Library Closed Monday, January 18

The Hill Freeman Library & Spruill Learning Center will be closed on Monday, January 18, 2010 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will reopen at 8 am on January 19th.

We are open today, Sunday, January 17 from 2 pm until 11 pm, as usual. Of course, the 24-hour areas of the library will be accessible to Reinhardt students with your Eagle cards.

In the spirit of King Day, I'd like to urge you all to find some way to volunteer your time and talents to help make a difference in your community!

"Year Of" Doubleheader this Thursday

Hello all-- I hope you enjoyed your SNOW DAY! I sure did, but I could use another!

Just wanted to remind you of the wonderful speakers we have coming this week for the Year of North American Indigenous Peoples! We have three guests coming from the Western Band of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. I told you earlier about the artists and storytellers who are coming to speak here at the library at 1 pm on Thursday.

We also are fortunate enough to have the senior genealogist with the Cherokee National Historical Society, Mr. Gene Norris, coming to speak. He will be speaking at 7 pm on Thursday at the Funk Heritage Center. Mr. Norris is a board-certified genealogist specifically trained in tracing Cherokee ancestry. He is a member of the Board of Certification for Genealogists in Washington, DC; the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc.; the Goingsnake District Heritage Association; the National Genealogical Society; the Board of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Trail of Tears Association; the Cherokee-Moravian Historical Association; and the Carroll County Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

He has actively been involved in genealogical research for twenty-three years and has been specifically concentrating on Cherokee genealogy since 1994. He has had numerous articles published in the Carroll County Historical and Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Goingsnake Messenger Quarterly. He also co-teaches the Cherokee Nation History Course with Roy J. Hamilton. He has presented and spoken at several workshops, seminars and conferences on Cherokee history and genealogy research.

I expect Mr. Norris's presentation will be a hot ticket as many people around here either have or believe they have Cherokee ancestry in their family history. I've been told that I have a Cherokee ancestor, and I'm both excited to try and trace my lineage and a little afraid that maybe it isn't true! I hope it is!

Come out to hear our speakers, and maybe you'll find some clues to uncovering your own family story!

"Year Of" Movie Postponed

Correction to my earlier post. There will be no "Year of North American Indigenous Peoples" movie today at the Funk Heritage Center. We will reschedule the showing of "The Trail of Tears"--watch this page for further updates.


Also, it's snowing! :)

Come check out Dr. Wheeler's article in The Georgia Historical Quarterly!

Congratulations to Reinhardt Associate Professor of History Dr. Kenneth Wheeler and library favorite G. Richard Wright on the publication of their article "New Men in the Old South: Joseph E. Brown and His Associates in Georgia's Etowah Valley" in the Winter 2009 issue of The Georgia Historical Quarterly. This publication is not available online, but we have it here on our shelves.

Dr. Wheeler and Wright's article talks about Civil War-era Governor of Georgia Joseph E. Brown (a Canton resident!) and his business interests. Not much has been written about Brown's early life in this area. Brown himself tried to cover up his prosperous beginnings, preferring for political reasons to portray himself as the son of poor farming folk, not as a savvy businessman with interests in milling, mining, railroading, land speculation and manufacturing. It is arguable (and Wheeler and Wright do) that this experience is what best prepared Brown for his success in the economy of the 'New South." Come read about local history that has been long-forgotten--until now!

(The article also features a snazzy photo of Richard near the remains of a furnace once owned by Gov. Brown. This picture was taken by Reinhardt Assistant Professor of Art Jym Davis)!

Bravo, gentlemen! Reinhardt is proud of your accomplishments!

Save the date: Artists and storytellers coming January 14!

Hello! We have a time and date now for the speakers from the Cherokee Nation. Thursday, January 14th at 1 pm on the third floor of the library, artists and storytellers Robert Lewis and Gina Burnett will be speaking.

Robert Lewis is employed by the Cherokee Nation as a school and community specialist, conducting classes and offering services in art, culture and storytelling. As a boy, Lewis's imagination was fired by the traditional stories his father shared with him, inspiring him to learn the art of storytelling for himself. He has performed onstage, at festivals and on television, sharing the ancient stories of his people with new audiences. He also teaches art and Native Crafts, and holds a degree in Fine Art from Northeastern State University.

Burnett is the Outreach Coordinator for the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, OK. She is also a storyteller and a potter. Her work, Birth, shown, was honored at the 2009 Trail of Tears Art Show at the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, OK.

Don't miss the chance to hear these two talented speakers from the Western Band of the Cherokee!

Tweet, tweet...

At the bottom of this page, you'll find the blogger's twitter feed. I thought I'd try it out while I'm at the desk every day. I'm HFLblogger on Twitter. You can even tweet me a reference question if you like!

Right now we're putting together the movie list for this semester's Year Of North American Indigenous Peoples movie series. I should have it for you sometime tomorrow, Michael willing... This Thursday at 2 pm in the Funk Heritage Center, we'll be showing the Trail of Tears movie. If you're not absolutely snowed in that day, you really should come and see it. Especially because THIS MONTH we'll be having speakers from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma coming to visit us, including a storyteller, an artist and a genealogist. (Have you always been told you were part Cherokee? You should take this opportunity to reconnect with your people).

Happy 2010, and welcome back students!

Welcome back! I've seen several of our "regulars" already. It's great to see the library full again!

Over the break we've been doing a lot of work processing the Triplett Memorial Military History Collection, and moving things around. Special kudos to the Amazonian Karen Preslock for a lot of heavy lifting, moving books around to make room for the new collection.

We'll have a lot of updates for you very shortly...