Echoes of Glory: Museum’s newest exhibition explores local sports history

OBSERVER Photos by MJ Stafford Kay Szewczuk, guest curator of the Barker Museum’s new exhibition on local sports, poses with referee gear worn by Joe Nalbone from 1930 to 1985

“I don’t think we’ve ever done anything about sports in general.” said Kay Szewczuk, a Fredonia Museum volunteer who is serving as guest curator for this exhibition. “I was working with the artifacts in the collection and it occurred to me, ‘Boy, we have a lot of sporting goods.'”

She said: “The more I talked to people about it, the more it seemed like we had a sports culture that needed to be celebrated.”

The Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame and local residents also provided volunteer items. One that immediately catches the eye is the baseball referee equipment of Joe Nalbone, who worked games from 1930 to 1985. The equipment was donated by Bob Nalbone, Joe’s son.

The exhibition also shows many old university pieces “F” Letters and coats from Fredonia High School sports. There is also a smart looking street gray wool Fredonia baseball jersey. Szewczuk provided some information to counter the common misconception that old wool baseball uniforms were uncomfortably hot. She said that because they were “Performance Equipment” Back then they were made with a high thread count to wick away moisture.

An old Fredonia High School varsity sweatshirt in front of a banner signed by Jenn Suhr, a Fredonia native and Olympic gold medalist.

The exhibition also deals with recent sports history. “Just because a medal was won a year ago – that will still be history in 50 years” Szewczuk said. “We want to show some old but also new history.”

Under a glass case is a signed note from former Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson from 1995, when the Bills held training camps at SUNY Fredonia. Fredonia’s pole vault hero Jenn Suhr is also present – there’s a large banner featuring her, signed by the Olympic gold medalist.

The exhibition currently also features items related to martial arts and dance. Szewczuk said the exhibit, which will be open through April, will feature rotating exhibits throughout the high school sports season.

“We encourage people to come back” another time after the visit, Szewczuk said. “There are too many sports than we can fit in this space (at once).” She encouraged community members to borrow items for the exhibit.

The exhibition opened today.

An old Fredonia High School baseball jersey.

“Much of it has never been shown or at least not recorded” said Max Walters, the museum’s full-time curator. He called sports “A good lens for examining what a community values – who it encourages to participate and what sports it prefers.”