Jimmie Dyess Symposium
January 5, 2017
5:00 pm
The sympos
ium 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 2017 Distinguished American Award. Beverly Barnhart, Ambassador Theodore R. Britton, Jr.,
and
Medal of Honor recipient Harold Arthur "Hal" Fritz
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 16, 2017
Say Cheese: Historic Photography
Children will learn about the history of photography through a gallery scavenger hunt and then create photo frames.
February 27, 2017
President's Day: Political Buttons
Children will learn about the history of political buttons and then create their own!
March 13, 2017
Women in War: Celebrating our Hometown Heroes
Children will learn about how the role of women changed from the Civil War until today and create a dog tag necklace.
Registration is requested by calling 706-722-8454 or email Amy Schaffman at [email protected].
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Museum Escape: The Red Scare
Shocking facts have been revealed about a prominent member of the Augusta community. Margaret Bourke-White, the wife of noted Augusta-area novelist, Erskine Caldwell, has mysteriously returned to the Augusta region. She is under suspicion by the House Un-American Activities Committee for being a communist and helping the Soviet Union. It is up to you to find out the truth. You have 45 minutes to uses the clues and solve the puzzle to find out the truth and save our city. Is there a KGB spy in our midst?
Experience this Escape Room in the exhibit "Local Legends."
Saturday, February 18, 25 and March 4, 11, 18, 25
Cost:
$20/person; $25/at the door
$15/museum member
Time:
11am, 1pm, and 3pm
Each session is 1 hour, which includes 45 minutes to solve the mystery and a 15 minute debriefing and pictures after the event. Arrive at least 10 minutes before your session to hear instructions and sign a wavier. Museum admission is included in your Museum Escape ticket.
Museum members can purchase tickets during the member presale starting January 9, 2017, at 10 am.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public January 16, 2017.
The Museum offers company sessions for Museum Escape Monday through Wednesday, 9 am - 5 pm. If you would like to book a private session for your business as a team building exercise, please contact the Museum at 706-722-8454. Museum Escape: Murder at the Mill and our future escape programs are available for booking throughout the year.
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March 16, 2017
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 during the member presale starting February 6, 2017, at 10 am.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public February 13, 2017.
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From the Executive Director
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For a museum that was conceived in a time before television, how can the AMH operate in a world completely revolutionized by digital technology? As museums enter the digitally interactive arena of the 21st century, a need has emerged to access strategies of program development that seamlessly interface with existing missions and resources.
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An example of a hologram used in a museum setting.
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The Augusta Museum of History is staying relevant through social and new media - using Twitter, Facebook, tablets and iPhones and more. We are fortunate to have donors and partners which understand this relevancy. They assist the AMH by providing critical resources to enable the Museum to experiment, to create, and to implement, through the use of technology, a way to reach diverse audiences. This journey has revolutionized the way exhibitions are developed, how collections are shared, and the innovation of programming. It also has provided an efficient and effective management of human and financial resources. Frankly, it has made the most of every dollar!
There is much to be proud of that has been accomplished to date, but there is much more to come. Options currently being explored: creating an augmented reality program for the region, the use of hologram(s) in exhibitions, and enhancing the Museum's website collection pages to include a way to examine artifacts through magnification.
The future is now and your Museum is fully embracing that future.
Nancy J. Glaser, Executive Director
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Augusta has been a city of fountains, a city of gardens and a city of luxury hotels. Starting this spring, visitors can view a temporary exhibit on the second floor about the River Region's hotel history. From the Planters Hotel to The Albion to the Bon Air, hotels have fostered a centuries-long tourism economy in our community. Come explore some of the unique images and artifacts that illustrate this story.
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Donated by Mrs. Campbell L. Smith
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This year marks the 100
th anniversary of the United States' entry into the first global war - World War I. In honor of this occasion, the AMH will publish an online exhibit about Augusta's Camp Hancock. The images of Camp Hancock are fascinating and they offer a new perspective of this once expansive military encampment that was located near the intersection of Wrightsboro Road and Highland Avenue. Check out our webpage (www.augustamuseum.org/OnlineExhibitions) for the online exhibit.
Don't forget to check out the new rotation of uniforms in the Hometown Heroes textile exhibit on the second floor. This display of uniforms that date from the Spanish-American War to the Vietnam War will end in June 2017. The Hometown Heroes exhibit is made possible by the generosity of the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Lauren Virgo, Registrar
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Now open: Online Museum Shop
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Choose from a variety of different products including t-shirts, books and gift packages. Please check back in regularly, as we are adding new items all the time!
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Holiday Closure
Closed January 1
Voices of the Past
The Petersburg Boat Captain
January 21,
February 18, & March 18
The Other Tubmans
January 14,
February 11, & March 11
Brown Bag
History Series
"The Distinctive Communities of the River Region, An Overview
"
- Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell
January 11, 2017
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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. and 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
Augusta Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Mr. and Mrs. Lowell E. Barnhart
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph I. Converse
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?
