Museum Awarded NEH Grant for Education
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Museum of the American Railroad a grant for an expanded and enhanced ethnic studies program. The funds will be used for a new initiative titled Forgotten Voices: An Inclusive Approach to Railroad History. It will emphasize the development of an interpretative plan that presents a broader narrative about the history of railroads.
Dorothy Lucke pauses for a photo during her shift as a roundhouse worker in 1944. She was one of tens of thousands of women who assumed traditionally male roles in the railroad industry during World War II. Mrs. Lucke was an engine wiper in Clinton, Iowa. Photo: Chicago and Northwestern Railway Collection
Forgotten Voices is an outgrowth of the Museum's existing programming that was developed in partnership with the Frisco school district with input from local colleges in 2021. The program expands the African American Studies component to include contributions from women, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Chinese workers throughout North American railroad history. While these groups have been included previously, the NEH grant provides much-needed funding to create a broader narrative to better serve the schools. It also allows for enhanced interpretation of the Museum's collection to general visitors seeking an expanded perspective on railroad history.
"We are thrilled to receive this grant from the NEH. It not only allows us to fund our Forgotten Voices program, it's also a wonderful endorsement of the Museum's educational initiatives at the public school and college levels. We realize the importance and sensitivity of these subjects. Our goal is to tell these stories accurately, fairly, and when possible in the own words of underrepresented figures in railroad history," said the Museum's CEO Bob LaPrelle. The Museum is one of over 200 recipients of NEH funds, which collectively totaled $22.6M nationwide as part of their Public Impact Projects to support small to mid-sized cultural institutions.
“It is my pleasure to announce NEH grant awards to support 219 exemplary projects that will foster discovery, education, and innovative research in the humanities,” said NEH Chair and citizen of the Navajo Nation Shelly C. Lowe.
Forgotten Voices will be created over the next several months and will encompass every aspect of new program development. Phases of work range from stakeholder input & engagement to instructions and protocols for delivery once developed. "Forgotten Voices will tell the story of the railroad by the workers themselves. From the track layer to the Pullman Porter, this program will highlight their experiences and contributions in their own words. We’ll rediscover railroad history quite literally from the rail up!" said Melissa Johnson, a local college history professor.
Native American railroad workers played a vital role in the construction and maintenance of lines in the Southwestern United States. Here, track workers are seen aligning rails on the Santa Fe Railway in 1943. Photo: Dodge City Daily Globe
The Museum's priceless collection of trains and supporting collections have been a latent source of rich ethnic history. Now the voices will be heard that chronicle the struggles and triumphs of ethnicities through the lens of the railroad. From the women who worked for the Pullman company, to the Navajo and Hopi trackworkers on the Santa Fe line, their stories will enable the Museum’s collection to be seen in a new light. We are grateful to the NEH for their support of this worthwhile program which will enrich the lives of North Texas school students across many grades, as well as general visitors to the Museum.
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was created in 1965 as an independent federal agency. The National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov
The Museum of the American Railroad is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Texas corporation founded in 1962. The mission of the Museum is to enrich the lives of others through meaningful, relevant programs and exhibits that relate the history & technology of the Railroad and its profound impact on American life and culture. For more information about the Museum of the American Railroad, visit www.historictrains.org
Museum Partners with UNT’s Online Digital Resources
The Museum of the American Railroad has received a grant from the University of North Texas to add additional images to the Portal to Texas History. The on-line resource has grown immensely since the school debuted the website in 2004 as an extension of its Digital Libraries Division.
The Museum’s staff met with UNT’s Jacob Mangum and a member of the Portal’s team during a tour of their facilities in Denton. The flow chart and schedule for numerous digitization projects is shown in the background, including the Museum’s Haney Collection. Below is a locomotive negative being photographed to be digitized for inclusion in the Portal's offerings.
