Chasing Gophers Barefoot

Seven Modern Languages and Cultural Studies (MLCS) students at University of Alberta, including myself and students from MLCS 599 Visualizing Identities 2020 class, taught by Maria Mayerchyk and Jelena Pogosjan, used the materials from the Local Culture Project to create the traveling exhibit “Chasing Gophers Barefoot: Prairie Children of the 1930s.” Visiting scholars from the Kule Folklore Centre and the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies also participated in the project. Dr. Matthias Kaltenbrunner, the Kule Folklore Centre Post-Doctoral Fellow, and Dr. Iryna Skubii, Stuart Ramsay Tompkins Visiting Professor in MLCS each contributed their research to the exhibit. Project Leads Maria Mayerchyk and Jelena Pogosjan asked generously hired me as a Research Assistant during my studies to design, illustrate, and execute the exhibition from 2020-2022.

The exhibit uses the recollections of adults to re-create the worlds of childhood. It tells stories about everyday life of children on a farm and on the streets of a small town, at the school, the church, and the community hall. It explores the clothing that formed the most personal aspect of ‘making do’ in the 1930s, scarcity of food and rare and unforgettable treats, but also toys, games, reading, music, and sports. Each panel includes a QR code that can be scanned by the viewer so they can listen to a related audio interview from the Local Culture Project.

Chasing Gophers Barefoot was unveiled at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village in July of 2022.