This cup was given by Augusta's Mayor Foster Blodgett Jr. to the firemen of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company on October 29, 1859. The cup was one of four given by the mayor to various Augusta firehouses in commemoration of their service
Donated by Molly Bazemore
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County Corner:
Aiken County, SC
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At the turn of the 19
th century the tourism industry in Augusta and Aiken was growing tremendously. Trains brought wealthy Northerners to the area for the winter season due to our warmer climate. In addition to Augusta's Bon Air Hotel, the city of Aiken had a luxury hotel named the Highland Park Hotel. Opened in 1870, this three-story hotel could host 250-300 guests within its 185 rooms. Once located near the intersection of Highland Park Drive and Park Avenue, the grand resort burned on February 6, 1898.
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New Acquisitions
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In March of 1980, Mr. James Brown performed at New York City's famous Studio 54. His performance was recorded and later released as the Live from New York album (1981). Two tickets from this 1980 concert were recently donated to the Museum.
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The Museum is pleased to announce that the following grants have been received this year:
Institute of Museum and Library Science Grant (IMLS) - This national grant supports our internship program as well as supplies for cataloging and preserving the Fitz-Symms Photo Collection in order to make it public through various digital libraries.
Community Foundation Grant - Our Internship program, which focuses on scanning, cataloging and preserving the Fitz-Symms and Wilkinson Photo Collections, is supported by this grant.
Creel Harrison Grant - This grant provides for new computers as well as other technology based improvements in the Museum.
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Your comments and feedback are much appreciated.
Please email your suggestions to [email protected]
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Each year the Augusta Museum of History hosts a Brown Bag History Lecture series with various themes. The theme for 2016 was immigration. As part of the AMH's ongoing preservation of knowledge, each immigration lecture was recorded. In addition to these videos being digitally preserved on the Museum's server, the AMH will also post the videos on our YouTube site.
Do you have an interest in filming your friends, family or community historians? All you need is a camcorder, a computer and a designated interview time with your person. The Museum staff uses a standard HD camcorder and a tripod which was donated by Nelson Danish, to record interviews. The camcorders are easy to operate and usually come with software to help you edit your films.
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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Education Update
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The Museum's Education department has been busy since the last Archive issue. The holiday season is upon us, the Polar Express has arrived at the Museum, and the smell of gingerbread is in the air. Most excitingly, the year is almost over and 2017 is about to arrive. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the United States entering the First World War.
To mark this milestone, the Augusta Museum of History, as part of the World War I and America, a two-year initiative of the Library of America presented in partnership with funding from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and other organizations with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, will present three programs about the First World War. The Museum will be partnering with Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell from Augusta University, Steven Rauch the US Army Signal Corps historian, and Tom Sutherland the Veteran Liaison. The programs will seek to partner with veterans and will include interactive activities, lectures, and discussions. The first of these events will be on February 21, 2017, at noon and will explore questions impacting the veteran community. Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell will moderate the session. The second event, on May 27, 2017, will feature historian Steven Rauch who will discuss the impact of WWI on the River Region. The final program will be on June 24, 2017, and will be an interactive primary source look at the First World War. All events will be held at the Augusta Museum of History.
In addition to the WWI programs, the Education Department will unveil a new spring edition of the Museum Escape program. This new mystery will be based in the Local Legends exhibit and may include Soviet intrigue. More information, including dates and times, can be seen earlier in this Archive Issue. So make sure you save the dates to participate in our Legendary Caper Escape Room.
The Education Department looks forward to a new year of programming in 2017.
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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December 1947
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Left, business was booming in downtown Augusta in this photograph taken on Broad Street during the Christmas season.
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February 24, 1949
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At right,
a twin engine, 40 passenger plane owned by Harold S. Vanderbilt landed un-announced at Daniel Field for an overnight stay on its route from New York to Palm Beach. The multi-millionaire was reported to not be aboard, though someone was observed moving around inside the locked aircraft.
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December 1950
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A father, his son and granddaughters pose in front of a Christmas tree during the annual Augusta Exchange Club banquet.
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: New Discoveries
Collection donated in Memory of Robert Symms by Kirk and Lora Baxley
The Fitz-Symms Photography Studio Collection contains approximately 23,680 envelopes comprising of about 800,000 negatives of the history in the Augusta area from the 1940's to the 1980's. In order to preserve and process these negatives, they must all be scanned, rehoused and digitalized. The Fitz-Symms collection was donated
in memory of Robert Symms
by Kirk and Lora Baxley in 2014 and has been a significant research contribution to regional history. Here are a few new discoveries of the Augusta business collection that were recently processed.
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December 14, 1965
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The Coca-Cola Bottling Company, seen in this image at left, had a bottling plant located on the corner of 5th and Reynolds Street, and it served Augusta for many years before relocating. The building still
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ca. 1954
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stands today.
A lady at WRDW is quenching her thirst with a Canada Dry Ginger Ale from a vending machine for a whopping 7 cents! There was a small deposit on the bottle, which when empty could be placed on the rack on the right of the machine.
The Carolina Theater, also known at one time as the Marrh Theater, served North Augusta well into the early 1960s. Located
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October 1957
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at 506 Georgia Avenue, the building still stands today. In this photo, the marquee is advertising "2 first run hits"; the Basilo vs. Robinson Fight film, and Run of the Arrow. Couples on a date could sit in extra wide seats at the ends of the isles. The theater even had speakers in a separate glassed-in area for smokers, and a crying baby room.
Cari Warren, Intern for the Fitz-Symms Photography Collection
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