FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Help Tarleton State University’s W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas declare the importance of teaching and learning about our past with a selfie at your favorite historical spot.
The social media campaign celebrates the center’s endorsement of the History Relevance Value Statement. To participant, use the hashtag #HistoryRelevance.
Comprised of more than 150 like-minded organizations around the world—from the Smithsonian Institution and National Archives to nonprofits and museums—History Relevance is a catalyst for discovering, demonstrating and promoting the value of history for individuals, communities and the nation.
By endorsing the History Relevance Value Statement, the W.K. Gordon Center and history fans promote and encourage a sense of awareness, identity and interconnectivity in a multicultural world through the study of the past, cultivating critical thinking and analytical skills and laying the groundwork to empower communities.
“Our mission to interpret the industrial history of Texas allows us to partner with our local communities to find connections to area families who lived in Thurber,” said Shae Adams, assistant curator at the W.K. Gordon Center. “It’s always a great moment when we make connections to a family identity. The history of Thurber is still extremely relevant to the people of Strawn, Gordon, Mingus and Stephenville.”
Located between Fort Worth and Abilene, the W.K. Gordon Center—a Tarleton museum and research facility—attracts thousands of visitors annually to exhibits and special collections related to the historic ghost town of Thurber. At its peak in the 1800s and early 1900s, Thurber was one of the largest coal-mining and brickmaking towns in Texas.
“We are thrilled with the W.K. Gordon Center’s endorsement of our Value Statement,” said Tim Grove, with History Relevance. “History—including knowledge as well as the process of research and reflection—is critically important to our society, culture and the individual citizens who live it each and every day.”
The W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. The center is located at Exit 367 on Interstate 20. For more information, visit www.tarleton.edu/gordoncenter or the museum’s Facebook page.
To learn more about History Relevance, go to www.historyrelevance.com.
Tarleton, a member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. With campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.
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Contact: Shae Adams, Assistant Curator
254-968-1886
[email protected]
