June Journal Newsletter
Summer Chautauqua: Southern Writers
Our Summer Chautauqua series is back! This year we are celebrating Southern writers Sidney Lanier, Zora Neale Hurston, and Flannery O’Connor.
During our first living history performance, you will meet 19th-century Georgia poet, composer, and novelist Sidney Lanier portrayed by professional actor Kevin Moxley.
Lanier was known for his musical style of poetry and his mastery of meter and form. Many of his works reflect on the corrupting effect of materialism and the glorification of nature.
This event is free for Members. Non-Member tickets are $5 each cash or card at the door.
Our Zora Neale Hurtson program will take place on July 12th and our Flannery O’Connor program will take place on August 9th.
June Mini-Docs
We have lots of great virtual programs coming up for both Members and the public!
View our entire lineup of events at www.negahc.org/events.
To gain access to our weekly Members Mini-Docs, you can become a local Member or Digital Member at www.negahc.org/member.
Gainesville Reads Celebrations
We are so proud of our Gainesville Reads students! We celebrated their progress this year with a fun celebration. Each of our volunteer tutors presented their student with a certificate and shared the progress their student made throughout the year. Our graduating fifth graders were honored as well, some of whom have been in Gainesville Reads since it began in 2020!
Parents shared with us the progress they have seen in their child and what Gainesville Reads has meant to them:
“Thank you so much! Kayden began at a 3rd grade reading level and is now reading at an 8th grade level!”
“The Gainesville Reads program is helping to encourage and empower young children to read. Reading is a critical skill to learn early and opens a world of opportunities for these children. Intervening in the younger grades when a child is struggling to read has been proven most effective in closing reading gaps and building a successful reader.”
“I personally love this program because I saw an increase in academic performance, retention, and personal growth in my children during our weekly sessions throughout the year.”
“Jaylen improved in his reading level at school and became more excited about reading. Isaac became a very good reader and was 3rd in his 2nd grade class in reading. Both have grown and Lexia is really helping them grow.”
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor for Gainesville Reads, you can apply online at www.negahc.org/gainesvillereads.
Spring Semester Digital Programs
During the Spring semester of 2022, we conducted 66 Webcasts and served over 3,400 students! Webcasts are live Zoom programs in which students meet a historic character or have a lesson with a historian. Popular historic characters include Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass, Juliette Gordon Low, Sacagawea, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Our total Webcasts for all of 2021 was 86, which leads us to believe that we will once again break our Webcast record this Fall! Webcasts are free for all Georgia teachers and homeschool groups thanks to the Cottrell Digital Studio. Interested in booking a Webcast for your group? Contact Libba Beaucham at libba@negahc.org.
Our YouTube channel has also seen great growth this Spring! So far we have had 48,465 video views and 218 new Subscribers. If you have not subscribed to our YouTube channel yet, please do at bit.ly/negahcyoutube.
Welcoming New Research Interns
We’d like to welcome our new Remote Research Interns who are conducting research for our Member Mini-Docs!
Kate Chenault who is conducting research for our Member Mini-Docs! Kate is a sophomore at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. She is double majoring in museum studies and visual and performing arts with the intention of going to graduate school for her doctorate in art history. She wants to be a museum curator when she has completed her education. Kate lives in Chicago during the summer when she is not at school. She sings in her school's choir and is on the executive board of Walsh University's Student Government. In her free time, Kate enjoys reading and writing fantasy and dystopian fiction, playing chess, and learning Italian on Duolingo.
Kate is currently researching the history of traditional folk pottery in the Southeast.
Mariah Clark is currently in university studying history with a minor in art history, hoping to one day become a professor. Mariah wanted to intern at the History Center for experience and to learn more about what it would be like to work in a museum environment. Some of her hobbies include historical tailoring, traveling internationally, collecting comics, and playing tabletop games with friends.
Mariah is currently researching Jewish culture in colonial Savannah, Georgia.
Kate Chenault
Mariah Clark
Then Again Podcast
In our latest episode of Then Again:
In this episode, Glen talks with Heather Shores, Executive Director of the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home to learn about one of the most important, and most undeservedly maligned Cherokee in history, Major Ridge. Warrior, businessman, diplomat, and Councilman, Ridge was at the center of tribal life and politics for decades and played a leading role in the Treaty of New Echota... a role that led to his assassination.
Visit the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home website to learn more! www.chieftainsmuseum.org
Listen now at www.thenagainpodcast.com!
Summer Camp Registration Is Open!
This summer we’re hosting a virtual history camp and a one-day Georgia history camp!
During our Discover Georgia History day camp on June 17th, students will learn about the history of Georgia from its beginning as a colony to now through hands-on activities and historic character portrayals.
Our virtual summer camp is The American Revolution. Students will explore this eras of history through Zoom lessons, hands-on activities, recipes, and historic character portrayals.
Details at www.negahc.org/summer.
From the Newspaper Archives
In 1902, there was a sharp increase in smallpox cases across the United States, and Gainesville, Georgia was one of the affected communities. Over 72,000 people in the U.S. contracted smallpox in 1902. While there was a decline by 1904, smallpox cases would soar to over 110,000 in the U.S. by 1920.
The Gainesville Eagle and the Georgia Cracker newspaper archives include articles and commentary from locals that give us an insight to the smallpox problem in Gainesville.
When someone contracted smallpox, they were to put up a yellow flag at their home to warn others.
“For the protection of others, the yellow flag was put up as soon as Dr. Smith pronounced it smallpox.” - Gainesville Eagle 1901
Vaccinations were apparently mandated as one article states, “Ollie Hughes, Ed Bray, W. M. Adams, and J. B. Jones were before Mayor Parker last Saturday afternoon, charged with refusing to be vaccinated and acting disorderly…Cases were made against them and they were fined $5 and costs each. Just before their trials came up they were vaccinated, at their request, by Dr. E. P. Ham.”
Medical misinformation was also a problem in 1903 with articles like this one from the Gainesville Eagle stating, “…lettuce is a sure and absolute preventive of smallpox…It is a thousand times better than vaccination…anyone who eats lettuce daily will not catch smallpox whether he be vaccinated or not.”
In the social column of the Georgia Cracker, one citizen said in 1902, “Procrastination sometimes means small pox. Better be vaccinated now.”
Thanks to mass vaccination efforts around the world, smallpox was eradicated in 1979.
Annual Taste of History
We are pleased to announce our 2022 Annual Taste of History Fundraiser!
This year we'll be honoring four Pillars of the Community, two individuals and two businesses: John Burd, E.E. Butler, Carroll Daniel Construction, and The Norton Agency. Each of these have contributed greatly to Gainesville and Hall County by their vision, their service, and their commitment to improving the quality of life throughout our region.
More details will follow in the coming months, as well as articles spotlighting each of our honorees, but in the meantime mark your calendars!
Sponsorships are available, email glen@negahc.org for more information.
