February
Events Around the StateBlack
History Month
On Tuesdays and Thursdays
throughout February, from 9 to 10 a.m. and
11 a.m. to noon at the Old
Capitol Museum of Mississippi History, Jackson, fourth- through
ninth-grade students will tour the museum, learning about the contributions
of African Americans to Mississippi history. Reservations required.
For more information call 601/ 576-6920. Funding provided by BellSouth. During
February local and regional classes of first- and fourth-graders will make field
trips to Historic
Jefferson College, Washington, to learn about craftsman
Nathan Bennett and the slave Ibrahima.
For more information call 601/ 442-2901. On
Sunday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m., Alan Huffman,
Bolton, will talk about his new book, Mississippi
In Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy
in Liberia Today, in the House of Representatives Chamber, Old
Capitol Museum. Afterwards he will sign copies of the book, available
at the Old Capitol Shop. For information call 601/ 576-6920. Valentines
Children ages five to twelve are invited to learn about and make Victorian-style
valentines on Thursday, February 12, 3:30
to 4:30 p.m. at the Manship
House Museum, Jackson. Free of charge. Reservations required. For
more information call 601/ 961-4724. On
Saturday, February 14, 7 to 10 p.m., at the
Winterville
Mounds, Greenville, Winterville historian Jan Taylor will discuss
Native American Romance Rituals. Free of charge.
For information call 662/ 334-4684. Awards
Ceremony
The Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts
ceremonies will be held Friday, February 13,
from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Old
Capitol Museum of Mississippi History, Jackson. Established in
1988, these awards recognize significant contributions to artistic life in Mississippi
and are coordinated each year by the Mississippi Arts Commission. For more information
call the Mississippi Arts Commission at 601/ 359-6090. | Docents
HonoredThree
retiring Governor's Mansion docents-Jeane Coulombe, Melba Darras, and Katie Varner-were
recognized at the December 8 docent luncheon for their faithful service. Jeane
Coulombe and Katie Varner, both of Jackson, served as Mansion docents for twenty
years. Mrs. Darras, Grenada, served as Mansion hostess and her husband, Tommie,
as Mansion chef during the administrations of Governors Winter and Allain and
part of Governor Fordice's term. She then became a Mansion docent in the spring
of 2000.
Lynching
Photographs at JSUWithout
Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America will be shown at Jackson
State University January 30-July 4. John Allen and John Littlefield of Atlanta
collected the 100 images in the exhibit, more than half of which are printed on
postcards. Curator Turry Flucker said the exhibit also includes mementoes from
the anti-lynching crusade, featuring information on Ida B. Wells, the Holly Springs
native who campaigned internationally against lynchings. For information, call
JSU at 601/979-2272. |
| Mississippi
History NOW
For advance reading on the topic for the Mississippi Historical Society 2004 annual
meeting—the Great Depression and the New Deal in Mississippi—visit Mississippi
History NOW and read Martha Swain's article, "Women's Work Relief in the
Great Depression," the feature article for February. Also of special interest
as Mississippi inaugurates new governor Haley Barbour is the January feature,
"Mississippi's Governors from 1817 to 2004," by David G. Sansing.
Historic
Preservation Conference Plan
to attend the April 22-23, 2004, "Experience Mississippi" Historic Preservation
Conference in Hattiesburg for educational sessions on historic Mississippi downtowns
and a mobile workshop in historic downtown Hattiesburg. Professional preservationists
will lead sessions and tours. The conference is sponsored by the Mississippi Department
of Archives and History and the Mississippi Heritage Trust.
Textiles
WorkshopThe
"Nuts and Bolts of Caring for Your Textiles" workshop, sponsored by the Mississippi
Museums Association, will be held Monday, April 19, at Historic Jefferson College,
Washington, Mississippi. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., and sessions at Jefferson
College are from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. At 3:00 the group moves to the historic
Natchez house, Rosalie, for a textile tour led by workshop leader Jessica Hack.
The
workshop will focus on basic care, storage, and exhibition of textiles for private
owners, historic houses, and museums. Cleaning, storage, and packing will be demonstrated
as well as mounting flat textiles for exhibition and preparing mannequins. The
cost of the workshop, lunch included, is $45 to Mississippi Museums Association
members who pre-register and pay by April 14, $60 on the day of the workshop.
Nonmembers should add $15 to these fees. Jessica
Hack has been a textile conservator since 1979 and is recognized nationally for
her work on Civil War flags and uniforms. The workshop is made possible in part
by the Dan Silosky Award of the Southeastern Registrars Association. For information
call 601/442-2901.
Historic
Natchez Conference:
February 11-14 in Natchez. Call 601/ 442-2500. Natchez
Literary/ Cinema Celebration: February 25-29 in Natchez. Call 866/
296-6522. Mississippi
Historical Society: March 4-6 in Tupelo. Call 601/ 576-68549.
Thomas
Lawrence Spengler,
1921-2004
Tom
Spengler, Jackson advertising executive, actor, local historian and bon vivant,
died January 15. He was a fifth-generation Jacksonian, and history was one of
his many enthusiasms. He made a videotape, "The View from Here: Tom Spengler's
History of Jackson 1820-1900," to benefit the Jackson Friends of Library. Copies
are still available for purchase. Spengler was a regular in New Stage Theatre
plays, and in the 1950s he performed the role of Uncle Daniel Ponder in Eudora
Welty's play The Ponder Heart. Spengler cultivated a wide circle of friends, and
counted Welty among them. |
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