The theme is "Waves of Change", looking at how aspects of life changed during the 1850s and still affect us today. All will be held at the Massanutten Regional Library at 6:30pm, followed by discussion. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, May 6 – “The Texture of Business and Industry in Turn-of-the-Century Harrisonburg”, Dr. Kevin Borg, History Department, James Madison University
Exploring the businesses that thrived in Harrisonburg in the years surrounding 1900. Each year, Dr. Borg and his students accumulate new research on local business history. With research to date, he will report on cigar-making, tanneries, the draft horse market, early utilities and more.

Tuesday, May 13 – Topic will be women’s roles, Dr. Katharine L. Brown, Mary Baldwin College.
Title and abstract not yet available

Tuesday, May 20 – “Preservation: Changing Attitudes”, Randall Jones, Department of Historic Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia.
What are the forces that have influenced public consciousness of historic resources? Compare Virginian’s attitudes of prior centuries to those of today. Where has the pendulum swung between mindsets of “build new” and “preserve old” and what can we expect for the future?


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