HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES_WWI Commemoration Committee_03-14-18 Oshkosh WWI Commemoration Committee
MINUTES
3/14/18
Present: Becky Matzke, Gabe Loiacono, Bob Campbell, Brad Larson, Karla Szekeres, Deb
Daubert
Update on events and projects since last meeting—
• Gabe—standees
• Media attention— Fox 11 story picked up from UWO marketing division story;
student newspaper also did a story.
• Karla will keep the master schedule of moving standees, locations. E-mail her
about distributing. She added all the locations for standees on website.
• Becky—WWI music event, Oshkosh Public Library, OPL WWI film festival, January 2018
Discussion of future events—
• Oshkosh Public Museum —WWI exhibit,June 17— Oct. 7, 2018.
Deb Daubert, OPM —exhibit "For Home and Country" will focus on artifacts, personal
angle. Gallery in four sections: 1) patriotic propaganda; using audio wands—will have
music recordings, readings of letters. 2) "A Long Way from Home"— both training and
overseas, arriving at war, women's involvement, sickness; 3) Nightmare of Battlefield—
in a trench, rats; with wand can listen to sounds of battle, letters; gas and personal
items; 4) "Remembering Forever"—aftermath at home; casualties, shell shock, injuries,
Red Cross and agencies to help.
Greenhouse is growing poppies which will be displayed out front; people will be able to
make a poppy at the end.
Gabe— UWO first-year experience classes—three taught by different professors in the
fall have WWI topics. May come to visit the museum's exhibit. Becky also teaching
Ripon class on WWI —visit also.
Plan a member event for the fall (which gets better attendance than summer) and a
public event also? Maybe in September, closer to end of exhibit. Include high school
singers doing songs from the archives. Becky will check with high school choir directors
once our date or dates are set.
Brad has checked with reenactors, but they have not gotten back to him. Will give up on
that idea for now.
The committee will ask Susan Maxwell of UWO Art History—could she give a talk about
the art of the propaganda posters?Also art of WWI?This might be a good part of the
member and/or public events.
•
UWO—WWI symposium, 2018— November? October?
o Gabe will check with history department about setting a date. Idea of modeling it
after the past fall's Luther symposium — lots of attendance and participation.
• Talks and presentations in 2018
• OPL talks scheduled for May, including Brad— May 8 on 150th machine gun
battalion. Brad also talking on May 16 here to Learning in Retirement group.
• Bob—talk about doing some WWI aviation at this year's EAA Airventure. Karla
will link to any event on museum Facebook page.
• "Armistice Day" commemoration event(s), 2018
• Sunday, Nov. 11, 1918
• Line Main Street with flags and bunting for that day?
• Ask the Northwestern to run a story on the armistice in 1918 that weekend
• Ask local churches to ring bells at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 (as was done in 1918).
• Brad reported that Parks Board agreed to change name of Rainbow Park back to
Rainbow Memorial Park, but has been no action since then. Brad will ask Ray
Mauer. Maybe incorporate a name change ceremony into armistice
commemoration?
• Becky—can draft story for Northwestern for anniversary of armistice.
• Karla —will plan a story or stories about the armistice, information about events,
a park name change (if it happens) for the fall Muse. It would come out end of
August, run for Sept-Nov.