We are excited because the Montgomery Museum of Art & History and the Museum Market on Main have reopened!
Museum Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:30-4:30, and Saturday 1-4
Market on Main Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11-6
While the Montgomery Museum will be closed at least through the remainder of March, we felt it was important to make the interesting work currently on exhibit in the Blacksburg High School Art Show available. These images are to be enjoyed online – use of them without express permission from the artists is prohibited.
“Pierced Luminary,” Eleanor Lee, Glazed Earthenware;
“Untitled Tile,” Sophia McGrady, Glazed Earthenware; “Cat and Mouse,” Lydia Rabbaa, Painted Earthenware; “Slab Pot,” Sophia McGrady, Glazed Earthenware
Froggy Friends, Leah Van Gelder, Graphite and
Stump Spirit of the Forest, Eleanor Kocz, Ink
Sphinx Cat, Eleanor Kocz, Ink; Kirin, Eleanor Kocz, Graphite;
Untitled, Emily Barron, Pen & Ink; Mothman’s Lament, Emily Barron, Ink;
Untitled, Sophia McGrady, Collage 
“Hurt,” Karen Villanueva, Acrylic; “Generosity,” Mellisa Meng; Acrylic on Glass; “Meep,” Olivia Opazo-Barnhart, Acrylic; and “Propane,” Jayden Batista, Acrylic 
“Bandit,” Ainsley Raymond, Acrylic; “Breaking Down,” Anonymous GS, Ink;
“She Went Away,” Jayden Batista, Acrylic (Honorable Mention);
“Wonderer” Anna Sheng, Watercolor
“Untitled 2,” Josh Mullins, Duct Tape and Paper 
“The water’s a rising so either buck up or get a front row seat,” Grace Sallee, Mixed Media; “A Sinking Feeling,” Jayden Batista, Acrylic;
“Late Night,” Karen Villanueva, Colored Pencil; “Untitled,” Emily Barron, Acrylic
”The Dark Burst,” Allie Miller, Pencil;
“Praise Keck,” Nicholas Keck, Graphite; “Youthful,” Iris Layman, Ink
“The Condor,” Sophie Aronson, Watercolor/Gouche; “Bitey!!,” Jayden Batista, Acrylic; “Untitled,” Emily Barron, Mixed Media 
“Python,” Wyatt Gear, Acrylic; “HeShe,” Aranad Sharma, Graphite; “Violinist,” Alice Xu, Oil 
“Untitled 1,” Josh Mullins,” Duct Tape and Paper 
“Peonies in the Rain,” Lauren Coliver, Oil and “Arizona,” Ainsley Raymond, Acrylic 
“Squirrel,” Ana Czar, Acrylic and “Untitled,” Emily Barron, Mixed Media 
“Sibling Squabble,” Karen Villanueva, Acrylic;
“Being Coy,” Brooklyn Mullins, Acrylic; “Eloiuse,” Ana Czar
“True Identity,” Karen Villanueva, Acrylic;
“Untitled,” Emily Barron, Ink; “She Bites,” Jayden Batista, Acrylic
“Letting Go,” Ella Warnick,” Acrylic 
“A Lost Love,” Jesse Braak, Acrylic and “Screen Time,” Karen Villanueva, Acrylic 
“Hold On,” Karen Villanueva, Graphite [First Prize Winner] 
“Why,” Olivia Opazo-Barnhart, Acrylic; “Mending & Broken Home,” Karen Villanueva, Oil Pastel; “Mending,” Karen Villanueva, Oil Pastel 
“Sun Bath,” Lauren Collvar,” Acrylic on Paper;
“The House,” Ella Provo, Pen & Ink (Honorable Mention);
“Papaya Mama,” Nola Scott, Acrylic; “Vacation,” Eleanor Lee, Pencil
“Sunset,” Hannah Deck, Tempera and “Shatthered,” Karen Villanueva, Acrylic 
“Turtle,” Gabbie Parton, Acrylic and “Fight It,” Austin Bishop, Mixed Media 
“Entomophobia,” Jesse Braak, Acrylic / Watercolor [2nd Prize Winner] 
“Untitled Plate Group,” Zoe Krisch, Glazed Earthenware; “Lidded Dish,” Emily Barron, Painted/Glazed Earthenware; “Untitled,” Emily Barron (Honorable Mention); “Pinch Pot,” Emily Barron, Painted Earthenware; “Fish,” Jayden Batista, Earthenware, “Untitled,” Ella Provo, Glazed Earthenware 
“Untitled,” Ella Provo, Glazed Earthenware; “Untitled,” Eleanor Lee, Glazed Earthenware; “Cityscape Plate,” Jenna Repass, Glazed Earthenware; “Untitled Tile,” Eleanor Lee, Glazed Earthenware; “Crepe,” Ginsey Thompson, Painted Earthenware 
“Untitled Plate,” Leza Thomas, Glazed Earthenware; “Untitled,” Michah Gholston-Sparks, Painted Earthenware; “Arapaima Plate,” Sophia Vikesland, Glazed Earthenware; “Untitled Dish,” Ella Provo, Glazed Earthenware; “Sculptural Head,” Zoe Krisch, Glazed Earthenware
Dr. Figgat and Telegraph Office Building, Christiansburg, Va., 1903 (D. D. Lester Collection)
A poster in a shop window is captured in a glass plate negative from the museum’s collection. It is a simple building, which stood on East Main Street, across the street from the present-day Police Department building. The building housed the office of Dr. William Figgat and the telegraph office. The poster itself allows us to date the photograph because it advertises Wallace’s Show coming to Christiansburg on Saturday, October 3. A check of historic calendars at www.timeanddate.com shows that October 3 fell on a Saturday in the year 1903.
