![Click to view slideshow Click to view slideshow](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_01.jpg)
![Participants with the USDA talk to visitors about all the different branches of the Department. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_01.jpg)
![Alvin Katahara of the University of Hawai‘i welcomes visitors to Reunion Hall. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_02.jpg)
![Participants from Mississippi State University show Festival visitors what their school has to offer. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_03.jpg)
![Representatives from Texas A&M University proudly show off their display in Reunion Hall. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_04.jpg)
![A Festival visitor leaves a note in Reunion Hall showing her school spirit for Virginia Tech. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_05.jpg)
![Festival Visitors read the timeline of past 150 years of Land-grant Universities and the US Department of Agriculture in Reunion Hall. Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_06.jpg)
![Universities decorate boards for Festival visitors to leave messages on in Reunion Hall. Photo by F.T. Eyre, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution](/images/galleries/2012/cc-reunion-hall/images/reunion_slideshow_07.jpg)
Reunion Hall brought the past into the present and even provided some people the opportunity to think about their futures. Inside one large tent, eleven program partners organized presentation areas that featured information about their institutions: the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, 1994 Tribal Colleges, Michigan State University, Mississippi State University, Montana State University, Texas A&M University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of California, Davis, University of Hawai‘i, University of Maryland Archives, and University of Missouri. Presentations included images of beautiful campuses and college life, historical photos, iPads linked to homepages, and even a game to test your cowbell-ringing skills. Alumni from land-grant or public universities, as well as employees of the USDA, were invited to leave their mark at the Festival by sharing their experiences and memories on colorful note cards that were posted for everyone to read.
The centerpiece of Reunion Hall was an historical timeline highlighting the accomplishments of universities and the USDA over the past 150 years. Visitors wandered around the six-foot-tall rectangular installation to discover how world events influenced universities and the USDA and how these institutions impacted the world. You can browse through these interesting facts and photos with our virtual timeline on this Web site.
Located just a few feet from the timeline, history became tangible with George Washington Carver’s original Jesup Wagon, loaned to the Festival by the USDA. One of the pioneers of agricultural extension, Carver used this Jesup Wagon as a school on wheels that traveled from town to town in the early twentieth century.
Reunion Hall was one of the fortunate few tents in the Campus and Community program that was not affected by the violent storm that blew through the area on Friday evening, June 29. When the neighboring Family Activities tent was damaged in the storm, its displays and activities were incorporated into Reunion Hall. The final results reflected the great resourcefulness and cooperative spirit of our program team and partners.