Dr. Nora Pat Small, Professor of History from Eastern Illinois University, will be the guest speaker for the opening of Between Fences in Byron.

Dr. Small, one of the State Scholars for this Museum on Main Street project, will discuss Illinois’ history of fencing and land use, and will discuss these implications and ramifications for Byron and the surrounding region.

Between Fences Exhibit:

We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods. They are decorative structures that are as much part of the landscape as trees and flowers. Industry and agriculture without fences would be difficult to imagine. Private ownership of land would be an abstract concept.

But fences are more than functional objects. They are powerful symbols. The way we define ourselves as individuals and as a nation becomes concrete in how we build fences.

Through an examination of boundaries, place, and space, Between Fences will explore how neighbors and nations divide, protect, offend, and defend through the boundaries they build.

This exhibit runs from November 29, 2008 – January 11, 2009

Exhibit Hours

• Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Saturdays: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Sundays: 1:00 to 4:00 PM

For more information, please contact Jessica McCanse at 815.234.5031 or via email at jessica@byronmuseum.org. You can also visite their website: www.betweenfences.com.