DC Gallery features
“Northwest Ohio Foodways Traditions” Exhibit

DEFIANCE, Ohio – "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are" may be a quote from 18th century French philosopher Brillat-Savarin, but it is still very true today as it sums up the Northwest Ohio Foodways Traditions exhibit now on display in the Women’s Commission Gallery at Defiance College.  The exhibit will run from Thursday, Jan. 21, through Friday, Feb. 19.  The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, or on weekends by appointment.

Foodways is a look at all activities surrounding food. The Northwest Ohio Foodways exhibit highlights a variety of Northwest Ohio food and eating traditions including festivals, agriculture, home production, and ethnic influences.  The exhibit lets us take a closer look at many of the foods associated with Northwest Ohio that may not seem very interesting at first: corn, sauerkraut, apple butter, noodles, and buckeye candies.

The exhibit will include displays from local collectors. Food-related items from the collections of Aric Diehl, Steve Boomer, and Marilyn Mallott will highlight the history of food production and preparation in the Defiance area.  Items from Diehl Brewing, Arps Dairy, and other local companies, some no longer in existence, will also be on display.

In addition, a series of presentations on local foodways will be held in the gallery at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoons. Upcoming presentations include Jason Zeh discussing veganism in Northwest Ohio on Feb. 4; Feb. 11 will feature a discussion on the home production of caramel candies by Dawn Comer; and on Feb. 18 Aric Diehl will speak on the history of Diehl Brewing and its marketing.

The presentations are free and open to the public.

The 12-panel exhibit, made possible by a grant from the Partnership for Community Action, was developed as a partnership between Bowling Green State University and the Wood County Historical Center and Museum.  Project director Dr. Lucy Long and Assistant Project Director Nathan Crook directed the research from undergraduate and graduate students at BGSU. Museum director Christie Raber, curator Randy Brown, and marketing and public relations coordinator Kelli Kling designed and developed the exhibit.  Nathan Crook is assistant professor of communications at Defiance College and holds a Ph. D from Bowling Green State University.   He provided the photographs for many of the panels, and his scholarly work has focused on foodways and cultural anthropology.

For more information about the Foodways exhibit and programming, contact Jan Bechtel, Gallery Coordinator, at 419-783-2444, or jbechtel@defiance.edu

January 29, 2010