January 7, 2016
5:00 pm
The symposium was created and developed to recognize Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Dyess's courage as both a citizen and a soldier of the United States and to identify others who have shown similar valor or made civic contributions above and beyond the call of duty.
The symposium will include remarks by Major General Perry Smith, who served thirty years in the United States Air Force
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Three individuals will be honored with the Symposium's 2016 Distinguished American Award.
Judy Woodruff, Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr., and
Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis
will receive the Symposium's Distinguished American Award.
Each, in their own way, has given a lifetime of service to this nation and to their fellow citizens.
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Monday at the Museum is a monthly program aimed at preschool age children. They must be accompanied by an adult.
Time: 10 am
Cost: $4 per child;
$2 for a member's child
January 18, 2016
Little Yellow Trolley: Story-time and Craft
Children will visit the Trolley exhibit, listen to a story, then create a trolley to take home!
February 15, 2016
President's Day: Colonial Hat Making
Children will visit Revolutionary War exhibit, then create a colonial hat!
March 21, 2016
Irish Immigration in Augusta: Shamrock Jewelry
Children will visit Train exhibit, then create shamrock jewelry!
Registration is requested by calling 706-722-8454 or email Amy Schaffman at aschaffman@augustamuseum.org.
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Member's Night Out
Are you curious about how our train got inside the museum? Have you ever wondered if our Petersburg Boat can float? Here's your chance to find out! Come to Member's Night Out and learn about these things and more! The Augusta Museum of History opens its doors after hours as a special appreciation night for our members. Each night will have a different theme with a guest speaker and hands on activities for the whole family. Discounted memberships can be purchased at the door for Individuals and Families.
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Cost: Free for Museum Members. Admission for non-members is $7 for adults and $4 for children.
Membership Discounts for first
time members:
$25 for Individual, $55 for Family
February 5, 2016 - Election Fever
May 6, 2016 - The History of our Train
August 5, 2016 - Southern Comforts
November 4, 2016 - Home for the Holidays in Augusta
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Memories of the Mansion
Book
Signing
February 26, 2016
1:00 - 2:00 pm
Please join authors Georgia's First Lady Sandra Deal, Dr. Jennifer Dickey and Dr. Catherine Lewis for a lively event of storytelling about life in Georgia's most public house. The event will be filled with behind-the-scenes stories of Georgia's Governor's Mansion and signed copies of
Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia's Governor's Mansion
will be available for purchase during a special meet-and-greet following the event. The event is FREE to attend!
Designed by Atlanta architect A. Thomas Bradbury, Georgia's Governor's Mansion has been home to the State's First Families since opening in 1968. Augusta's own Governor Carl and First Lady Betty Sanders played a pivotal role in the design of the mansion. A distinguished collection of American art and antiques is housed in the mansion. Often called "the people's house," the mansion is always on display, always serving the public.
Memories of the Mansion tells the story of this historic house through the lives and experiences of the people who have lived and worked there.
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March 24, 2016
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Guests will experience a night of mystery and wonder as the Augusta Museum of History comes to life. As the doors close and the lights dim, invitees will tour, with the assistance of security personnel, searching for people and their stories from the past. Guests will be entertained and enlightened. They will also enjoy beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and music before and after their trek through time.
Museum members can purchase tickets starting January 12, 2016.
January 19, 2016, tickets will go on sale to the general public.
Tickets can be purchased on-line at
Sponsorship opportunities available. Sponsors names will be displayed in all printed and marketing materials, creatively displayed in the Museum's rotunda the night of the event and will be listed as a donor on the Museum's website. Sponsorship at the $1,000 level will receive 4 complimentary tickets and sponsorship at the $500 level will receive 2 complimentary tickets. All proceeds benefit the Museum. For more information email
amh@augustamuseum.org.
