Mechanicsburg, PA — Join us this month for the opening of our historic photography exhibit featuring mid 20th century images from Chicken Bone Beach — a segregated beach on the New Jersey shore.
The show opens First Friday, February 5th at 6 PM.
A reception will be held 3rd Saturday,
February 20th, 2016, from 6 PM to 9 PM,
including live music by Jonathan Frazier.
The Chicken Bone Beach exhibit will remain on display through April. These images are not for sale. The photographs are from the John W. Mosley Photograph Collection housed in the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries, the Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library, and others given to t
he curator, Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks, by Atlantic City residents, friends and family members.
he curator, Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks, by Atlantic City residents, friends and family members.Some of the photographs included in the exhibit have never before been displayed. The exhibit is curated by Penn State Harrisburg graduate student Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks as a result of her thesis project in American Studies. John W. Mosley, a self-taught photographer from Philadelphia, left behind a portion of American history from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Among the four-mile stretch of Atlantic City’s beaches was an area known as Chicken Bone Beach, established as Missouri Avenue Beach around 1939 and earmarked as the African-American territory on the coast. Mosley took thousands of photographs from the 1930s to the 1960s of African-American residents of Atlantic City and visitors attracted to Chicken Bone Beach each summer. The story of Chicken Bone Beach offers a case study of a cultural history in America during a pivotal transition. African-Americans living in Atlantic City created and experienced a unique lifestyle, dwelling in a resort area. Chicken Bone Beach became the most popular beach in Atlantic City, attracting African-American celebrities, civic leaders, athletes, entertainers, and tourists from around the United States. It also served as an attractive beach for white Americans who were anti-racist or were rejected at other beaches due to their hippie or gay lifestyles. The photographs from Chicken Bone Beach demonstrate American citizens living and enjoying their lives while being socially and physically isolated from the rest of Atlantic City, yet still pursuing the American Dream.
Please join us for this historic exhibit!
Author Joan West!
Author Joan West, a Carlisle native, will be in our first floor bookstore, Saturday, February 20, from 6 pm to 9pm, signing copies of her novels in the Carlisle Crime Cases series, published by Sunbury Press.The Carlisle Crime Cases series of murder/mysteries now number three books: Dying for Vengeance,Courting Doubt and Darkness, and Darkness at First Light. They feature fictional Carlisle (PA) homicide detectives Christopher Snow and Erin McCoy.
Joan is Professor Emerita of English Studies at Harrisburg Area Community College, The Gettysburg Campus. She also taught at Messiah College and Shippensburg University as an adjunct and served as Assistant Director of the Learning Center (SU). She and her husband live near Carlisle. In her spare time, West volunteers at the Bookery-Bosler Memorial Library’s used bookstore, participates in the Litwits Book group, and reads voraciously.
Aviation Art Exhibit
Collectible and historic aviation pieces from a private collection are on display upstairs through March. The works depict many scenes from the golden age of aviation through the jet age, including images of the Enola Gay signed by the crew, the Concord, and other famous aces.Last Chance — Mini Masterpieces
This is your last chance to see the Mini Masterpiece exhibit, downstairs in the first floor lounge. These pieces make great gifts, and are priced accordingly. They are on display through the end of February.
