Volume 22, No. 2 • June 2004

Heritage Education 2004

Heritage Education, or Talking Walls, was first developed by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The Troup County Historical Society and Archives has offered workshops since 1993. The goal of the workshops is to familiarize teachers with local history so that they can then share historical information of the area with their students in whatever subject area and grade level they teach. Teachers also received a notebook filled with photocopies of letters, diaries, school catalogs, maps, photographs, and more which they can use to help make history come alive in their classrooms.

Some of the activities during the week included a walking tour of Broad Street and a scavenger hunt at LaGrange College; research time at the Troup County Archives; a tour of Hill View Cemetery which focused on the education careers of some of the people buried at Hill View; a visit to Ann and Bill Petry’s home at Liberty Hill where a delicious lunch was enjoyed; a visit to Abbottsford House which served as a school for that community from 1929 to 1949 and is now an events space operated by Lou Ann Norris; and tours of the now abandoned Dunson School and Rosemont Gym which is now a center of activity at Rosemont Baptist Church. West Point Mayor Billy Head gave us a tour of West Point Elementary School which is being renovated for housing for senior citizens almost two decades after being closed following the merger of West Point and Troup County Schools in 1986. The class also heard from retired educators Lewis Banks and Dusty Mills, and Joyce Morgan who retired as an educator in Troup County and now works as Assistant Superintendent of the Auburn City Schools in Auburn, Alabama.

On Friday, participants shared projects which they had worked on all week. The projects included a game which tested the knowledge of the participants; a Power Point presentation and quiz about each of the schools in the Troup County school system; a timeline spotlighting major developments in education over the last 175 years; a school history; and an analysis of documents.

Archives’ staff Kaye Minchew, Barry Jackson, and Clark Johnson directed class activities. The teachers were:

• Jayne Lewis
• Misty Cochran
• Dorothy Cammon
• Earl Marsh
• Katha Loyd
• Debbie Dailey
• Nancy Walls
• Francee Mitchell
• Leigh Ann Huffstetler
• Genie Medders
• Marnie Leonard
• Cal Hyers
• Lucy Hardman
• Deborah Johnson
• Melinda Dukes
• Dinah Estes
• Sharon McLaughlin

To receive information about the 2005 class, contact the Archives at 884-1828 and your name will be added to a mailing list.

West Point Elementary Teachers at Heritage Education 2004

ETHNIC & MINORITY HERITAGE BOOKLET AVAILABLE

Prepared by teachers in the 2002 Heritage Education Class which focused on Troup County’s ethnic and minority heritage, the booklet is available free of charge for classroom use and some copies are available at the Troup County Archives. Funded as part of the Literacy projects of the LaGrange Rotary Club and the Troup County Historical Society, the booklet will also be distributed to adults learning to read and seeking their GEDs.

The activity book contains a maze, recipe questions, word problems, compare and contrast exercises, Troup County A-Z, crossword puzzles, maps of Sister Cities, word searches, a census study, and more. For more information, contact the Archives.

MUSEUM ON MAIN: AN UPDATE

We are indeed fortunate to have such a stately home at 136 Main Street in LaGrange. The Troup County Archives building, formerly the LaGrange National Bank, built by Fuller E. Callaway Sr. in 1917, promises to lend itself to our mission of providing a perfect location for our treasurers and to help us educate future generations.

The Troup County Archives will be housed on the second floor. This arrangement assures efficient use of the building and the sharing of staff.

The Museum Concept Committee has visited numerous museums over the past two years and collected many dos and don’ts as you would in designing your home.

To further assure that our endeavor matches other benchmark efforts in LaGrange, we have hired Avient Museum Services of Atlanta to assist us in designing the interior of the building to match our unique story. The museum is expected to display our outstanding collection of artifacts presently owned and those we expect to acquire once the museum is designed and completed.

A story line to educate visitors regarding our proud past will be viewed as an exciting novel whose chapters continue to develop.

The Troup County Historical Society and the Museum Committee is deeply grateful for the donations that have been made and pledged. These funds have allowed us to initiate the project and plan for its future. We urge all citizens of West Georgia to become a part of this endeavor. There is no doubt you will be very proud of our finished product.

The Museum on Main fundraising committees have been hard at work raising funds for the renovations to the Archives building and to develop the exhibits. The committee is seeking donations from individuals and grants from government agencies, foundations, and corporations.

Efforts in 2004 for individual donations have primarily focused on forming a special category of membership -- the 1826 Society. The 1826 Society will help launch the museum as an outstanding facility serving West Georgia and East Alabama. 1826 honors the year of Troup County’s founding. A subcommittee consisting of Judy Boggus, Gail Hunnicutt, and Polly Hutchinson have been contacting members of the LaGrange and West Georgia communities and requesting that they join the 1826 Society of the Museum on Main by contributing $1826 over a two-year period. Members for the 1826 Society are still being sought. Society membership will be permanently recognized in the Museum. Donations can be made in memory of someone or in honor of someone. Please contact one of the committee members or Kaye Minchew at 884-1828 for more information.

