[Mississippi History Newsletter Online.]

A MDAH Publication  |  Volume 45 No. 9  |  September 2003

Winter Building Dedication Set; Halberstam To Speak

The William F. Winter Archives and History Building will be dedicated in ceremonies on Friday, November 7, 2003, at 1:30 p.m., at 100 North Street, Jackson. The public is cordially invited. Delivering the dedicatory address will be historian and journalist David Halberstam, a longtime friend of William Winter.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the portrait of Governor Winter by Oxford artist Jason Bouldin will be unveiled in the Winter Building lobby. A reception and tours will follow.

David Halberstam came to national prominence as a reporter covering the Vietnam War for the New York Times, where he was one of the first journalists to report that the war was being lost. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting. His subsequent book The Best and the Brightest chronicled the path the Kennedy and Johnson administrations took in Vietnam. Halberstam's most recent book is Teammates, the story of a long-lived friendship among famed Boston Red Sox teammates.

For more information on the dedication, please call 601/ 359-6850 (576-6850 after September 15).

Capitals and Capitols

A new permanent exhibit on the history of the state capital opens Tuesday, September 2, at the Old Capitol Museum of Mississippi History. Mississippi's Capitals and Capitols will explain the circuitous history of Mississippi's many capital cities and capitol buildings.

Throughout Mississippi's territorial period and well into statehood, the government lacked its own capitol facility; officials had to meet in rented space in the capital cities of Natchez, Washington, and Columbia-until Jackson was founded and selected as the state's permanent capital.

Even this designation did not create instant stability. Several attempts were made to relocate the capital, and it took a constitutional mandate to secure Jackson's future as Missis-sippi's capital city. The Civil War caused further instability as government officials were forced to flee Jackson on several occasions, moving temporarily to Enterprise, Meridian, Macon, and Columbus.

Three buildings have served the state's needs in Jackson: the first, built on the corner of Capitol and President, no longer stands; the second is the Old Capitol; and the third is our current statehouse, the "New" Capitol.

On display will be architectural elements from the Old Capitol and New Capitol, a legislative journal from the territorial period, historical photographs and clothing, and other artifacts.

September MDAH Events

Flea Market Added
The annual Copper Magnolia Festival crafts fair-Saturday, September 20, at Historic Jefferson College, Washington-features handmade crafts, music, food, and entertainment for children. This year the festival adds a flea market full of bargains. Civil War re-enactors' gear will also be available. Admission is free. For more information call 601/ 442-2901.

Alert: Dog Lovers
Bark in the Park, the annual fund-raiser for the Natchez Humane Society, features all kinds of dogs in all kinds of contests. Come out for the cause to Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Natchez, on Saturday, September 28, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. An admission fee is required to attend the dog show.

Fourth-grade Scholars
At Student Days, at Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, September 19-20, fourth-grade classes from local and regional schools will learn about Native American culture, archaeology, and nature studies. For more information call 601/ 446-6502.

Walter Anderson Centennial

The Old Capitol Museum joins the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in celebrating acclaimed artist Walter Anderson on the centennial of his birth by displaying his pottery, figurines, and fairy tale linoleum block prints from the Old Capitol collection. The Walter Anderson Centennial Celebration opens Monday, September 8, and hangs through Sunday, February 1, 2004.

Anderson received his formal art education at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and continued his study in Europe. He joined his brother Peter at the Shearwater Pottery in Ocean Springs and, during the years that he worked there, created a large body of work in clay-bowls, dinnerware, sculpture, ceramic molds, and more. He was also a prolific painter, observing and capturing vivid images of the plants and creatures that he observed on his frequent trips to Horn Island. He expressed in his art and journals an intimate, almost mystical, relationship with nature. Anderson's delight with stories and books is obvious in much of his work, especially his popular fairy tale block prints and figurines. He died in 1965 at the age of 62. For more information call 601/ 359-6920.



Bradley Bond, Department of History, University of Southern Mississippi, signs copies of his new book, Mississippi: A Documentary History, University Press of Mississippi, at the Old Capitol Shop.

 

Eudora Welty Photographs at National Museum

Passionate Observer: Photographs by Eudora Welty, organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art and presented there in 2002, will travel to Washington, D.C., for a special showing at the National Museum of Women in the Arts October 27, 2003, through February 29, 2004. The exhibit is being circulated by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C. Curators of the exhibit are Patti Carr Black, former director of the Old Capitol Museum, and Rene Baril-leaux, MMA exhibits curator. The Eudora Welty Foundation's National Advisory Board will hold its annual meeting in Washington in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition.

MHS Seeks Submissions

The Mississippi Historical Society is seeking submissions for awards, to be presented at the Society's 2004 annual meeting.

The McLemore Prize ($700) is given to the best book on a subject related to Mississippi history published during the previous year. Submit four copies to McLemore Prize, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205 by October 31.

The John K. Bettersworth Award ($100) is given annually to an outstanding teacher of middle school or high school history in Mississippi. Request a nomination form from MHS; submit nomination by December 1.

The Frank E. Everett, Jr. Award ($300) is given annually as merited to a local historical organization that, as a member of the Federation of Mississippi Historical Societies, has made an outstanding contribution to the preservation and interpretation of Mississippi history. Request nomination forms from MHS; submit by October 31.

The James T. Dawson Award is presented annually as merited to a local government in Mississippi with an exemplary records management program. Municipalities, counties, or school districts qualify. Request nomination forms from MHS; submit by December 1.

The Glover Moore Prize ( $300) is awarded annually if merited to the author of the best master's thesis on a topic in Mississippi history completed during the previous year. Submit four copies to Moore Prize, MHS, before December 1.

The Riley Prize ($500) is awarded biennially for a doctoral dissertation on a topic in Mississippi history or biography completed during the previous two years. Submit four copies to the Riley Prize, MHS, by December 1.

For more information on the awards, please call MHS, 601/ 359-6850 (576-6850 after 9/15/03).

Expert Help

MDAH has received a $1,675 matching grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a limited architectural analysis of the Governor's Mansion. The study will help the Department document and safeguard the historical interior architectural elements of the 162-year-old structure. George Fore, a noted architectural conservator from Raleigh, North Carolina, examined the historical section of the mansion-primarily millwork-to determine the original elements and finishes from subsequent alterations. These National Trust Preservation Services Fund awards must be matched dollar for dollar with public or private funds.

Applications are now available through MDAH for Community Heritage Preservation Grants of up to $500,000 that may be used to pay the cost of preservation and restoration of many historic buildings state-wide. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on October 10.

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Published by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History • Elbert R. Hilliard, director • Chrissy Wilson, editor
Please send correspondence to: MHN, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205 or email to pubinfo@mdah.state.ms.us