Georgia`s Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center
Transcription
Georgia`s Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center
FUNK HERITAGE CENTER OF REINHARDT UNIVERSITY 7300 Reinhardt Circle Waleska, GA 30183-2981 Phone: 770-720-5970 Fax: 770-720-5965 e-mail: heritagecenter@reinhardt.edu website: www.reinhardt.edu/funkheritage Volume 15 Issue 1 Winter 2014 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED www.reinhardt.edu/funkheritage heritagecenter@reinhardt.edu Newsletter of the Funk Heritage Center of Reinhardt University Georgia’s Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center Celebrating Fifteen Years UPCOMING EVENTS Georgia’s Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center If you are not already a member... ENROLL NOW: FUNK HERITAGE CENTER ONE-YEAR MEMBERSHIP (NOTE: If you are already a member, we will send you a renewal form when your membership is about to expire .) _______ Individual Membership: $25.00 Free admission for one year · semi-annual newsletter · half price admission for up to four guests per visit · preferred pricing for special events Please PRINT member name (s): _______Family Membership: $50.00 · free admission for one year (immediate family incl. children under 18) · semi-annual newsletter · preferred pricing for special events · half price admission for up to four guests per family per visit Today’s date:_________________________ member # 1:__________________________________member # 2:______________________________________ children under 18 years:_________________________________________________________________________ mailing address:_______________________________________________________________________________ city, state, zip: ________________________________________________________________________________ county:________________________ day phone:_________________ _night phone: _____________________e-mail______________________________ Form of payment: check (make payable to Reinhardt University): ck #:____________ amt:__________________ MasterCard or VISA (circle one): amt:_____________ card #:_______________________________ exp. date: ___________ signature: ___________________________ Please mail this form to: Funk Heritage Center, 7300 Reinhardt Circle, Waleska, GA 30183-2981 Funk Book Club Second Tuesday each month 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. History Beneath Our Feet February 1, 2014 Registration & coffee 8:30 a.m. Program 9—11:30 a.m. Reservations required Pioneer Days School Field Trip May 7-8, 2014 10 a.m -noon It hardly seems possible, but this year, we celebrate our fifteenth anniversary. A brief glance backwards is in order. In the 1990s, Dr. James Funk (pictured right) and his wife, Florrie, collaborated with then Reinhardt president, Dr. Floyd Falany, to develop an historic settlement and the idea grew to include a museum. Dr. Funk's initial inspiration was to share with the area’s school children, the story of their local heritage. Dr. Funk provided initial funding as did the John Bennett family of Salacoa Valley. Others came forward with donations, artifacts and even entire collections for inclusion. Margaret and Clarence Rogers of Marietta offered their collection of Native American art. The Alan Sellars family gave their incredible collection of hand tools. (see Center’s Fifteen Years on page 3) “History Beneath Our Feet” Saturday, February 1, 2014 We are pleased to present another program in the series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Trail of Tears in 1838. Tony Harris (right) will discuss how the ancient knowledge of plants allowed the Cherokee people to survive their long trip to Oklahoma. Robert S. Davis, a Professor in Genealogy and History, (right) will explain how to trace a Cherokee family during the removal era. The program is free. Registration and coffee begins at 8:30 to 9 a.m. The program begins at 9 and ends at 11:30 a.m. (See February 1 Program on page 3) Georgia History Timeline School Field Trip October 8—9, 2014 The mission of the Funk Heritage Center is to tell the story of the early Appalachian settlers and Southeastern Indians through educational programming and the collection, care and exhibition of art and artifacts. Funk Heritage Center has hosted more than 138,000 visitors since opening November 16, 1999 Special Exhibit: The Rolling Hills of Cherokee County This mural is on exhibit in the Bennett History Museum and will be on display until June. It was painted by well-known, Italian-born artist Athos Menaboni who was famous for his realistic treatment of birds. Menaboni’s painting includes several birds familiar in our area and it depicts the Cherokee countryside in the 1950’s. It was commissioned by Mills B. Lane, Jr. for the Atlanta Citizens and Southern National Bank (Mitchell and Forsyth Streets, Atlanta). A National Park Service Trail of Tears Interpretive Site Interesting Cherokee County History Cherokee County was formed from Cherokee Indian Territory in December 1831, after the discovery of gold in the region in 1828. In December 1832, the area was divided into ten counties including Cass (Bartow), Cherokee, Cobb, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Murray, Paulding, and Union. In 1853, Pickens County was formed from the northern part of Cherokee and the southern part of Gilmer Counties. The Cherokee Indians were gathered into Fort Buffington, east of Canton, before being forced on the Trail of Tears to present-day Oklahoma in 1838-39. The removal of the Cherokees opened up the new territory for agricultural uses, especially the cotton cultivation, raising corn, the mining of gold and marble, manufacture of cotton and rope, and the construction of both a railroad in 1879 and highway for shipping goods. THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS! In each issue of our newsletter, we feature a volunteer who explains their reason for selecting the Heritage Center for their volunteer work. Joy Cook is a docent and also a living history “pioneer” volunteer. She is an accomplished traditional Native American flute player and often plays at special events including Pioneer Days. “I have always worked with children as a librarian and substitute teacher. I love learning about history. I can do it all-and play my flute, too-as a volunteer at Funk Heritage Center.” Joy Cook Meet Julie Shrout Julie joined FHC in September as our new school activities coordinator. She is a Reinhardt graduate with a degree in education. Her daughter will begin studies at Reinhardt this year. Julie home Waleska schooled her child and she is excited about adding According to Wikipedia, Wale- some special opportunities for area home school students to the programs ska was incorporated in 1889. It available at the Center. She is also interested in assisting teachers with social was named after “Warluskee” studies curriculum ideas they can incorporate into their classrooms before who was the daughter of a they bring their classes to FHC for a school field trip. Cherokee Indian chief who once If you have questions concerning school tours or home school prolived in the area. When the U.S. government forced grams, contact Julie at (770) 720-5969 or email her at jas1@reinhardt.edu. Warluskee, along with her people, to move West, the girl's Home School Programs friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Reinhardt, named their settlement in her honor. In the past, industry in Waleska inThe Funk Heritage Center is pleased to offer guided tours cluded gristmills, lumber processing, tobacco and some and special programs for our growing home school population. mining. The lumber industry is still active in the area, as is This opportunity is available for groups of ten or more children agriculture. The chief "industry" of the town, however, has and their parents. The admission fee for student guided tours is always been Reinhardt and Waleska is truly known as a $5 for an hour tour or $6 for the hour and a half tour and $6 for “college town.” each adult in the group. Weather permitting, tours of the Appalachian Settlement may be added to the tour for an additional $2 fee. Also, a special home school Settlement Day be held on Wednesday, April 16 from 10 a.m. until Pioneer Days noon. Please visit our website www.reinhardt.edu/funkheritage for more Our annual Pioneer Days information about educational tours and special home school programs or program will be offered May 7- contact Julie Shrout. 8. This two hour program is for school children in grades K-5. It begins at 10 a.m. and is held in the Appalachian Settlement. It features living history volunteers dressed in period clothing. Children visit log cabins, the blacksmith shop, sorghum syrup mill and observe settlers demonstrating crafts. Students will enjoy pioneer games and old-time music. Home schooled students and their parents may also register for this special event. This field trip is a great way to celebrate the end of the school year. Following the program, students may eat at our picnic tables near the driveway. This outdoor event does not include a tour of the Bennett History Museum. One teacher per 20 students is admitted free. Reservations will be accepted beginning in January. Make reservations early to reserve the best day for your school. $7 per student/adult. Funk Book Club Meetings second Tuesday 2:00—3:30 p.m. Book Club meetings are open to the public. Director’s Corner …….. The year just ending brought new relationships and opportunities. In October we learned that we had been added to the National Park Service Trail of Tears as an interpretive site. And, we have the signs to prove it: official signs provided by the National Park Service through the efforts of the Georgia Chapter of Trail of Tears Association. (TOTA.) Jeff Bishop, president of the Georgia TOTA, was one of several presenters at our “History Beneath our Feet” symposium in September sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council. Another presenter, Paul Webb, headed up the study of the Hickory Log archaeological material excavated during the 1995 dig on land where construction of the Canton Walmart was to start. We are currently raising money to bring this collection back to Georgia so we can exhibit it in the county where it originated. We have already raised $35,000 of the $50,000 needed and are hopeful that a pending grant proposal will be approved and funded to complete this challenging effort. Meanwhile, we encourage donations to this effort. The importance of this collection to our region can hardly be exaggerated. The entire Etowah River Valley is rich in Native American history and archaeology. Our designation by the National Park Service came at a perfect time, and we hope to utilize the Hickory Log collection to tell a fuller story of what Cherokee life was like on the eve of the great removal in the 1830s. Native