Museum on Main was very fortunate to receive a grant of $25,000 from the Charter Foundation this Spring to be used for renovations and exhibit development. The check was presented by Charter Bank President Patrick Crews and Mortgage Lender Dawn Ware to Jenny Copeland, Chair of the Museum’s Fundraising Committee, and Kaye Minchew. Last year, MoM received a check for $25,000 from Milliken Foundation and a grant of $20,000 was received from the Governor’s Discretionary Fund in 2002.

Many individuals have already contributed to the Museum on Main project. Their contributions will be spotlighted in a future issue of this newsletter.

FROM RYAN WHITFIELD

(NOTE: Ryan is a native of Troup County and graduated from LaGrange High. He received a football scholarship from Bucknell University where he is a rising junior. He is majoring in history and political science. He is undecided about what he will do after receiving his undergraduate degree. We are delighted to have him working at the Archives this summer! We asked Ryan to describe his work activities now that he is a month into the summer.)

My experience working at the Troup County Archives has been interesting and educational. The opportunities for me to learn new things have been far from limited. Whether helping people to find a school transcript or creating a historical manuscript, I have been able to learn and utilize new and important skills. I have been free to work on a variety of projects from which I have learned many new skills. Some projects require me to work independently while others require cooperation with a staff member. There is also a lot of interaction with the public as there are often people who need help with research. In addition to these experiences, I have also gained a tremendous amount of information about Troup County. As a history major, I felt that it would be interesting to find work in the history field. My experience at the Archives has been very worth while.

I have been able to participate in programs sponsored by the Troup County Archives like Troup County Heritage Education Week. This year’s theme was the history of education and featured a number of tours of historic school buildings, cemeteries and homes of Troup County. Each and every member of the staff is exceptionally friendly and has always been willing to share their knowledge.

In all, I think that having the opportunity to work with the Archives in such a great environment and among such an experienced staff has been a great way for me to spend my summer. I am very thankful that I was given this opportunity and look forward to using my experiences in any of my future endeavors.

Barry Jackson and Ryan Whitfield

NEWS ABOUT PUBLICATIONS

SALE: Family, Church, and Community Cemeteries of Troup County, Georgia by Dorothy McClendon, Lillie Lambert, and Danny Knight is now on sale at the Troup County Archives for $25 per book. The cemetery guide was published in 1990 and is the source for information about who is buried where in Troup County. To obtain a copy of the book, visit the Archives or call 706-884-1828 or e-mail at info@trouparchives.org.

RECENT ACCESSIONS AT THE ARCHIVES

CEMETERY PRESERVATION WORKSHOP

Many old cemeteries are in peril due to neglect and threats of development. In response to the growing interest in the best practices for the care and preservation of cemeteries and burial grounds, the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society is sponsoring a four-hour workshop.

Presenters will include Ms. Lee Anne Hewett, Cemetery Project Coordinator, Alabama Historical Commission; Ms. Christine Van Voorhies, Archeological Outreach Specialist, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; and Mrs. Joyce Nicoll, the founding president of the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance.

Workshop topics will include legal issues of access, care and preservation, governmental assistance, and formation of trusteeships. The workshop is designed to address the concerns of citizens in Alabama and Georgia.

Registration fee is $25 with lunch and $20 without lunch. The registration deadline is July 9. Make check payable to the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society. For more information call: 334-864-7096 or 334-768-2050.

TROUP COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Founder
Mr. & Mrs. Ray C. Anderson
Dr. & Mrs. William Hutchinson
Dr. Leland M. Park
Mr. Richard Torrance
Mrs. Nancy Yates

Sustaining
Ms. Nancy Kesler
Dr. & Mrs. Russell Smiley
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Stevens
Mr. & Mrs. John Taylor

Sponsor
Mr. & Mrs. Wyatt Bibb
Mr. Lee Edmundson
Mrs. Virginia Hutchinson

SPOTLIGHT:

I AM DUNSON SCHOOL

Dunson School

Trimmed lawns, clean brick, open doors.
Shiny hair, smiling faces, nervous tummies.
Teachers encouraging, please and thank yous.
Children listening, watching, waiting, writing.
Whispering, laughing, yelling.
Skinned knees, bruised elbows, tangled hair.
Recess!! Delightful screams, running, falling,
Torn pants, tear-streaked faces, bandaids,
Hugs.
Holding hands, straight lines, bowed heads.
Singing, twirling, jumping rope, leap frog.
All gone.
It is quiet now.
Dunson School.

This newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Troup County Historical Society and Archives, 136 Main Street, P.O. Box 1051, LaGrange, GA 30241.

Officers: