What exactly is history?
Is it Cleveland’s quiet Public Square in the mid-1800s?
Or is it these same city streets filled with fans after the Cavaliers won the National Championship in 2016?
Is history these Lima High School students working diligently (c.1930s-1940s)?
Or is it the student who walked across the stage with diploma in hand last spring?
As it turns out, all of these events are part of history, or our collective past.
Everything you do today will be history by tomorrow! Even things that people of the past found commonplace are interesting, important, and inspiring to us today.
These members of the Vanguard League, a Columbus Civil Rights organization, probably didn’t think that their dinner party would end up in a museum!
We want to make sure that Ohioans of the future have the sources they need to understand their past. So we need some help from you.
What do you think is unique about living in Ohio in the twenty-first century? What objects, papers, or photographs tell your story?
Something doesn’t have to be “old” to earn a place in a history museum or an archive. History is always happening.
Objects, papers, and photographs from our generous donors will educate future generations about the unique ways in which we saw the world.
Don’t believe us yet? Check out these “modern” items from the Ohio History Connection archives:
This “Checklist to apply for marriage license” was handed out at the Franklin County Probate Court the day that the United States Supreme Court removed bans on same-sex marriage. It was actively collected at the courthouse.
And that’s not all! Our list of modern items includes:
Still not sure about modern stories in a history museum? Would it help if I told you that we aren’t the only museum collecting such recent items? For example, many museums are currently collecting items from the recent Women’s March on Washington. We want to add the story of modern Ohioans to this growing list of resources that will be used by future historians.
Newly acquired items from Ohio women who attended the recent Women’s Marches will be preserved alongside the stories of early Ohio suffragettes.
Are you convinced? If you have a story that you think is worth preserving, let us know!
You can write us at [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
