We're excited to share this post with our readers. DeVanté is a student volunteer and a great asset to have around the Center. He is friendly and greets our visitors well. We will certainly miss him when he goes off to college. We hope you enjoy his view of our Center.

 View of a Student Volunteer

By DeVanté Douglas

DeVanté Douglas

I have been a volunteer at the Delta Heritage Center for quite some time now. The Delta Heritage Center is not your typical "museum" if you would like to call it that. It is a wonderful place to stop by if you live in town or if you’re from out of town and just stopping by for a quick second, the place is filled with nice and helpful people.

As a student I have learned so much about the Heritage Center and I absolutely love to volunteer here. I encourage more young people to volunteer, not just for community service but to spend a little time at the Heritage Center to get familiar with our history.

One thing I know for sure is that the wonderful people here sure wouldn't mind having you volunteer. That should make the transition a little better to make for you as young person and as a student. I know it helped me. Of course you could go volunteer at bigger places but that wouldn't mean anything if the people didn't treat you well.

To me it’s all about the people; how they treat each other and those who visit. Believe me when I tell you it will be hard to find anyone nicer than the women at the Delta Heritage Center.

 

Living or visiting the small town of Brownsville you might think that it doesn't have any historical value. That’s where you would be wrong.  The Delta Heritage Center has a lot of information that you would be surprised to learn. So many things have happened in our town.

The Delta Heritage Center is unique and a good place to visit and volunteer. The Center goes to show you size doesn't mean everything and smaller museums can be full of interesting things. You can’t judge a book by its cover and the Delta Heritage Center is something you have to visit and experience for yourself.

Center receives award for art exhibit brochure

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center was recently honored with an Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM). Accepting the award for its "Two Sides to Every Story" art exhibit brochure is Sonia Outlaw-Clark, director of the Center. The award was presented by TAM President Adam Alfrey at award ceremonies held March 19, 2014, in Greeneville, Tenn.

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center recently received an Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM) during its annual conference in Greeneville, Tenn.

The award recognized the Center for a brochure highlighting the 2013 art exhibition "Two Sides to Every Story." The exhibit showcased the work of Memphis artist John Sadowski and featured realism and abstract works. The realism work depicted regional landmarks and points of interest.

The organization's annual Awards Banquet was held at Greeneville's historic General Morgan Inn March 19. Attendees visited the Andrew Johnson historic sites and the Dickson Williams Mansion prior to the award ceremony held on the hotel terrace.

Founded in 1960, TAM fosters communication and cooperation between museums, cultural societies and other members in order to keep the public informed on the importance of understanding and preserving Tennessee's cultural, historical and scientific heritage. The organization also encourages best practices in Tennessee museums and continued education among its members. To learn more about TAM, visit www.tnmuseums.org.

Did you attend Flagg Grove School?

Flagg Grove School is currently being restored at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tennessee.

Did you attend Flagg Grove School in the northwest area of Haywood County near Nutbush and Ripley? If so, we would like to talk with you and document your stories about the school and what it was like to attend there.

The Center is also seeking items from the school including pictures of the school, class pictures, old school books, school and PTA programs, and any other items relating to the school.

Flagg Grove School is currently being restored and stories and items collected will help tell the story of the school and the students who attended. 

It will also house memorabilia from its most famous student, Anna Mae Bullock, known worldwide as Tina Turner.

If you attended or  have information related to the school, please contact us at 731-779-9000 or email info@westtnheritage.com.

“Art of Farming” through a photographer’s eye

“Corn Field During Sunset” by photographer Christy Hunter is one of the featured photos during the exhibition “The Art of Farming” March 7 - April 30, at the Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn.

 “The Art of Farming,” a look at the rural landscape of West Tennessee as seen through the eyes of photographer Christy Hunter, will open at the Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn., March 7. An artist reception will take place at 6 p.m., followed by a short tour and presentation by Hunter.

Photographer Christy Hunter

Hunter has been a photographer for over ten years with much of her work centered on gardens, flowers and outdoor nature scenes.  In 2011, she moved from the St. Louis area to Munford, Tenn., where she discovered new subjects along the back roads and countryside of West Tennessee.

According to Hunter, her world was opened to the beauty of things from the past; old stores, houses, barns, and beautiful farmland. As she explored the countryside capturing these scenes, a collection of images began to form around farm life.

“The past is left for us to discover and learn from,” says Hunter. “As I capture images, I try to think about those stories; the shapes, colors and the beauty that farming brings to our lives.”

The exhibition will look at everything from the shape of the plants, the new and old farm equipment, and the types of buildings that are all part of the farming tradition in West Tennessee.

“The Art of Farming” exhibition will be on display through April 30 and is free and open to the public. For more information about the exhibit, visit www.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.

Tina Turner contributes to Flagg Grove School project

With restoration underway, the Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn., is excited to announce Tina Turner’s contributions to the Flagg Grove School project.

