The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will reopen its gallery to the general public on Monday, March 8. Visitation will be limited to six people at one time. Reservations, face masks and proper social distancing are required. The center's current exhibition is titled “Conflict and Resolve: Labor in the Upper Peninsula.”
The Beaumier Center's open hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. Visits are limited to 30 minutes to allow as many people to see the exhibition as possible. To make a reservation, call 906-227-2549.
Beaumier Center staff will regularly clean door handles and display cases to minimize any contamination. Hand disinfectant is provided at the entrance to the gallery.
The “Conflict and Resolve” exhibition looks at organized labor in the region from the very beginnings of the mining and lumbering industry in the mid-19th century to the development of service unions in the 20th century. It features sections on the Knights of Labor, mining safety, various mining and lumbering strikes, corporate paternalism, unionization and community service.
The exhibition includes extensive interpretive text, images, artifacts and media to paint a broad picture of the role labor has played and still plays in the lives of many workers and their communities. It marks the debut of three new custom display cases built by students in NMU's construction management program.
Beaumier Center Director Dan Truckey can be reached at 227-1219 or dtruckey@nmu.edu.