OTTAWA — The Old Depot Museum’s newest exhibit, “Home Front in the Heartland, Revisited,” examines the patriotism and sacrifice typical of midwesterners during World War II through artifacts and photographs. The grand opening of the exhibit, which will be free to the public, will be 1-4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The highlight of the exhibit will be the photographs of J.B. Muecke, a freelance photographer whose work was frequently published in the “Ottawa Herald,” said museum manager Diana Starsenic-Deane. Muecke, whose photographs captured everyday moments of life in a small town, captured iconic images of midwesterners “doing their bit” to support the country’s struggle against the Axis powers, she said. The photos are part of a treasure trove of thousands of Muecke’s photos donated to the Franklin County Historical Society. His photographs show men standing around a diner counter, listening to Franklin Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor speech, young children with overloaded wagons participating in paper drives, farmers collecting scrap metal from their fields, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts supporting war bond rallies. The exhibit also relates the experience of German prisoners of war laboring on farms in Franklin County, she said. The exhibit runs through Nov. 10.
Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.