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Tuscan Villa Raffle
Tickets go on sale February 1, 2016
Drawing Date: October 19, 2016
Tickets: $100
Enter to win 7 nights of accommodations for 4 people in Manciano, Italy, located just 1 1/2 hours north of Rome in beautiful Tuscany. Stay in a casa featuring a full living room, dining room, kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms with views of the rolling countryside. For more information about the casas, contact: Margie Lynch at 770-794-9938. Raffle tickets can be purchased in the Museum Administrative Offices, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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From the Executive Director
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Accreditation: A Museum's Mark of Distinction
As the museum field's mark of distinction since 1971, accreditation offers high profile, peer-based validation of your museum's operations and impact. Accreditation increases your museum's credibility and value to funders, policy makers, insurers, community and peers
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American Alliance of Museums, Washington, DC
There are approximately 18,000 museums in the United States and roughly a little over 800 that are accredited. The accreditation process is grueling, however, incredibly rewarding.
To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a two-person team of peers. The Accreditation Commission, an autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and site visit report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.
The Augusta Museum of
History is proud to be one of twenty museums in Georgia and fourteen museums in South Carolina, and the only museum in the CSRA to have received accreditation. To best serve our community in Richmond, Burke, Columbia, and McDuffie County in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield Counties in South Carolina, it is essential to be committed to institutional improvement, maintaining the highest standards in collections stewardship, governance, institutional planning, ethics, education and interpretation, and risk management. AAM accreditation signifies excellence and accountability to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public. The Augusta Museum of History pledges to continue on a path of accountability and stay true to our Core Values:
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COMMUNITY
We value and respect our varied communities and seek to involve them in the preservation and interpretation of the region's heritage through inclusive, collaborative program and resource development.
DIVERSITY
We believe our organization should reflect the communities it serves. We are committed to making the Museum's staff, board, programs, and collections representative of the regions' diverse people and heritage.
EDUCATION
We believe an understanding of history can make a difference in people's lives and that the past can be used to examine contemporary issues. We promote lifelong learning of the region's history that empowers our audiences to interpret their heritage.
PROFESSIONALISM
We strive for excellence through dedication to scholarship, professional development, and the standards that guide our respective fields.
SERVICE
We are committed to providing quality service to our audiences. We treat them with courtesy and respect and maximize their access to our programs, collections, and services through outreach and technology.
UNITY
We believe a unified staff is key to achieving excellence. We are committed to creating a workplace characterized by effective communication, mutual respect, teamwork, and implementation of common goals.
STEWARDSHIP
We value all expressions of the region's heritage and seek to instill this belief in all of the area's citizens. We have a responsibility to preserve artifacts, memories, records, and traditions that comprise the collective history of the region's individuals, their families and communities.
Nancy J. Glaser, Executive Director
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Bill and Bea Baab have been collecting most of their married life. Mr. Baab loves to accumulate bottles, business ephemera, and pottery while Mrs. Baab prefers to collect cookbooks. Together, they have a lifetime of artifacts that chronicle the history of the CSRA. Last year, they decided to donate their bottles, pottery and business ephemera to the Augusta Museum of History. This past November the Bill and Bea Baab Collection exhibit case was opened to display a portion of their donation. These stunning glass and pottery artifacts are located in the second floor gallery near the
A Community That Heals
exhibit.
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| Donated by Dr. Louie W. Marshall |
The Museum's Wells Fargo Textile case presently features the "Glamourous Gowns of Centuries Past" exhibit. For this display, the Museum has chosen dresses from three historical eras - one from the Victorian era, one from the Flapper era, and one from the Post-WWII era. On display from January until June will be a red chiffon gown, a House of Charles Worth flapper dress, and a Victorian gown once worn by Louise Benton Walton. This exhibit is made possible by the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Lauren Virgo, Registrar
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Stories are one of the best ways to share our past. They are full of humor, sadness, and joy. Did you hear any good stories while spending time with family and friends this past holiday season? If so, consider interviewing a friend or family member about their life experiences. Recording an oral history is easier than ever before. No fancy equipment is needed, just a smartphone or a tape recorder. Come up with some good questions, find a quiet spot, and then just listen as the stories flow. If you want, you can even record your interviews using the National Public Radio's StoryCorps app. It's free and all recordings are archived at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. For more info, visit StoryCorps.org.
For tips on how to preserve your collections at home, check out our
Collections Care Articles tab online.
Lauren Virgo, Registrar
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The Petersburg Boat Captain
January 9, February 6
& March 5
The Other Tubmans
January 16, February 13
& March 12
Brown Bag
History Series
"The Immigration Experience in the CSRA,
an Overview"
- Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell
January 13, 2016
- Chief Langley and Richard Thornton
February 10, 2016
"The European Invasion"
- John G. McBrayer
March 9, 2016
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For more event information, please visit the following link:
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As always, we appreciate your generous contributions and our wonderful Museum members. To see our current list of Donors,
To view our Members,
We thank you!
Mr. and Mrs. Lyle M. Glascock
Dr. Jim Hudson and
Mrs. Pat Knox-Hudson
Dr. & Mrs. Michael Haynes
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Hull
Mr. and Mrs. George Meinhold
Mr. and Mrs. W. Charles Moye
Mr. and Mrs. H. Monty Osteen, Jr.
Patron Members:
Mr. and Mrs. W. Franklin Abbott III
The Honorable and Mrs. H. Scott Allen
Mr. and Mrs. Lowell E. Barnhart
Mrs. Jacquelyn M. Blanchard
Mr. Clayton P. Boardman III
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Cates
Ms. Octavia Garlington
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Nesbit
Dr. Lloyd B. Schnuck, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Storey
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Whitworth
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So Much More to Discover!
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Can you find me?
March 22, 2016, will be the 100th
anniversary of the Great Fire of 1916. The fire began in a tailor's shop at the corner of 8th
and Broad Streets. It proceeded to tear through a large portion of downtown Augusta and destroy 682 buildings across 160 acres, including businesses, schools, churches and homes. The fire left 300 people temporarily homeless. Remarkably, no one died in the fire. In the Museum, there are several objects that relate to the fire history of Augusta including this spoon that was warped by the intense heat of the 1916 fire.
Donated by Sallie Wardlaw
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County Corner:
Aiken County, SC
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Drive-in movie theaters were very popular in the CSRA during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In 1958, the Augusta Chronicle published movie schedules for four regional drive-in theaters including the Hilltop Drive-In Theatre in North Augusta. The Hilltop was located at the intersection of Martintown Road and Highway 1. The 1958 program announces a double feature of Rio Bravo and Showdown at Boot Hill. Hamburgers were sixteen cents and a Pepsi was ten cents. The last publication for movie show times was in 1979. The next mention of the Hilltop in the Augusta Chronicle was its demolition in 1983.
Donated by Joseph M. Lee III
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New Acquisitions
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Sometimes collection items come from colleague institutions. This Academy of Richmond County 1878 diploma for William Sanford Gardner had been donated to the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia. However, the diploma did not have any connection to Columbus so their museum staff searched for a new home for the diploma where it could be preserved. Thus, the diploma was transferred to the Augusta Museum of History. We couldn't be happier to give this beautiful diploma a new home.
Donated by the Columbus Museum
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Education Update
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Newest Partnership:
Department of Military History U.S. Army Command and
General Staff College Fort Gordon, Georgia
The CSRA's diverse population often necessitates the Augusta Museum of History (AMH) to be creative and develop programming aimed at the numerous visitors, who visit. Most recently, the AMH has been working collaboratively with Fort Gordon's Dr. Derek Mallett to enhance and enrich officer training courses.
Dr. Mallett teaches European history as part of required training for officers. The Museum's part in the class is to provide supplemental primary source materials for the Fort Gordon officers by identifying relevant objects within our collection. The subject matter currently being utilized within this is reviewing some of the Museum's extensive World War I collection. The Museum has the ability to add a local flavor to this world-wide event.
