Traveling exhibit visits Uniontown library
?A truckload of the nation鈥檚 historical culture rolled into Uniontown Friday with the arrival of the Library of Congress traveling exhibit, 鈥淕ateway to Knowledge.鈥�
The free exhibit, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Uniontown Public Library, is contained in a customized 18-wheel truck that measures 90 feet long and 30 feet wide, including two bump-out sections.
The display features copies of the Library鈥檚 top treasures and information such as the 1507 Waldseemuller Map, which is the first document to use the word 鈥淎merica.鈥�
Abigail Van Gelder, a docent with the exhibit, said the local stop was the first of only two in Pennsylvania. A later stop in Lancaster is planned.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday, with local dignitaries, including state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Twp.; deputy district director Dave Coder, a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Mark S. Critz, D-Johnstown; and Ronald Makarun from state Sen. Richard Kasunic鈥檚 office. Also attending were Uniontown library director Lynne Tharan and board members Retta Semans, Pam Webster and Larry Bush, president.
鈥淲e are very fortunate to be able to bring this to people who have never had an opportunity to visit,鈥� said Bush. 鈥淔or me and thousands of others, they bring the Library of Congress to us.鈥�
Don Masi of Uniontown visited the exhibit with his son, Kevin, 10, early Friday as the doors opened.
鈥淭here are things in here that I didn鈥檛 know the Library of Congress had,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are probably going to D.C. in the next year or so and this is going to prepare us for what we will see.鈥�
Other pieces include facsimiles of the 1455 Gutenberg Bible, the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spider-man to the world. Visitors can also see copies of the handwritten manuscripts of Jelly Roll Martin鈥檚 鈥淔rog-i-More Rag鈥� and Walt Whitman鈥檚 poem, 鈥淟eaves of Grass.鈥� Originals are housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Computer technology enhances the display, which also outlines the history of the Library, including Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 role in re-establishing the Library after the burning of the U.S. Capitol in 1814 and his classification system of memory, reason and imagination, which is how the content of the traveling exhibit is organized.
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