“Ties of Time” Now on Display in the Cabinet of Curiosities

Dr. Fraley, Bryson Massey, Kim Stokes, Laney Curry, Samantha Forehand, Allie Snapp, Abbie Benson, Disa Tierce, Jon Borland, and Austin Hayes

POCAHONTAS, AR Oct. 5–The BRTC Student-Led Mini-Museum, Cabinet of Curiosities, on the Paragould campus, recently opened its latest exhibit called “Ties of Time.”

Dr. Dianna Fraley’s U.S. since 1876 and World Civilizations since 1660 classes participated in creating and curating the exhibit.  Students researched men’s neckwear from the turn of the 20th century to modern times. The exhibit has examples of ties from each decade from 1940s to the 2010s, including regular neck ties, bow ties, bolo ties, and string ties.

The oldest tie on exhibit was worn by a student’s, Austin Hayes’s, grandfather in the 1940s.  The most expensive is a hand-made, numbered silk tie worth $4,000.00.  Student Allison Snapp brought 85 ties from the 1990s to exhibit the idea that ties today can illustrate almost anything, including one’s favorite cartoon character, charity, political party, or holiday.

The “Ties of Time” exhibit will run through January 2022 and is free and open to the public during campus hours. The exhibit was made possible by a grant from The Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Dr. Fraley and her classes would also like to thank the following individuals for loaning pieces for this exhibit: Mrs. Daphne Perkins, Mrs. Kristin Newman, Mr. Carl Fraley, Dr. Mike Luster, and Mr. Mike Doyle. For more information about BRTC’s programs, visit https://blackrivertech.org/academics.