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Jewelry, Journals And The Cuisinart: Rhode Island Treasures On Display At Exhibit
Victoria Arocho
A Large Poster Of Rolling Stones Lead Singer Mick Jagger Stands Alongside Of The Original 1972 Mugshot Of Jagger Taken Following His Arrest In Warwick, R.I. The Mugshot Is Part Of The Rhode Island Treasures Exhibit At The Convention Center In Providence, R.I. Rhode Island Treasures Showcases Historical Items And Stories That All Have Roots In Li'l Rhody. The Mishmash Of Facts And Artifacts That Span The History Of The Nation's Smallest State Are Crammed Together Bringing Centuries Of History Into A Lone Exhibit Hall At The Rhode Island Convention Center. It Runs Until June 15.
By JACK HAGEL
Published on 5/27/2003
Providence � Sideburns. G.I. Joe. Cuisinart.
All were ideas that caught on in a big way � and all have roots in Li'l Rhody.
The stories of these famous items are at Rhode Island Treasures, a mishmash of facts and artifacts that span the history of the nation's smallest state.
The exhibit crams centuries of history into a lone exhibit hall at the Rhode Island Convention Center. It runs until June 15.
George Donnelly, executive director of the Providence Tourism Council, took the idea from the National Archives and Records Administration's traveling exhibit, �American Originals: Treasures from the National Archives,� a historical documents tour that began in 2001.
Donnelly said he found Rhode Island connections to many of the items in American Originals. �So my idea was ... why couldn't we make our own homegrown show?� Donnelly turned to the state archives, libraries and state historical organizations for help.
Donnelly was able to snag copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. He corralled a Bible owned by Roger Williams, a land deed between Williams and local American Indians, Warwick's royal charter, the state's first constitution and journals from the War of 1812.
Donnelly also collected items like an original G.I. Joe figure, considered the first action figure when it was introduced by Pawtucket-based Hasbro in 1964.
And, he gathered images and anecdotes about Ambrose Burnside, the Union general who settled in Bristol and is considered to have popularized sideburns.
The exhibit is organized into 12 subjects. Among themis the music section, including Mick Jagger's 1972 mug shot from when he allegedly assaulted a news photographer at T.F. Green Airport.
� Literature and Art displays an original composition by Providence native H.P. Lovecraft. It also displays one of the last known images of Edgar Allen Poe, taken in Providence for his fiancee, Sarah Helen Whitman, a Providence native who's the subject of Poe's famous poem �To Helen�.
� A section devoted to Rhode Island artists includes a self-portrait of Saunderstown-born Gilbert Stuart, whose 1795 portrait of George Washington appears on the $1 bill.
�It's well put together,� said Frances Reidy, 65, of Abingdon, Md., who was visiting the exhibit with her husband, Frank.
The Reidys lived in East Greenwich for almost a decade. Still, Frank Reidy, 70, said, �there are so many interesting things here that I didn't know about.�
The exhibit was put together in less than two years and cost Donnelly's organization about $100,000. The artifacts and most of the construction costs were donated. Some patrons complained the display was disjointed.
�There was no way we could tell the whole Rhode Island story. It was just impossible,� Donnelly said. �We took the path of least resistance,� asking historical agencies: ��Are you in or are you out? If you're in, what can you offer?��
Any profits would go to a fund to help finance similar shows, Donnelly said.
If that happens, perhaps the Providence Tourism Council will benefit from people like the Rev. Rebecca Spencer, 49, who stopped by the exhibit with her husband and two sons. She was impressed with the documents and artifacts from American Indian tribes of Rhode Island.
�I think we take it for granted,� she said. �To have a sense of place is very important. I think if people have an understanding of our roots and of where we come from ... it will help us to understand where we're going.�
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