Volume 19, No. 2 • July 2001

LAFAYETTE AND JEFFERSON IN LAGRANGE

Students from throughout the Troup County School

After years of having heard how LaFayette slept at Bellevue (an impossibility since Bellevue was built long after the Marquis died), he finally visited!

System and from LaGrange Academy, LaGrange College, and West Georgia Christian Academy saw the two actors at West Georgia Technical Institute. Others saw them at First Baptist Church on the Square and at Bellevue. Ages of those in attendance ranged from young students to adults who had studied history for many, many years. Jefferson and LaFayette generally told the audiences a little about themselves and then answered questions -- a highlight in each performance. Discussions ranged from the difficulty of travel in the late 1700s and early 1800s to the absurdity of women voting (why on earth would women want to vote??) to why LaFayette wore white gloves but Jefferson didn’t (Jefferson forgot to bring his gloves and apologized for his rudeness) to the development of political parties and the role of the media in shaping public events. Not only did the actors know about their characters, they knew much about what was going on in the world during their characters’ lifetimes. Their presentations will long be remembered by everyone who heard them. Thanks to the Hydrangea Festival for making this visit possible. The Troup County Historical Society was delighted to be able assist in organizing and hosting this event.

IN MEMORY

• Dr. and Mrs. Robert Copeland
• Dr. and Mrs. Stanley Hall
• Mr. and Mrs. Greg Minchew
• Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Fowler & family
• JoAnn H. Smith (Maryland)
• Joonhong Ahn (California)
• Edward C. Morse (California)
• Per F. Peterson (California)
• Mildred E. Mueller (Wisconsin)
• Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Pearlstein (California)
• Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Ferry (California)
• Mrs. Ruth S. Hardie
• Col. & Mrs. John H. Schuyler
• Mrs. W. W. Keller
• Mr. & Mrs. Bill Petry
• Mr. Julian L. Dunlap (Tennessee)
• Mrs. Pat Hopkins
• S. Garrett, SG Sales

HISTORY DAY

West Side Magnet School sent students to the national contest for the fourth straight year. Camille Evans and partner Laura Nichols and Adam Barnett made it to the finals of their respective categories, group performances and individual projects. In addition, Camille and Laura’s project on Space Parallels: Astronauts and Cosmonauts received the national award for best overall entry from Georgia. Adam’s project focused on the Tuskegee Airmen.

Other West Side students who participated in the National contest included Cory Cain and Zac Sims who did a group project and Ashleigh Smith who did an individual performance.

Wade Stout from LaGrange Academy placed first on the state level for his historical paper and also qualified for the national contest.

The Troup County Historical Society is proud to cosponsor the local history day contest with LaGrange College and was happy to be able to assist the students with their trip to Washington, We expect to host a membership brunch in August or September featuring these winning History Day entrants. Watch your mail for more details. The staff at the Archives is already working on the 2002 contest! The theme will be Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History.

GEORGIA TRUST 2002 ANNUAL MEETING TO BE IN LAGRANGE

A committee is already hard at work on developing plans, budgets, goodie bags, and a full slate of activities for the weekend. Mary Jane Crayton has been named as the honorary chair of the meeting. Committee members include: Kaye Minchew, Karen Scarborough, Bit Taylor, Ann Petry, Harriett Edge, Ellen Harris, Dee Smith, Kathleen Gulley, Betty Fagundes, Julia Dyar, Glenda Major, and Susan Hall. We will need many more volunteers so if you are interested in helping, please call the Archives at 884-1828.

More specific details will be forthcoming later this year, but tentative plans include a tour of downtown structures and two or three historic homes on Friday afternoon and a barbecue dinner that night along with a performance by the Shondrells and by a men’s quartet featuring old Southern favorites.

Saturday will open with the Georgia Trust Award’s Ceremony at Callaway Auditorium on the campus of LaGrange College. LaGrange and Troup County’s history, along with our heritage education program for teachers, will be spotlighted during the program. A box lunch will follow and then several homes will be open for tours that afternoon. Saturday evening will include a reception at Bellevue, LaGrange’s only National Landmark, and dinner at one of our historic homes on Vernon Road. Sunday will feature a brunch and tour of a historic treasure.

The three days promise to be lots of work for all of us in LaGrange but they should also be lots of fun as we show off our town. The toughest part of arrangements will be the fact that we can not spotlight all of our historical treasures! Three days is not long enough to really get to know and appreciate our area -- so we hope everyone will come back for future visits!

Stay tuned for developments as we prepare to welcome 250 to 350 Georgians to our town. The committee would also appreciate everyone saying their prayers for good weather. Lovely April weather would be a great asset!!  

As long time members know, this will be the third time our area has hosted the Georgia Trust Annual Meeting.

