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Over The Coffeecups
Warren Mitchell - Editor
TODAY'S
PROGRAM
Bob Bonn will introduce Col. Scott Phillips,
United States Air Force, who is with the Air Mobility Command
Chair, Air University, Maxwell AFB. He is an Air War College
faculty member.
Col. Phillips will speak on the U.S. role in
rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force. He will also talk about the
U.S. military personnel who are involved in the rebuilding.
LAST
WEEKS PROGRAM
Ken
Carrick introduced Sherri Hamil, saying she was
another attempt to bring up the culture of the Club. She is
responsible for setting up educational programs, training
volunteers and overseeing the Children's Club in the Alabama
Department of Archives & History. If we have been on the 2nd
floor where Grandma's Corner is located, we would see all
those interesting things from the 40's & 50's from our
grandmother's time. She also oversees and coordinates the
monthly lecture series held every third Thursday.
Sherri graduated from Jacksonville University
with a B.S. degree in art.
She thanked us for inviting her. She said
she hoped she didn't miss anything, because there was so much
to talk about. The Archives is a wonderful place to visit and
do research. She asked if anyone did research there. One
member raised their hand. She also asked how many had ever
attended the Archive Treats Program. (A few had) How many
have visited the Archives? Quite a few had and that made her
happy.
The Archives began in 1901 and was the first
Archives in the United States; founded by Thomas Owen.
The Archives has 2 main purposes. One is
that it collects government records, private records of the
state and the people of Alabama. People come to there to do
research, whether it's for a new book they may be writing
about Alabama or family history. People come from all around
the world, not just the U.S.
The second purpose is that they are a state
history museum with artifacts dating back to when Alabama was
a territory. Many things are displayed in their galleries.
There is a military gallery, an Indian gallery, tattered flags
and banners from the Civil War, as well as the 19th Century
gallery. Walking through the halls of the museum is a
wonderful experience, because of the Alabama marble that is on
the walls and columns is from Sylacauga.
People have come from Japan and they say what
a beautiful sight. It is a pleasure to work there, because so
many people appreciate the building itself and the staff
there.
There is new construction going on; a west
wing is being
built. This was part of the original plans of
the building when it was the first building in the Capitol
complex. Dr. Owen mapped out the different directions the
Archives building needed to expand to accommodate the growing
collections. The west wing will have a state of the art
reference room. Construction is due to be completed around
Christmas. There will be a few months where they will be
testing and making sure the conditions are right before the
staff moves into the area. The plan is to have an open house
on the 104th birthday, March 2, 2005. She hopes everyone will
come and help celebrate the opening of the new addition to the
Archives.
Fortunately the Legislature came through with
$3 million that had been set aside for building the new
addition and making renovations. They were able to allocate
that money for the new wing to be completed. The museum will
remain a black box. They have designs going on for the Voices
of Alabama. It will be a wonderful interpretation of
Alabama's history. They still need $6 million and if we know
anyone good at raising funds, please send them their way.
They hope to have the new museum open in 2006. There is a new
foundation board that is working across the state raising
money. It will take some time of course.
There have been cut backs, due to the
Legislature last year cutting $600,000 from their budget.
There were cuts made and 10 staff members left. Everyone was
cut back in supplies that had been offered to the public.
Hours were reduced and they started charging for services that
use to be offered for free. The Archives has always been
giving, but now they have to charge for research and documents
that people need reproduced. Compared to other archives they
are still easily accessible, so visit often.
Due to cut backs she handed out a pamphlet
about volunteers. She commented that Ken Carrick's wife is a
volunteer. Carol volunteers every Friday and is dedicated to
Archives. She welcomes people and orients them to the
building. She said if we are interested in volunteering;
retired with free time, they will be welcome. A volunteer
open house will be held September 2nd, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00
p.m. Opportunities are provided for volunteers to serve in
several areas. Booths are set up in different sections, where
volunteers can see where they might like to work. They give
school tours and talk about the collections.
There are people working on a Civil War
database that is being put on their website. Opportunities
exist where you can participate in putting material on the
database. Volunteers work with collections, book repairs, and
curators are looking for assistants in cataloguing and in the
gift shop.
On the behind the scenes tour you can see the
clothing Governor George Wallace wore when he was shot. There
are also a lot of artifacts from the Civil War.
LAST
WEEK'S GUESTS
Winnie
Middleton joined Hoyt as they were getting ready to
take a trip.
ENTERTAINMENT
Al McLellan said he is like everyone
else, he sometimes feels sorry for himself, but then he thinks
how blessed we are to live in this country. He sang an old
Hank Williams song, "Your Burdens are Greater Than Mine".
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY
President Winstead found a couple of
things he shared.
A church put up a sign that said, "Church car
parking only, trespassers will be baptized". Other signs
said, "Free trip to heaven, details inside". "People are
like tea bags; you have to put them in hot water to see how
strong they are". "Don't wait for the hearse to take you to
church".
ILL
MEMBERS
There is
nothing new to report on Ken Robertson's condition.
Give him a call.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
July 27th an interclub will be held
with the Kiwanis Club of Montgomery.
Saturday, September 18th, Family Day
will be held at Mark's house from 5:00 p.m. until. We will
celebrate the Club's 30th Anniversary.
John Burch asked how many saw his 3rd
report on the International Convention.
President Winstead asked that we think
of prospective members for the fall membership roundup.
July 30th-31st the
District Meeting will be held in Dothan. Mike and Jim
Jones will attend.
Pancake Day has been set for March
12th. Clear your calendars and get ready.
The RSVP Luncheon
will be September 15th at the Civic Center. Volunteers are
needed to assist people get on and off buses, and in and out
of the Civic Center.
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