American history is central to Georgia’s story. The Funk hosted the Georgia TOTA Chapter meeting in November as part of our Native American Day observance. More than 200 people turned out for the event, many of them scouts, as well as TOTA members. Inspired by the excitement surrounding our events, I traveled to North Carolina to attend their TOTA chapter meeting and their symposium on Cherokee removal studies. I came home more convinced than ever that our museum has a wonderful opportunity to help preserve a vital part of American history, the story of the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. A remarkable community already exists to do this, including nearby Georgia historical sites such as Etowah Mounds, the Chief Vann House, the Chieftains Museum, and the reconstructed capital of the old Cherokee nation at New Echota. Our goal is to begin curation of the Hickory Log collection in the spring of 2014 and have some materials exhibited by fall. An addition to the Funk’s Bennett History Museum is already being planned to provide the space needed to effectively display and interpret. Another priority will be to provide online photos of the collection so teachers and students can see and study even more of the collection. Science is revolutionizing archaeology and at the same time making its findings more accessible. Joe Kitchens Executive Director January 14, 2014 -A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler February 11, 2014 -The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan March 11, 2014 - Moon Over Taylor’s Ridge by Janie Dempsey Watts April 8, 2014 -That Used to be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum May 13, 2014 - Earl in the Yellow Shirt by Janice Daugharty Volunteer! The Funk Heritage Center relies on volunteers who contribute thousands of hours of service each year! Volunteer docents provide guided tours for children and adults. Gardeners and carpenters help with museum landscaping and improvements. Living history volunteers provide programs in the Appalachian Settlement! Become a volunteer! Call 770-720-5970 www.reinhardt.edu/funkheritage Center’s Fifteen Years (con’t from page 1) Russell Cutts, a Reinhardt graduate, was hired to coordinate the museum project and Architect Garland Reynolds designed the museum. Soon everything came together and a Native American Festival was held in November of 1999 after opening ceremonies. Dr. Joe Kitchens arrived in January of 2000 to become the museum's first executive director. School and public visitation began in earnest and in 2004, the Funk Heritage Center was designated by the state legislature as Georgia's Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center. Its programming brought recognition and in 2010, the Governor's Award in the Humanities was presented to the Center. After collaboration with the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears, the Center was added as an interpretive site to the National Park Service Trail of Tears. Participation in the state's tourism program gave the Center a listing on the Explore Georgia website and our brochures are distributed through the state's network of visitor centers. Since opening, FHC has welcomed over 138,000 visitors from the United States and 52 other countries. Classes from area schools plus home school students have flocked to the Center on field trips and to attend our annual Georgia History Timeline. Many teachers bring their classes year after year to take advantage of the Center's field trips designed to support their social studies curriculum needs. Some students who attended our annual summer camp programs are now Reinhardt University students. Key to our success has been the loyal corps of fifty five volunteers who assist with tours, provide clerical support, living history programs in the Appalachian Settlement and also help with logistics for major events. In the past year, they have given more than 2000 hours of their time to help the Center. Without them, it would not be possible to accomplish the variety of programs we offer the public. If you belong to an organization that would be interested in learning more about the Heritage Center, please call to schedule a program for your group. February 1 Program (con’t from page 1) Mr. Harris is a Cherokee Nation citizen who was born and raised in Muskogee, OK. He graduated from Northeastern State University, located in Tahlequah, OK. He is a Master Gardener and a frequent speaker at local historical, civic, and garden clubs. He has also spoken at the National Cherokee Ethnobotany Conference and the National Park Service. "Bob" Davis is director of the Family and Regional History Program, Wallace State Community College, Hanceville, AL. His program pioneers local and family history research in a college environment. He holds a Master of Education degree in history from North Georgia College and a Master of Arts degree from the University of AL at Birmingham. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Documentary Editing of the National Historical Records Publications Commission. He was raised in Forest Park, GA and is a former resident of Jasper, GA. Due to limited seating, reservations are required. Sponsored again by the Georgia Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly, the program is free to the public. For additional information and reservations, call 770-720-5970.
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