Even more interesting is the show itself. The poster touts “Wallace Show with Herr Becker’s Troupe of Performing Animals.” Benjamin Wallace, a livery stable owner from Peru, Indiana created the show in 1884. He purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Circus in 1907 to form the Hagenbeck-Wallace show; it became the second largest circus in the country at its peak.
Historian Rodney A. Huey, Ph.D , writes in “An Abbreviated History of The Circus in America” that the 1900-1920 period was the golden age of the American circus with nearly 100 circuses traveling in the United States by 1903. According to Huey, the circus was “indelibly fixed in everyday life” even changing our vocabulary to include phrases such as “hold your horses” (a warning to local horsemen when the circus elephants paraded through town) and “get the show on the road” (a directive shouted at roustabouts to break down the show and move to the next town).
Onlookers view an act from Wallace Show on the town square in Christiansburg, Oct. 11, 1904. (D. D. Lester Collection)
Wallace Show parade in town square, Christiansburg, Va., Oct. 11, 1904. (D. D. Lester Collection)
Circus show days were local holidays, when stores and schools closed and everyone came to town to witness the spectacle. That this happened in Christiansburg is vouched for by Arthur Sullivan in a letter to his sister on July 25th, 1869. His letter, a part of the museum’s collection reads: “we had a big Show and to tell the truth about it nearly everybody in town went to see the animals and did not get away until the Circus broke up.” The excitement surrounding the circus was still strong in 1904, when two additional glass plate negatives record another visit by Wallace’s Show, this time on October 11 – 13. Crowds line the streets in the photographs watching the show’s wagon parade. In another image, a circle of viewers surround an act, obscuring it from the camera.
Wallace Shows Poster (courtesy Wikipedia Commons)
All of the photographs in the museum’s extensive collection record a single moment in time, but by looking at them closely we can link them together, hopefully with written documents, to understand more about everyday life during our history.
By: Sherry Joines Wyatt, Curator
Sources:www.circusfederation.org/uploads/circus_culture/about/america-huey.pdf
Wikipedia
Wikipedia Commons
Montgomery Museum docent and Board Member Cindy Akers
will offer the true story of the infamous Sisters in Black prior to
the New River Stage performance on
October 26, 2018 at 7 pm
at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 400 College Ave., Christiansburg.
October is National Family History Month
and to celebrate
The Montgomery Museum & Lewis Miller Regional Art Center is pleased to offer
Genealogy 101
a genealogy class for beginners.
It is free and open to the public. Genealogy 101 will help you get started on the fascinating journey to find your family history. We will guide you through the genealogy process and introduce you to some available sources, both local and online. Classes will be held on Wednesday October 4, 11, 18, and 25 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. at the Montgomery Museum at 300 S. Pepper St., Christiansburg, VA.
On July 28, 2017, the Montgomery Museum became a grateful recipient of a generous donation from the Montgomery County Retired Teachers. The gift was made possible by a legacy from Penny McKee Ireland (1950-2015). Mrs. Ireland was a native of Christiansburg and she taught language arts and social studies at Christiansburg Middle School for 30 years. Her dedication to education and learning are well remembered in Christiansburg and the museum is honored to be part of her legacy.
Front: Montgomery County Retired Teachers President Meg Peterson presents the donation to Museum Executive Director Sue Farrar. Beside Sue is Museum docent and Montgomery County retired teacher, Jan Marks. In rear is Museum Board Member Marg Modlin, Montgomery County Retired Teacher Connie Turner, and Museum Board Member Jimmie Blanchard.