We have enjoyed a great relationship with the Portal as a partner organization since 2009. The Museum's Burt C. Blanton Collection is one of the most popular resources, with over 486,000 uses, and countless requests for reproductions from authors, historians, and researchers. The Blanton Collection includes many priceless images from local photographer Roger Plummer, a long-time friend of Blanton who shot black & white railroad subjects in the 1950s.
The latest grant will provide for digitizing select photographs from the Everett C. Haney Collection for inclusion on the Portal. Comprising over 6,000 photos and negatives, the collection spans over 50 years of locomotive and rail car images from 184 railroads, as he chronicled motive power between 1910 and 1970.
Photos were selected for the Portal based on uniqueness, quality, and their relevance to Texas history. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Rock Island, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific lines are represented, along with a few gems from the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf, and San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railroads.
The Museum houses over 35,000 photos, negatives, slides, and digital images, with collections being acquired regularly. Many one-of-a-kind prints, glass plate negatives, acetates, lithographs, and Kodachromes are among the images. Several special subjects are featured, including The Dallas Union Terminal Company, The Pullman Company, railroad workers, and lines that served North Texas. Our Frisco Collection continues to grow since moving to Frisco in 2012. Even our own history as a museum is documented in photos dating back to 1949 when Fair Park received its first display locomotive from the Texas & Pacific Railway. And of course, any images that include pieces in our collection are highly sought after.
We are grateful to receive this latest grant from UNT through their Rescuing Texas History program. Our sincere thanks to Dreanna Belden, Jacob Mangum, and the Portal's dedicated staff for seeing the value of our collection. What better way to share the Museum’s priceless images and reach the broadest audience? It is an outstanding example of museums and universities collaborating to fulfill their missions. And there's more to come through this valuable partnership!
One of the Museum's prized pieces is captured in this 1952 image by Haney. Fort Worth & Denver business car Texland is shown above. This photo is representative of his over 6,000 views of locomotives and cars. The first lot to be digitized by UNT's Portal is but the tip of the iceberg. We hope to share many more images of the Museum's collection in the near future.
For more info on the Portal to Texas History and the Museum's collection, click here: https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/MARD/
Museum Educators Train Smithsonian Docents
Two of our educators were recently invited to train docents at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Melissa Johnson and Patience LeBlanc presented at the Smithsonian’s monthly docent training series, “History Encounters”.
Their presentation focused on the Pullman Company and the Porters that provided service and amenities aboard their sleeping cars. The National Museum of American History displays numerous Pullman related items within the "America on the Move Exhibit". Melissa and Patience provided historical details about some of the artifacts displayed there, as well as the history of the town of Pullman. Their second presentation focused on the lives and accomplishments of Pullman Porters.
The presentations also allowed both museums to share images of items in their collections related to Pullman that are not common to both. This sharing among the two museums allows maximum exposure of their holdings and greater interpretation of exhibit items. This is an exciting outgrowth of the programs that we look forward to expanding in the future.
Museum CEO Bob LaPrelle, Patience LeBlanc and Melissa Johnson met with staff at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in March of 2023. The group poses here beside the museum's segregated rail car exhibit which compliments the “America on the Move” exhibit just down the mall at the National Museum of American History.
Melissa Johnson is a history professor at Collin College, and Patience LeBlanc is the secondary social studies coordinator at the Frisco ISD. Both volunteered their time to present to the Smithsonian Docents. Their next training session will cover the Transcontinental Railroad. We are grateful for their continued work on behalf of the Museum's educational programs.
The National Museum of American History's "America on the Move" exhibit is a popular attraction at the Smithsonian in Washington. It chronicles the profound cultural impact and advances in technology of all modes of transportation in the U.S. The exhibit was curated by the late William Withuhn, a longtime friend of the Museum of the American Railroad. He also worked closely with Doyle McCormack to repatriate the two historic Alco PA-1 locomotives from Mexico, one of which was gifted by the Smithsonian to the Museum in 2010.