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The program, scheduled for early February, is
presently
undergoing
final refinement by both the Museum, as well as by Dr. Mallett, the course instructor. The Museum has many Augusta relevant World War I connections: the Richmond Hussars and the beginning of the Last Man Club; Camp Hancock, the subsequent outbreak of Spanish Influenza and the domestic tension between those who opposed the draft
and those who favored the war.
With
such rich historical
materials available, the Museum and Dr. Mallett can easily tailor the information to the class's specific needs.
The Museum hopes that this program will demonstrate the unique educational options available for learners of any age. By making the Museum's primary sources available for instruction, subsequent possibilities emerge for future AMH engagement with the CSRA community.
Amy Schaffman, Education Manager
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Museum Insights
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Wilkinson Photography Collection
Donated by Linda and Charles Askey
The Wilkinson Photography Studio collection has approximately 250,000 negatives documenting the CSRA's past. To preserve and protect these negatives, the Museum hires interns like me to digitize and care for them. I work with the Robert Wilkinson, Jr., collection, which was donated by family members Ms. Linda Askey and Mr. Charles M. Askey, Jr. Wilkinson was a prominent photographer in the Augusta area from the 1940s-1980s. He worked a number of years for the
Augusta Chronicle
and captured thousands of pictures for community organizations, school yearbooks and passport images as well as pictures of special events in the CSRA. Below, I've highlighted a few of my favorites.
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In keeping with the time of year here is Broad Street decorated for Christmas on December 1, 1947.
Police raids in the area that week netted eight illegal slot machines, also known as "one-arm bandits," that were to be destroyed on the morning of December 17, 1947. Judge Gordon
Chambers of city court promptly ordered the machines smashed and the money from five of the devices to be quietly distributed among the residents of the county home "for their Christmas presents and cheer." In addition, he also ordered the money from the last three machines confiscated to be distributed between the two local newspaper charities: The Chronicle's
Empty Stocking Fund and the Herald's
Good-fellows Fund.
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S&S Cafeteria was swept by a blaze on the morning of February 5, 1949. The fire started in the kitchen, exact cause unknown, and was further complicated by the failure of the fire alarm. The three employees there at the time escaped the inferno by smashing the glass door in the front of the building. The damages were estimated at $75, 000. The cafeteria was on the 800 block of Broad Street between the National Exchange Bank and the Modjeska Theater.
As I continue working through the collection, I have found more and more extraordinary stories captured by Wilkinson. His career can teach us so much about the history of the CSRA. I am excited to see what I find next!
Will Dangerfield, Intern for the Robert Wilkinson Photography Studio Collection
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Fitz-Symms Collection: Wonderfully Wild Augusta
Collection donated in Memory of Robert Symms by Kirk and Lora Baxley
The act of taking pictures of our pets and posting them online has gone viral. It is virtually impossible to visit a social media site without seeing a link to a "20 cutest cats" article, or a "dogs in hats" blog. While it may seem that this assault of cuteness is a recent trend, people have been taking pictures of their pets since photography was invented. In the
mid-twentieth century Fitz-Symms Distinctive Photography took a plethora of animal photos for a wide range of clients and purposes.
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There are dozens of portraits of dogs and horses taken for businesses and private clients. This top image of a dog was taken for Dr. D.M. Howard and his veterinary clinic. If you look closely you can see that the dog has artificial hind legs which were designed by Dr. Howard.
In 1957, Fitz-Symms photographed at least nine different cats to be featured in a Chronicle article called "Cats, proud and aloof, trace their ancestry back to Egypt." The article notes that this was no easy feat and that the photographers had to speak in "honeyed tones" until the various felines consented to having their portrait taken.
Other animal photos in the
Fitz-Symms collec
tion venture into the territories of hilarious and strange. For example, the studio took several photos of a squirrel drinking Coca-Cola from a bottle. They also captured Judge L.W. Cooper showing his three month old pet monkey, Pedro, around the Municipal Building. These images show that there is a wealth or wonderful and wild history just waiting to be discovered in the Fitz-Symms collection.
Lauren Fleming,
Intern for the Fitz-Symms Photography Collection
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