Turner has been involved with the project since her childhood school was moved in 2012, including a sizable donation towards the restoration by the Queen of Rock herself. This donation is in addition to the recent campaign to match a $75,000 donation by local attorney Pat Mann Jr. and his wife, Ann.

In a recent statement by Turner, she expressed thanks to the community for their participation and involvement in the restoration.

“I would like to personally thank Brownsville Mayor Jo Matherne and Sonia Outlaw-Clark and her team at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center for their endless support,” says Turner “and of course Joe and Pam Stephens, without their donation of the school, this would not have been possible. I also want to recognize all the donations, both public and private, from fans, friends, and associates on this project which is very close to my heart.”

Turner is fully supportive of the project and happy to be able to give back to her community. In addition to a generous monetary donation towards the restoration of the school, she will be providing all the memorabilia, display cases, gold record awards and stage costumes from her long career. Concert videos will also be showing in the school. All of which will become part of the school’s interpretive exhibit.

Music jam celebrates Blues pioneer

This artist rendering of Brownsville's three Bluesmen is featured on a wall mural inside the Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn. "Sleepy" John Estes is depicted on the right.

To many the Blues mean live music on Beale Street or the clubs of Clarksdale, Miss. Not much attention is given to the old bluesmen who pioneered the way for legends such as BB King and Bobby Blue Bland. That will change this Saturday, January 25, when the Delta Heritage Center, in Brownsville, Tenn., will host an Acoustic Blues Jam to celebrate the 115th birthday of Bluesman "Sleepy" John Estes. Musicians and fans are invited to drop by from noon until 5 p.m., for birthday cake, door prizes and an acoustic  jam session.

"We're so excited about this," says Center director Sonia Outlaw-Clark. "What better way to celebrate the birthday of an industry pioneer than with a acoustic Blues jam."

Helping with the event is the newly-formed West Tennessee Blues Society. The society is hoping to spread the word about its grass roots effort to preserve the unique country blues sound of the region and promote those who are performing and carrying on the legacy left by these pioneers.

Estes was born in 1899 and began playing guitar and singing at house parties and picnics around Brownsville. At the age of 19, he was playing professionally and recorded in Memphis for Victor Records. He was often accompanied by two other Brownsville bluesmen, Hammie Nixon (harmonica) and Yank Rachell (mandolin). The three would perform together off and on for more than 50 years.

Estes had a distinctive "crying" vocal style that differentiated him from other bluesmen of the era. Many of his original songs are based on his life experiences and people he knew. The nickname "Sleepy" comes from his tendency to fall asleep at any given time. He died in 1977 while preparing for a European tour.

Jam attendees will also be able to visit his last home, located on the grounds, and experience a bit of what life was like for Estes. For more information about the Blues Jam, call the Center at 731-779-9000 or email info@westtnheritage.com.

Becoming the Volunteer State exhibition opens at Delta Heritage Center December 19

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, Brownsville, will host the Tennessee State Museum traveling exhibition "Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812" Dec. 19 - Feb. 3, 2014. The exhibit commemorates the war's 200th anniversary and features artifacts, maps and an indepth exploration of the significant role of Tennessee and its people in this important chapter in history.  

Curator Myers Brown will lead a tour of the exhibition and answer questions at an opening reception Thursday, Dec. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. Brown is an Archivist with the Tennessee State Library and Chair of the Tennessee War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

After years of escalating tensions, the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812, the war culminated with the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. By the time the war was over several Tennesseans were beginning to emerge as important American figures, including Andrew Jackson, David Crockett, Sam Houston, Edmund Gaines (Act of Congress Medal winner), and Sequoyah.

Portrait of Andrew Jackson
by Ralph E. W. Earl, ca. 1837

The war in the south was waged predominately by Tennessee militia, volunteers, or regular army units raised in the state. So many Tennesseans volunteered for service that the state was soon known by the nickname, the “Volunteer State.” The victory at the Battle of New Orleans propelled Andrew Jackson to the White House and established Tennessee at the forefront of American politics.

Two notable events from the War of 1812 are forever etched in the collective consciousness of America’s heritage: the British burning of Washington, D.C. when First Lady Dolly Madison saved the portrait of George Washington before she fled the capital, and the writing of the “Star Spangled Banner” by attorney Francis Scott Key during the British attack of Ft. McHenry at Baltimore.

The Tennessee State Museum collaborated with other organizations to develop and produce the exhibition, including The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, the State Library & Archives, and the Tennessee War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee. Important art, portraits, uniforms, weapons and period artifacts from the era, as well as a broad variety of documentary art, maps and illustrations have been selected to recreate a flavor of the times.

“Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812” is an exhibition of the Tennessee State Museum in collaboration with the American Association of State and Local History. The exhibit’s statewide tour is supported in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.