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The Mendota Museum & Historical Society will debut “Where Our Paths Meet: Journeys to Mendota”, an initiative that explores the migration stories of families who arrived in Mendota from Mexico during the 1960s and 1970s, according to a MMHS news release.
The project will run from early September until the end of October. It includes oral history interviews, a documentary film and a museum exhibition.
“This effort is critical to the Historical Society’s mission as we are delving into an aspect of local history that we have not yet explored,” Alex P. Revzan, MMHS Executive Director, said in a news release.
The program is a collaboration between the Historical Society, Reimagine Mendota, the Illinois Valley Hispanic Partnership Council and Northern Illinois University and is funded by a grant from Illinois Humanities.
The interviews are now archived at the Founders Memorial Library at NIU and available to scholars for research and will then become the basis for a thirty-minute documentary film detailing the experiences of these early migrants and the impact of demographic change on the city, according to the release.
“Telling these stories is vital to our continued efforts to build community and begin new discussions surrounding Mendota’s past, present, and future,” Reimagine Mendota’s Amy Brewer said in a news release.
Accompanying the film will be an exhibition installed in the Hume-Carnegie Museum in Mendota. The exhibition will include a variety of photographs and objects on loan from members of the Mendota community.
“The Hume-Carnegie Museum, which was originally built as a Carnegie library in 1902, is an outstanding place to hold this exhibition and we look forward to welcoming new audiences on the foot of this initiative,” Revzan said.