Brown Bag History Series Lecture to explore the growth of segregation in a Jim Crow South

As part of its continuing Brown Bag History Series, the Museum will present The Strange Career of Jim Crow in Augusta, a lecture given by Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.

The lecture will explore the growth of segregation in the region, comparing the early possibilities of Reconstruction with the developments in race relations in the late nineteenth century. Using census materials, newspapers, city directories, memoirs, maps and other primary sources, this research seeks to understand the internal and external forces that coalesced to cause Jim Crowism to emerge in a place where more fluid race relations had existed.

Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell, a native of Augusta, is the Director of the Center for the Study of Georgia History at Augusta State University. She served as a History Professor at Paine College from 1980-1991, Augusta State University from 1991-2002, and as Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History, Geography and Philosophy at Georgia College & State University from 2002- 2008. She returned to Augusta in summer of 2008 to carry on the work of the late historian, Dr. Edward Cashin. She has authored essays and articles, presented many papers at scholarly conferences, and served on the boards of professional organizations. She is currently the co-editor of the Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians and the executive secretary of the Georgia History Consortium. Her current research includes a textbook on Georgia history for public schools to be published by Clairmont Press, an additional chapter covering the years 1980-2010 for Dr. Cashin’s Story of Augusta (which will be reprinted), and a book on family and race in late nineteenth century Augusta and Summerville.

The Brown Bag History Series is an educational lecture series provided monthly by the Augusta Museum of History, and is an ideal lunch-time break for downtown professionals, retirees, and students. The lectures are free to Museum members and $3 for non-members. Participants should bring a lunch and the Museum provides beverages and dessert. Refreshments are served beginning at 11:30 a.m.; the lecture runs from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.

Learn the lost art of dots and dashes....

This Saturday, our Family Fun Day Series continues when families are invited to learn about the Morse Code.

What: Morse Code Family Fun Day
When: Saturday June 20, 2009, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Who: Families are invited to learn the lost language of dots and dashes and try their hand at communicating without words.
How Much?: Free with regular Museum admission and for Museum members!

(Regular admission: $4 Adults, $3 Seniors, $2 Children 6 - 18, Free for Children Age 5 and under)

Museum to host former MLB Pitcher for Book Signing

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ira Berkow brings together unforgettable memories of a hero's life in The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie, telling the story of a man who overcame incredible odds from a war injury to realize his dream of pitching in the major leagues. On Saturday, June 20, 2009 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, the Augusta Museum of History is pleased to host Mr. Lou Brisise for a book signing.

The Corporal Was a Pitcher is the riveting, true account of Brissie who – after being left for dead in a ditch on the battlefields of northern Italy on December 7, 1944, while fighting the retreating Nazis – became a member of the 1949 American League All-Star team as a strikeout ace, hurling his heat past the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. When war surgeons told Brissie he would die if they didn’t cut off his leg, Brissie refused amputation and fought through twenty-three operations to return to baseball.“Brissie's story should be recommended reading for every major-leaguer,” wrote the Daily (Ill.) Herald’s Mike Imrem on February 21, 2009. “Brissie just wanted to play baseball, and returned home with a damaged leg - and played in seven major-league seasons and the 1949 All-Star Game!”

Lou Brissie is a part of our nation's ‘greatest generation,’ and his life from his time serving in World War II to playing professional baseball for the Philadelphia A's to visiting wounded veterans throughout his life make him a role model for all. The Corporal Was a Pitcher is a must-read not only for baseball fans, but also for anyone looking to find inspiration from a man who never quit despite the odds being stacked so highly against him.Lou Brissie will sign books from 1:00 – 3:00 pm on Saturday, June 20 at the Augusta Museum of History (706-722-8454) in the exhibit From Ty to Cal: A Century of Baseball in Augusta, which features from Brissie’s career with the Philadelphia A’s. Books will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop ($20.00 Paperback).