Heritage Center Newsletter - Spring 2021

10 Johnston County Heritage Center Winter - Spring 20 21 Vol 1 9 , No 1 Update Adding Space for Exhibits and Gift Shop In our last newsletter we shared our need and desire for additional exhibit , gift shop , and gathering space to allow us to better preserve and showcase our history We had our eye on the former BB & T building , but recent developments have turned our attenti on to another downtown Smithfield site — the former Rose’s store at the corner of Market and Fourth Streets shown here in the 1960s Current plans subject to approval by the Board of County Commissioners on June 21 include leasing and upfitting 4,500 squ are feet in the left front section of the building so exhibits and gift shop can move there over the summer This move will more than triple our exhibit space and allow us to display items which have been in storage for a number of years The Heritage Cen ter’s current home in the historic First Citizens Bank building will continue to serve researchers of state , local and family history , with the Reading Room moving to the ground floor Upper floors will provide much needed storage that will allow us to con tinue to grow our collections We hope to make the move in late summer 2021 Patrons Dinner Each year the Heritage Commission stages a banquet to acknowledge those whose financial contributions sustain the work of the Heritage Center The corona virus pandemic forced us to cancel the 2020 Patrons ’ Dinner , but we are excited to announce that we are moving forward with plans for our 2021 dinner , scheduled for September 14 at the Johnston County Agricultural Center Pianist Ella Ann Lee Holding of Smithfield pictured here is slated to perform She holds degrees from Salem College and Yale School of Music , and she also studied at The Juilliard School After devoting many years to duties of housewife , mother , and community volunteer , she became Arti st - in - Residence at Campbell University from 1994 to 2003 She has wowed audiences across the Carolinas and Virginia since that time , and we count it a wonderful privilege to have this Johnston County Treasure and Heritage Center Patron on our stage PageFrom the Director Preserving and Sharing Johnston County’s Unique Story The Johnston County Heritage Center is located at 241 E Market Street in Downtown Smithfield Our phone number 919 - 934 - 2836 Our mailing address PO Box 2709 , Smithfield , NC 27577 Our web address wwwjohnstonnccom heritage Like us on Facebook wwwfacebookcom jocoheritage YouTube channel wwwyoutubecom JohnstonNC Heritage Hours of operation Monday - Friday , 9 am to 5 pm Saturday , 9 - 5 Exhibits , 9 - 1 Reading Room Johnston County Heritage Commission Pam Baumgartner Mary Stephens Lettie Best Vicky Temple Rains Pearl Blackmon Ashley W ebster John Booker Larry Wood Suzanne Cook Charles Creech Emeriti Monica Davis Belle Allen Matt Dean Elsie Collins Carolyn Ennis Ossie Fields Mary Nell Ferguson Wingate Lassiter Warren Grimes Julia McCullers Frank Knott Becky Renfrow Royce Lambert Helen Smith Heritage Center Director K Todd Johnson toddjohnson @ johnstonnccom Since late April , the Heritage Center has been fully open As each days passes , it is refreshing to see more and more people coming through our doors We are following county guidelines to protect our staff and visitors from coronavirus , which , by the way , is still a mong us County policy is to recommend face cove rings , while not requiring them LAST CHANCE TO SEE WWII EXHIBIT — The pandemic has prevented many people from visiting the Heritage Center to see our exhibit , “ A Generation Goes to War , 1941 - 1945 ” If you are one of those people , you still have until J ULY 3RD to see our display of fascinating stories , photographs , artifacts , clippings , and quotes from the Greatest Generation A number of items are on loan and will soon be returned to their owners One artifact – a silk dress Howard Hughes commissioned a Holl ywood designer to make for Ava Gardner during the war — has already been returned to the Ava Gardner Museum , so you will need to go down the street to see that piece We have a scavenger hunt for children that involves looking for specific items or informati on in the exhibit Don’t delay HELP SAVE OUR TREASURES — As we plan for future expansion of our exhibits and archival storage area s , we would encourage anyone who has pieces of Johnston County history to consider giving them a permanent home in the Heritage Center A number of years ago I inherited some family treasures of my grandmother ’ s and decided this was the place they should reside They are protected in a secure , climate - controlled space , and other family members can get access to them six days a week I don’t have to worry about them being tossed out inadvertently when I take leave of this planet It’s a win - win , and we are fortunate to have a place for such things For those who don’t have collections of papers , pictures , books , artifacts , recordings , and other materials , there are so many other ways you can help our cause You can create indexes or abstracts of old records in the comfort of your own home a separate article has more about