This is the second article in the “Roots and Remembrance” series, documenting efforts to revive interest in local history in the Cary area.
For Barb Wetmore, the dust-laden documents of Cary history seem to come alive at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center – and she wants everyone who visits to see that as well.
Local history, lost history
Tucked in a pocket of forest near the downtown area, the quaint, red-brick property has established itself as a cornerstone of local history. While memorabilia from the Revolutionary War and World War II grace history curricula and have museums dedicated to the preservation of stories from these periods, local history is given much less emphasis. Particularly for smaller cities and towns – like Cary – the origins of its founding can be difficult to find and spark interest in.
Part of the issue is that while large metropolises like New York or Chicago that are known hubs of culture have decades of rich transformation that is well documented and a conducive atmosphere for interested residents, Cary, which is both rapidly developing and experiencing changes in demographic makeup, isn’t finding itself spotlighting its history.
Carla Michaels, a member of the Page-Walker board of directors, is one of the few rare residents whose ancestors grew up and played an integral role in the development of Cary.
“I’m 69 years old, and there aren’t a lot of 69-plus-year-old people here who actually have grown up in Cary and seen all of the changes,” she said. “One of my great grandfathers, back in the 1800s bought land that eventually became Cary in 1837. It just was so fascinating to me to realize that my roots ran so deep in in this community, and then to have grown up here and seen all the changes.”
Michaels feels that, despite the rapid urbanization occurring in the area, it is crucial for residents – whether they be recent expats or longtime inhabitants – to understand the history of the land they live on.
“I just felt like it’s important for people who look around and see the Cary area. A lot of that has been lost, but that doesn’t mean that history has disappeared. We just have to know where to look for it and then be able to tell those stories,” she said.
Capturing stories of the past
Michaels elaborated on the work that went into digging through archives, particularly when historians often don’t cover it. “It takes a little bit of determination, in practice, to uncover the stories.”
Much of this “detective work” entails going through archives of old letters and documents. This writing gives insight into what Cary residents’ lives were like decades ago. “So anytime that researchers can get their hands on diaries and letters, it just opens up a whole different perspective on historic research and preservation,” said Michaels.
Local history comes with an additional challenge – it’s a do-it-yourself process, without textbooks or extensive past materials to build upon. “It’s all based on our own research, like nobody’s given us a script. It’s like we learned this and now we’re going to incorporate that.”
Bringing history alive
Barb Wetmore is another board member at the Page-Walker, and works alongside Michaels to uncover lost stories of Cary’s past. But their roles aren’t just that of detectives – it’s bringing it alive.
Board members use a variety of creative formats, like walking tours, interactive presentations and haunted house-style talks to engage visitors. Both Michaels and Wetmore host tours of both the Cary Cemetery and the Page-Walker Hotel. Enacting these stories is a balancing act: they juggle dual roles in putting the narratives of individuals in context of the larger historical events. However, they also highlight the personality behind the character: the struggles, hopes and aspirations of an individual that they deduce through old diaries and documents.
“How do you present a person’s life beyond the context that they what they live in, like, who they are, personally, who they are, essentially, fundamentally, like, what do they what do they think?” asked Wetmore. The answer isn’t easy. She explained that she likes to begin with a dynamic anecdote of the historical figure’s life, which makes them more personable and relatable to her audience.
“It’s hard to do that. That’s something we try to focus on while we’re trying to document the history of our lives,” she said. “But [I] start with who they are, and then we can bring the context of what might be contributing to the things that they’re afraid of.”
Changing demographics, changing narratives
The organization’s future goals are aimed at uncovering previously forgotten narratives, particularly those of various ethnicities.
“That’s probably our number one initiative, is to do more with learning about and and sharing, capturing, documenting for future generations and sharing with parent generations are more recent history,” Wetmore said. She’s found a particular interest in the uptick in immigrants in the area.
“I live right down the street from the big Hindu temple between Carrie and Morrisville. Finding out their history would be really important, and is shaping the landscape of Cary right now,” she said. This past summer, she’s made strides toward that goal by giving a talk at the Cary Regional Library about the history of street names in the area.
The talk, entitled “Cary History from the Streets: Cary’s African American History,” discusses the numerous street signs named after prominent African American residents.
Youth involvement
With an increasing interest in diverse stories, comes a need for diverse voices. In fact, both members note that there’s a particular need for younger people to become engaged in history. She noted that many youth tend to be uninterested in local history – indicating a sense of apathy towards the stories of Cary.
“We’re not capturing this, so I think we might make that or an initiative this year to try to do that younger people. I’m very encouraged that [we] might have some young people get interested in some of our projects,” she said. She hopes to increase popularity by bringing the Page Walker’s talks and tours to middle school and high school students. “There’ll be more and more people who want to be involved and … help us do the research.”
