Mob the Museum Day!
Saturday, February 24th, 2018
1pm at the Amana Heritage Museum in Amana
AMANA, Iowa- The Amana Heritage Society is sponsoring the first of a series of special commemoration days this year to raise awareness and celebrate Amana’s complicated involvement in World War I. On April 7th, 1917, the U.S. entered the war, eventually drafting six million men. As pacifists, the Amana Society was able to gain exemptions from the Civil War, but during WWI, they were unable to avoid military participation.
Mob the Museum Day will feature an introduction to the men from the Amanas who participated in the war. A short presentation will be given on the events leading up to the military draft and purported ‘Marengo Mob’ on February 24th, 1918, including narratives from the Amana Society and the negative press they received from area newspapers for the next several years.
It will also be a sneak peek of several works of art created for the 2018 collaborative exhibit between the Amana Heritage Society and Amana Arts Guild called 1918: Pacifistic Patriots of the Amana Society During World War I. Local artists, Kristie Yoder and Margo Jarosz, will share some of their art inspired by several veterans. We will also preview a short video of a WWI vet’s correspondence with his brothers read by one of his grandsons.
For more information about our organization, visit www.amanaheritage.com.
