Had an interesting discussion with Bridget about raising aspirations. We have a fantastic collection from the Stark company of Great Ryburgh who started off as grocers and drapers. The family grew sweet peas as a hobby and for fun. As they began to win more and more awards (all the certificates in our collection!) they decided to sell their seed - begin a second career and "grow their aspirations".
A second example is a couple of gardening employment applications administered by the Daniels Bros company from Norwich. My understanding was once an under gardener always an undergardener until the Head Gardener popped his clogs but here is clear evidence for workforce mobility and a wish to improve their situation - under gardeners hoping for better opportunities, and applying for posts at other large estates through Daniels as middlemen.
A key issue for rural life museums is retaining relevance - how do we make our collections more than just nostalgia? By looking at examples like those above we can see that here is the inspiration for others to make the break, raise their goalposts and "aim high". For many, particularly in more rural communities, there are "blinkers" which prevent people from seeing opportunities. By showing how it was done in the past hopefully we can encourage it in the future. In doing so, demonstrating the modern relevance of the collection and proving our worth in an ever changing environment.
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