Historical kits bring back memories
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - Do you remember doing the peppermint twist at a school dance in the 1950s? How about standing in a breadline during the Great Depression? Did you ever take a train ride across the country as a child?

If so, then the library has a perfect activity for you. Photographs, musical selections, interviews with relevant figures, games and manipulatives from diff erent historical eras and personal experiences are included in a number of "Bi-Folkal" kits, designed to assist people in remembering lifetime experiences.

"Research shows that people with dementia are often able to recall long-term memories, so these were initially created to be used at nursing homes and senior centers," Library Director Ellen Dolan said.

Each kit includes a complete presentation on a particular event, including slides, videotapes or DVDs, handouts and booklets, to allow someone to lead a group of people in learning or remembering about the topic.

Although designed with seniors in mind, Dolan said, each kit is a great tool for any group of people who would like an in-depth look at a certain time period.

"These are prepackaged kits that are set to go, easy to use, easy to check out and perfect for any group that would like to have a program on a specific topic," she said.

Among the Bi-Folkal kits that can be checked out from

" the library are "Remembering the Great Depression," with audio of first-hand accounts of how people made it through the tough times, a sing-along kit with lyrics to songs from the time and information about the New Deal Alphabet Agencies.

"Remembering the Home Front" includes ration stamps, scented cards of rationed items like chocolate and gasoline, military and civil insignia, and a bandage like the ones handrolled by volunteers.

People can trace train rides on an oversized laminated map with the "Remembering Train Rides" kit. Materials allow people to put on a skit using provided scripts and props and to read through a booklet that includes three poems, a menu from the diner on the 1937 Super Chief, four singalong songs, and 10 examples of authentic train talk with definitions.

The library has more than a dozen of these kits, which can be found by searching the library catalog. The kits can also be requested through the library outreach program if you are not able to get to the library.