In a time when Buffalonians may be facing some difficult economic challenges, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society has decided to host the debut of the program “Whose Names Are Unknown: Songs & Images from the Great Depression” which will recount a worse economic era, the Great Depression.
“The title for the event is taken from the use of ‘whose names are unknown’ that was put on foreclosed properties during the Great Depression,” according to Kathleen Vogel Matthews, Adult Education Coordinator of Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
The event will include the music of the 1930s that helped raise the spirits of a whole country during the Great Depression. Additionally, the music will be performed to historical narrative and images from the Great Depression and New Deal years. Farm Security Administration has provided the images for this event from documentary photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein and Walker Evans. “The images that will be showcased at this event are strong and poinent while the music chosen for the event tells the story of the era in a personal way,” Matthews said.
The Blue Eagle Sting Band will be on hand to perform at the event, playing a set of rare songs that they compiled from out-of-print recordings and extensive research at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. A few songs you can expect to hear include “Foreclosure Blues”, “I Don’t Want Your Millions Mister”, and “We Have FDR Back Again”. All of the songs that will be performed have themes of fear, loss and determination, along with humorous political and social commentary, and playful camaraderie. “The event is very moving and informative, but the music has a good rhythm, as the event is not meant to be depressive–just serious,” said Matthews.
The event will take place on Wednesday, July 16, at 7 PM, in The Historical Society Museum, located at 25 Nottingham Court at Elmwood Avenue. Admission for the event is $10 for the general public and $8 for students and members of the Historical Society. For additional information, call 716.873.9644 extension 301, or go to bechs.org.
Furthermore, the program “Whose Names Are Unknown: Songs & Images from the Great Depression” will be available to schools and groups as a presentation. For more information about the program, click here.
Photo courtesy of about.com @ http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blygd42.htm