Beginning January 10, the Museum of Work & Culture will be hosting Valley Talks, a series of free, bi-weekly historical lectures. All talks take place on Sundays at 1:30pm at the Museum of Work & Culture, 42 S. Main St., Woonsocket.
The series will kick off this Sunday with radio historian Ned Connors, who will discuss the state’s technological and cultural impact on the development of radio during the first half of the twentieth century. The talk will be presented in conjunction with the Museum’s current gallery exhibit, The Birth of Rhode Island Radio: Experimenters, Manufacturers, & Broadcasters, and will explore topics including local manufacturing, state radio personalities, and the history of French language radio programming in Woonsocket & West Warwick.
The other talks will include:
January 24: Historian & former RIHS Executive Director Albert Klyberg will discuss the Civilian Conservation Corps’ work in Rhode Island parks from 1932 to 1941 as part of FDR’s New Deal.
February 7: Writer and filmmaker Rick Beyer explores the local roots of the WWII deception unit known as the Ghost Army, and discusses his ongoing efforts to uncover this amazing story.
February 21: Writer & historical reenactor Paul Bourget examines the Sentinelle Affair, the local underground movement that led to the excommunication of 61 congregants.
March 6: Baseball historian Greg Rubano presents on his upcoming book, In the Shadow of Ty Cobb: The Life & Times of Napoleon Lajoie, recounting the meteoric rise of Woonsocket native Napoleon Lajoie from mill worker to baseball Hall of Famer.
For more information, contact the Museum of Work & Culture
