birthday bash at Hershey and local World War II Army Corps veteran, Mona Lucille. “A Woman’s Place: The Changing Role of Women in Cumberland County” premiered April 9, 2021, with reception open to the public.