that You can help us document abandoned cemeteries You can encourage friends and family who have pieces of history to share them with us You can record oral history interviews audio or video or transcribe taped interviews Just to list a few opportunities In a nutshell , it takes a village to have a place like the Johnston County Heritage Center Our county is growing and changing quickly , an d we must be vigilant in preserv ing our legacy and the legacy of those who came before us Historically yours , Todd JohnsonPageCollections Highlight — Importance of Finding Aids by Ben Chapman , Archivist The Heritage Center’s online databases draw over 2,000 users each month — a number far greater than that of walk - in visitors To meet the demand for remote access to information , I am working with staff and volunteers to create online finding aids What is a finding aid It is a collection guide that answers t he important questions who , what , when , and where At the moment my efforts are focused on describing materials within the Elizabeth Rackley Hoyle Photograph Collection There are 20 items in the collection and , while there are a few photographs , the majority are postcards The post card pictured below was sent from Trinity College n ow Duke University in Durham to Miss Luna Toler of Benson in 1908 Luna would go on to marry William Octavius Rackley To see the collection in the ArchivesSpace Pub lic User Interface you can search , “ Elizabeth Rackley Hoyle Photograph Collection ” or enter the foll owing url in a web browser https hcarchiveslibraryhostcom r epositories 2 resources 187 W ithout a finding aid , several connections to persons and communities in Johnston County would not be known By adding geographic tags , like Benson , NC , as well as creating records for people in ArchivesSpace we can make th ese collections more visible and begin to represent the connections between collections Help is always needed to input and review this data Individuals interested in history , libraries , archives , or museums are invited to come volunteer at the Heritage Center Ideally volunteers could gain experience relevant to their professional or personal interests Please call the Heritage Center or send an email to bennettchapman @ johnstonnccom if you would like to explore volunteer opportunities for working with our collections Bottom left photo Georgia Earley , who recently started volunteeri ng at the Heritage Center , is a student in The School of Library and Information Studies at The University of Alabama She is currently working at the Mary Duncan Public Library in Benson and in the f all will be participating in an internship with us to gain graduate course credit Bottom right photo s Shown h ere are some of the many artifacts in our collection that help tell the story of everyday life in the early 20 th century Craig Braswell recently donated the 1910s motor oil can from Cotter Hardware Company , Smithfield A bottle of Tattoo Oil used for kinder and gentler marking of livestock was found among items saved by Perry and Mary Stephenson Johnson of Ingrams Township donated by the late Durwood Barbour PageRemembering a Johnston County Icon Former Johnston County Heritage Commission member Margaret Brown Maron died February 23 , 2021 , at age 82 Margaret , shown here at the Heritage Center’s 2009 Patrons ’ Dinner , was a nationally known writer of murder mystery novel s Bootlegger’s Daughter , th e first in a long series set in a fictitious but strangely familiar Colleton County , North Carolina , won the 1992 Agatha Christie Award and later the Edgar Allan Poe , Anthony , and Macavity Awards The Southern Historical Collection at UNC - Chapel Hill is ho me to her literary papers , and the Johnston County Heritage Center has a complete collection of her published works Margaret’s contributions in our county and state are vast , and her memory is cherished by all those fortunate enough to call her friend Help Needed in Indexing Abstracting Old Records The Heritage Center is looking for individuals to take up the mantle of the late Elizabeth Ross , Claudia Brown mother of Margaret Maron , Zelda Wood , Weynette Haun , and others who once spent countless hour s transcribing , abstracting and indexing records at the State Archives and the Johnston County Courthouse Most of the estate and tax records from 1781 to 1868 and court minutes from the 1850s 60s require either going to hard - to - read microfilm or to origin als in Raleigh They contain a large wealth of information not found elsewhere for genealogists , especially those searching for names of enslaved persons Center staff are in the process of photographing pages from the original records that can be printed out and indexed by volunteers at home Please contact Todd Johnson , 919 - 938 - 4708 , or toddjohnson @ johnstonnccom , if you would like to help with this ongoing effort Above , researcher Inez Tuck of Richmond , Virginia , looks for names of enslaved ancestors in 19 th century estate records on microfilm on a recent visit to the Heritage Center Right , the estate inventory of David Bell , 1823 , lists names of nine enslaved persons , as well as other personal property Page