The photos in the exhibit portray a strong military presence in Athens during the Vietnam War and the Kent State shooting.
The Athens County Historical Society and Museum’s latest exhibit provides visitors with a lesson in local history in a particularly visual way.
“The Sky Has Fallen: Troops, Turmoil, and Teargas” is an exhibit composed of photos taken in May 1970. These photos document the unrest in Athens that followed the shooting of 13 Kent State University students by the Ohio National Guard. Ohio University remained open for 11 days after the shooting before closing May 11.
The photos document protests and demonstrations by students and Athens members alike, along with the activities of the police and the Ohio National Guard who were charged with maintaining order throughout the campus.
While current students might not have experienced a military presence in Athens, the photos feature many familiar scenes, including the Athena Cinema, College Green and the Athens Civil War Monument.
The exhibit is composed primarily of photos taken by Ken Steinhoff, a former reporter for The Post who was working as a photographer for The Athens Messenger at the time.
Steinhoff said taking the photos was just “another day at the office.”
“I was not acutely aware I was covering history,” Steinhoff said. “At the time, it was just another assignment.”
Steinhoff also recalled how physically and emotionally demanding the job became during those 11 days he spent covering the unrest on campus.
One moment he said he remembered clearly was a demonstration held in front of the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, during which a student read the names of every soldier killed in Vietnam up to that day. Each name was followed by a single beat of a drum, which can be seen in one of the photographs displayed in the exhibit.
“That drum still haunts me today,” Steinhoff said.
He said the emotion he felt still comes back when he realized that each beat represented a boy his own age that had been killed on Vietnamese soil.
Tom O’Grady, executive director of the Athens County Historical Society, said he is also no stranger to the tension felt on college campuses all across the country during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he was not in Athens at the time, he witnessed firsthand some similar activity on various other college campuses.
“There was a lot of interest and activity by students to make change on campus,” O’Grady said.
He also spoke fondly of the exhibit and how current students and community members are able to learn a crucial part of Athens history from it.
“This is an important part of the history of this little community,” O’Grady said. “It’s important to learn about your history and it’s important to learn about the place that you’re living, even if you’re only living there temporarily.”
@alleeexxiiss
ae595714@ohio.edu
