Online adventures open doors to fun, learning and surprises Posters from the past
Last month brought the news that Rollins College’s Senior Enrichment Program would end May 31 after offering classes for intellectual enrichment and fun to folks over 50 since 2013.
I treasure memories from the program of fine, shared adventures exploring Central Florida’s past. Perhaps to make up a bit for the loss of such opportunities for fun and learning, in recent weeks I’ve turned to the online offerings that museums and other groups have rolled out on platforms such as Zoom.
I’ve learned about some cool topics, including the posters made by the Federal Art Project in the 1930s and 1940s — more on that in a minute. And it’s been fun to dive into a world of learning that in many ways we’re making up as we go along.
I ventured into an online class on outdoor cooking, pioneer style, for example, thinking it might shed light on how early Floridians fixed their chow, and watched as the brave teacher lost her internet connection when her phone — one of her two “broadcast” cameras — got too hot from the blazing fire.
“Your internet connection is unstable,” my computer tells me during these adventures. I fit right in: It’s a pretty unstable time, but our quest to connect and to learn and expand our horizons continues.
Because I love art and history, anything that combines those two is the cat’s meow for me, so I signed up for a class about those Federal Art Project posters, offered by the online publisher Atlas Obscura.
I knew a little about the project, in which, during a dire depression and vast unemployment, the federal government employed folks to create public art — art that connected to the community, as our online teacher, Ennis Carter, noted. She’s the driving force behind a project to preserve the legacy of the posters created between 1935 and 1943 to promote New Deal programs and civic issues.
During those years, with offices in 18 cities, including Jacksonville, the poster division of the Federal Art Project produced 35,000 designs — many of which have been lost to history — and 2 million printed posters.
“The posters were about all kinds of things,” Carter noted. Some were designed to carry positive public health messages in the days before television, and others sought to promote common values and support the national recovery.
The project’s “Go See America” campaign, for example, produced posters that encouraged Americans to visit national parks and monuments, including Florida’s Castillo de San Marcos — the oldest masonry fort and only extant 17th-century fort in North America.
The poster project’s 1938 image of the fort reminds me of what a treasure it is. Like a lot of things, I’ve taken it for granted and look forward to seeing it again when the time is right.
To learn more
To learn more about the work of Ennis Carter and the Posters for the People project, visit www.postersforthepeople.com/. For more on Atlas Obscura’s “Wonder from Home” programs, visit AtlasObscura.com.
A new reality
The Museum of Seminole County History, at 300 Eslinger Way in Sanford, announced its reopening last month, noting its use of social-distancing practices, plexiglass guards and other features of reopening during a pandemic.
As of last month, the museum had not resumed in-person programming or guided tours and noted that its “Little Wars at the Museum” event would take place online June 9-13. Check out its Facebook page for more about how to participate, or write its coordinator, Bennett Lloyd, at blloyd@seminolecountyfl.gov/.
Other museums are also reopening and continuing online offerings. The Orange County Regional History Center offers “History at Home” resources at its website, TheHistoryCenter.org. Check the website or social-media pages of your favorite museums and historical groups. They all need our support now more than ever.