HERITAGE EDUCATION 2001 A FOCUS ON HOUSES

Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, “dogtrots” and double pen, Greek Revival, “Egyptian Revival” and Queen Anne, together with two up/two down and sheaves of wheat. These were some of the terms that greeted the participants in the Heritage Education Workshop sponsored by the Troup County Archives and the Georgia Trust, June 11-15, 2001.

Heritage Education teachers on Broad Street walking tour

Although some teachers had participated in other Heritage Education workshops, all were excited about this year’s class because of the theme—Historic Houses. When the class began on June 11, Kaye Minchew and Clark Johnson had prepared quite an agenda.

Almost immediately the class was off on a walking tour, actually a scavenger hunt of Broad Street. With visual surveys in hand, the class scanned selected homes for architectural features. In many instances, the class compared photographs of homes made in the 1930s by Snelson Davis with present features noting changes, both subtle and dynamic. Kaye and Clark provided insights into the lives of the people associated with the homes. Not only did the class learn about columns, windows, transoms and shingles but also that it is a long distance from the Archives to Country Club Road by way of sidewalks!

On Tuesday, a rainy day, the group studied homes on Greenville Road. Katherine and Werner Linz greeted the class at the Mays-Boddie-Linz home and the Boddie Plantation while Ann Beason and Virginia Hutchinson welcomed the group to Cloverland. The class then enjoyed lunch with Bill and Ann Petry at their home in Liberty Hill. Wednesday was spent touring Ferrell Gardens, Hills and Dales, and the Oaks (home of Stanley and Susan Hall), where it was learned how a restored home could be adapted for twenty-first century family living. Thursday morning was spent in antique shops with individuals and groups determining what three items would be saved in case of a pending disaster and why. Architect Skip Smith joined the group for lunch at the Taste of Lemon and share insights about architecture.

Catherine Linz greets the class and explains some of its historical charms and mysteries.   Finding the unexpected is always a treat on any tour. Here teachers view reconstruction of a fountain at Ferrell Gardens.

Throughout the week, teachers shared how they could use information gleaned from the tours in their classrooms. Poems, scale models, architectural bingo, games, skits, geometric shapes, historical research and even measuring the height of a home with a ruler were discussed by the group.

By Friday, twenty-two Troup County teachers were headed back to the classroom with a better knowledge of Troup County homes and ways to incorporate the workshop’s theme into their classes. Although teachers benefited with new knowledge and classroom activities the real beneficiaries will be the students of Troup County who will have a better understanding of their local history and heritage—all made possible by the Troup County Archives, Troup County Schools, and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Activities in Heritage Education included writing, doing major projects, studying changes and details, and much more.

ROYAL THEATER IN HOGANSVILLE ON NATIONAL REGISTER

Listing on the National Register means that the historical and architectural significance of the Art Deco building has been recognized. Since it is a government building, the listing will also make the structure eligible for grant funds. Other structures in Hogansville listed on the National Register include the Phillips-Sims house, on Highway 54 near I-85, added in the 1980s, and East Main Street-Johnson Street Historic District listed in 2000.

STAFF NOTES

Barbara is the wife of Tony Datillo, Executive Director of Clark Holder Clinic. They have lived in LaGrange for about a year. We appreciate her assistance!

Archives Director Kaye Minchew has just been elected to the Board of Directors of NAGARA, the National Association of Government Archivists and Records Administrators. NAGARA is the largest association of government archivists in the United States. Members represent federal, state, and local governments. Minchew presented a session on training local government officials at NAGARA’s annual meeting in Portland, Oregon in July. Minchew was also recently appointed to the Leadership Council of LaGrange College.

Clark Johnson, Troup County Historian and Reference Archivist for the Troup County Archives, was just elected President of the LaGrange Rotary Club. He will serve from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. He takes over as President from former Troup County Historical Society President Charles D. Hudson, Jr. Kaye Minchew was elected as Vice-President.

Finally, we welcome a new staff member. Barry Jackson joined the Archives staff in mid-June as the Accessions Archivist. In his part-time position, he will process donations to the Archives and handle correspondence with donors. Barry recently retired from teaching history at Troup County High School though he will continue teaching on a halftime basis. Barry is a native of Troup County. His article about the 2001 Heritage Education Class can be found on page 4-5. Barry will also be helping with History Day and with Heritage Education classes. Welcome!

We are also delighted to have Michelle Horton back as a summer assistant. Michelle worked for us last year and is helping with indexing LaGrange Daily News newspapers. Michelle also assists with reference. A native of Troup County, Michelle is a rising senior at Georgia State University majoring in journalism and political science. This past year, she interned for State Representative Jeff Brown.

In addition to these happenings, the staff at the Archives have been busy. Summer brings out the highest number of genealogists and family researchers as they make research trips across the south and across the country. Our genealogy e-mail requests continue to increase as genealogical use of the Internet grows more popular.