Pop-Up Museum Featured in Register-Star

The Prison Public Memory Project's July 9th pop-up museum at the Warren Street | Seventh (7th) Street Park was featured in the Register-Star, Hudson, New York's local newspaper. Below is an excerpt from the article by reporter John Mason, titled "Pop-up Museum brings Training School stories to Warren Street": 

"HUDSON — Tents and tables were set up at the southwestern corner of Seventh Street Park for the better part of Thursday so visitors could step back 90 years, into the early days of the Girls Training School.

"The exhibit, created by the Prison Public Memory Project and visiting scholars Tobi Jacobi and Ed Lessor of Colorado State University, focused on girls who lived at the school in the 1920s.

"'We were fascinated and captivated by this place,' said Jacobi, a writing teacher and community literacy instructor. She and Lessor had found Facebook posts from the PPMP, and wrote to ask if anyone was doing any work with them.

"Much of the material on display came from the 'Durfee box,' a container of papers relating to life at the school in the 1920s that Lisa Durfee, owner of Five and Diamond, had purchased at a garage sale; these were augmented by materials from the New York State Archives.

"'It’s great to bring these materials out in the open,' said Laura Rogers, who has been working with Jacobi and Lessor on the project. 'It’s fascinating to hear what people have to say about their involvement with the school.'

"At around noon, Jacobi said they’d already had 25 visitors since opening at 10 a.m.
One woman came who knew a lot about the school because she had worked for a doctor who maintained a practice there, and she had a sister who was in a tap dancing school in Hudson and used to dance for the girls at the school.

"Among the items on display was the matriculation record of the eminent jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, who was committed to the Training School April 10, 1933, at the age of 15. Her offense was that she was 'ungovernable and will not obey the just and lawful commands of her mother.' She was 'adjudged delinquent.'"

Continue reading John Mason's article at the Register-Star | Read the press release for the pop-up museums | Read more about the pop-up museums on our events page