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Smithsonian’s ‘Hometown Teams’ Comes to Mount Vernon

From pick-up games to organized leagues, every hometown team has its heroes. Hometown sports continue to shape and unite us in towns, cities, and states across the country.

In Mount Vernon, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian’s "Museum on Main Street Program" is working to celebrate local sports heroes and the broader impact of athletics on our communities. “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America” will be on display at the First Street Community Center from March 18 to April 29, 2018.

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe visits the exhibit with Joe Jennison, director of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group, to hear some of the stories of the region’s sports legacies.

“The whole point of this is that the Smithsonian wants us to tell our own stories along with the Smithsonian exhibit,” Jennison says. “It’s been an absolute joy putting this all together and hearing these stories and retelling these stories for you all today and for hundreds that have been through in the last few weeks.”

Following Mount Vernon, the exhibit travels to Ottumwa, Guthrie Center, Jefferson, Ames, and Conrad.