Exhibition Script - Museum on Main Street

The Way We Worked scriptWITHIN FOUR WALLSAs America’s wealth, industries, and service-based economy grew, more Americansthan ever came indoors to work. Increasingly, jobs are located within the four walls of anoffice, factory, store, or home. And these places change continually as our societychanges. Take a look inside – there’s more than what meets the eye.Background Image:Tulip Town Market, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,by James Edward Westcott, July 1945.National Archives, General Records of the Department of EnergyIN THE MARKETDuring World War II, many Americans moved from farming communities to largertowns to support the war effort. Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was created in 1942 aspart of the U.S. atomic weapons program. These women were among thehundreds who worked in the town’s first businesses.IN THE HOMEWhether raising children or doing chores – like these farmers (bottom photo) who“put up” their harvest in jars and cans – a home is a busy place! A parent’s labormay be unpaid, but professionals in many fields, such as childcare and medicine,work inside their clients’ homes.“When you work in the house, you are working a big job. I lovedthat.”--Lucille Preston, 1985From A World War II Journey: From Clarksdale, Mississippi, toRichmond, California, 1942Farm family cans a butchered hog, Haskell County, Kansas,by Irving Rusinow, ca. 1940.National Archives, Records of the Bureau of Agricultural EconomicsPERSONAL WORKSTATIONS [on fence section]All-too-familiar office cubicles were invented in 1968 by Robert Propst, whocalled them “Action Offices.” He believed that the privacy and personalization ofpartitioned desks would improve productivity and morale. Forty years later, somegenerations of Americans have worked only in cubicles.Office building, Golden, Colorado,by Mike Linenberger, 2009.National Renewable Energy Laboratory9