Press Release

For Immediate Release

IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Contact:

Michele Alexander, Communications Officer

410.685.4186 | malexander@mdhc.org

Date:

March 23, 2015

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION HOMETOWN TEAMS EXHIBITION TOUR

BRINGS GENERATIONS TOGETHER IN FEDERALSBURG
(Baltimore) Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America, a Smithsonian Institution traveling
exhibition, tours the state through a partnership with the Maryland Humanities Council. The
Federalsburg Museum, the second stop on its tour, welcomes the public to join them on April 4th at
10am for a ribbon cutting and opening reception, a performance by the Colonel Richardson High
School Marching Band. The Historical Society encourages attendees to wear their favorite team
jersey or uniform for the grand opening and ribbon cutting.
We are honored to be able to host Hometown Teams, How Sports Shape America. Our
journey gathering stories and materials and reaching out to the community has been
amazingly rewarding. Young and old will experience events and relive memories, from
Little League to High School baseball, uniforms to marching bands, soapbox derby races
to NASCAR, and so much more. We thank all of those in the community who have
supported our effort to share this story. We cant wait for Opening Day!
~ Wendy Garner, Federalsburg Historical Society

The Federalsburg Historical Society aims to use the

Hometown Teams exhibition to cultivate multi-generational
audiences. The exhibition is produced locally in partnership
with Caroline County Public Schools and Win Transport. As
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a result of this partnership, all Caroline County third graders will take field trips to view the
exhibition. The Federalsburg Historical Society has been preparing for the arrival of Hometown
Teams during the last year. They kicked off the project in November 2014 with a Memories Day,
hosting a luncheon reunion for former Federalsburg Junior and High School athletes from 1947-67.
Recently, on March 7th, they hosted a reunion event to bring multiple generations together to
celebrate athlete alumnae and coaches from Colonel Richardson High School. Over 100 guests
attended. The Federalsburg museum is located at 100 Covey-Williams Alley in Federalsburg,
Maryland.
We are really excited and thankful for being selected as a host site for the
Smithsonian's Home Town Teams Exhibit. The Maryland Humanities Council has helped
us immensely in our preparation. This exhibit will allow our community to present a first
class learning experience for all ages to the entire Eastern Shore."
~Richard Wheatley, Board President Federalsburg Historical Society

Visitors will also experience a companion exhibit celebrating

Federalsburgs soapbox derby and baseball legacy. Older
soapbox derby cars will hang from the ceiling in a large front
room. Youth will be able to climb in and out of a real soapbox
derby car, and all will be able to view a black-and-white video
featuring American professional baseball infielder and
manager Ducky Detweiler, and what the Federal Park ball field looked like up until the late 1940s
when the team left town. (Photo: 1954 Federalsburg School Baseball Team, courtesy of the
Federalsburg Historical Society)
Special events are planned throughout the exhibitions run, including a tailgate party and ice cream
social at the Museum after a Colonial Richardson High School game.
Hometown Teams runs at the Federalsburg Museum April 4May 23, 2015. Learn more at
www.historicfederalsburg.org or call (410) 924-7573.
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HOMETOWN TEAMS BRINGS THE SMITHSONIAN TO MARYLAND COMMUNITIES

Hometown Teams is the fourth Museum on Main Street (MoMS) project brought to our state by
the Maryland Humanities Council. The traveling exhibition explores our nations love of sports and
its connection to American culture and identity. The interactive exhibit celebrates the history of
sports in our nation, breaking color barriers, fans and fandom, and sports in film and literature and
more. Each host site develops a companion exhibit and educational programs for their
communities for a seven-week period that tells local sports stories.
Local host sites unearth stories, like the Hot Sox ball field in Galesville, soapbox derby
champions hailing from Federalsburg, Cumberlands Pig Tail and Queen City softball leagues,
and athletes who rose to fame at the states many HBCUs. Howard County resident and
Paralympian athlete, Tatyana McFadden, who have made a lasting international impact on her
respective sports, is also part of the national Smithsonian exhibition.

Hometown Teams Maryland Tour

Banneker-Douglass Museum
Federalsburg Historical Society
Allegany Museum
Galesville Community Center
Howard County Historical Society

February 7 March 28, 2015

April 4 May 23, 2015
May 30July 18, 2015
July 25 September 12, 2015
September 19 November 7

MdStories.com Highlights Maryland Sports History and Culture in 2015

The Maryland Humanities Council created mdstories.com to promote
Hometown Teams and to celebrate our states unique sports culture and
history. Follow the blog online or via twitter at @MarylandStories. Visitors are
welcome to share content, learn more about Hometown Teams, and enter the
Coach of the Community contest.

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Nominate Your Coach for the Coach of the Community Award!

Coaches do much more than develop athletic skills in their players;
they are an integral part of the sports-loving experience, and there is
no game without them. The public is encouraged to nominate their
favorite local coach at mdstories.com and complete the phrase My coach is my hometown hero
because... One winner will be chosen for each of the Hometown Teams host sites and will receive
an award and a set of team t-shirts. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the 2015 ArmyNavy game in Philadelphia. Contest sponsor: Nightmare Graphics.
About Museum on Main Street
Museum on Main Street (MoMS), is a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service program
that teams up with state humanities councils to bring high-quality traveling exhibits to small
communities through their own Main Street museums, historical societies, and other cultural
venues. Residents enthusiastically engage with exhibition content, and diverse community
members come together to share and celebrate their heritage.
Hometown Teams is a program of The Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street program,
a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Maryland Humanities Council. Support
for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
The Maryland Humanities Council is a statewide, educational, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization. MHC creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities
that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their
communities. For more information, visit www.mdhc.org. The Maryland Humanities Council is
supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Maryland, and
donors like you.
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