Lincoln exhibit looks at Civil War era political cartoons

Interpretive panels look at Lincoln and the issue of slavery through the political cartoons of the Civil War era and particularly the 1860 presidential election.

The national traveling exhibition Looking at Lincoln: Political Cartoons from the Civil War Era will be on display at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn., now through March 30. Included in the exhibit is select editorial cartoons from the local Felsenthal Lincoln Collection. The exhibit is free and opens to the public Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m.

A special program on Abraham Lincoln will be presented Sunday, March 25, from 2-4 p.m. The program will include Lincoln's second inaugural address delivered by Ken Jones, Associate Professor of Biology at Dyersburg State College. Jones is widely known for his one-man portrayals of the sixteenth president.

Ken Jones, professor at Dyersburg State, will present his portrayal of Lincoln in a one-main show featuring Lincoln's second inaugural address Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m..

The exhibit, developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York, explores images, especially cartoons, as a way of investigating Lincoln in the context of his times. These cartoons are vividly biting; they invite us to put aside twenty-first century assumptions and look at events through the eyes of people living in the era. Among the highlights are: a California printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln and political cartoons relating to the election of 1860.

The theme of the exhibition explores the Civil War and issues of slavery from the standpoint of political cartoons. These cartoons appeared in newspapers and were sold individually. Artists and citizens who created these images lived in a century in which racism was deeply ingrained in American life.

As a companion, the exhibit also includes editorial cartoons from the Felsenthal Lincoln Collection. These cartoons from the 1950s and 60s use Lincoln as comparison for current events of the day. Believed to be the largest individually owned collection of Lincoln memorabilia in the Southeast, the collection was donated to the citizens of Haywood County by Morton Felsenthal upon his death in 1983. Felsenthal spent his lifetime collecting books and memorabilia concerning Lincoln. Many of the original cartoons on display were signed by the artist and include personal notes to Felsenthal.

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a tourist information center and home to three regional museums located at Exit 56 off of Interstate 40 in Brownsville. For more information about the Center, visit www.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.

Volunteers honored at annual banquet

Volunteers and members of the community who have made significant contributions to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center during 2011, were honored at a banquet Friday, January 13. Last year was a very significant year for the Center, with an increase in visitors, hosting 3 traveling exhibits, many field trips and tours, 5 Concerts on the Porch and the 1st Exit 56 Blues Fest. 

Thank you to those pictured above, those not pictured and everyone who has helped make it a great year. We're looking forward to what 2012 will bring. It's going to be great!

Crafters invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Exit 56 Blues Fest

A Cut Above's Joe Adams won the Most Creative Item Award for his scroll saw wood puzzles at the 2010 Exit 56 Blues Fest.

Calling all outside arts and crafters. The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is seeking do-it-yourselfers and traditional and non-traditional crafters who create high quality, one-of-kind items to take part in the Exit 56 Blues Fest Arts and Crafts Show May 26, in Brownsville, Tenn.

Cookbook author Pamela Whinnery, talks about her Tennessee celebrity cookbook with a festival attendee at the 2010 Exit 56 Blues Fest in Brownsville, Tenn.

The show will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is limited to the first 50 applicants. Application deadline is May 1. The location, just off of Interstate 40 at Exit 56, offers crafters a unique opportunity to showcase their talents and wares to visitors traveling through West Tennessee, as well as residents of the region.

This is a non-juried event, but special care will be taken to ensure that a good selection is available without an over abundance of any one particular items.

"The Blues Fest is planned for Memorial Day weekend, which is the first big travel weekend of the year," says center director Sonia Outlaw-Clark.

The event attracted more than 400 attendees in its first year and is expected to grow substantially over the next few years, according to Clark. Planners are already working on how they can increase the festival area to accommodate more activities.

In addition to the Arts and Crafts show, live Blues music will be performed from the porch of the Sleepy John Estes home from 1-9 p.m. A car cruise-in, special exhibits inside the Center, festival foods and a kid's area are also planned for the event.

Crafters may download an application by visiting the Center's website at www.WestTNHeritage.com and click on the Exit 56 logo. For more information or questions, email info@westtnheritage.com, or call the Center at 731-779-9000.

Welcome 2012

Jeremy and Jessica, of McComb, Miss., were our first visitors of 2012. Their reward - a Brownsville birdhouse.

We've started 2012 with a bang and ended 2011 with a record year for attendance. Over 20,500 visitors walked through our doors last year and we loved meeting and sharing our West Tennessee culture with each and every one.

Now it's time to welcome new guests as we continue to greet old friends. It's was a little of both when we greeted our first visitors for 2012. Jeremy had stopped in before. On this trip, he made a special stop to show his friend Jessica our museums. It's the ultimate compliment when our visitors come back, and especially when they bring others to share the experience.

Happy New Year! May it be filled with all you could possibly hope for!!

It pays to Shop Brownsville!

Winners of the Shop Brownsville First - Big Prize Giveaway with their prizes.
Pictured  (from left) are Julie Taylor, Lori Hatcher and Santia Taylor. 

We had a fun time last Friday preparing to give away three great prizes from the Brownsville Business Association (BBA). This was the second year the BBA has sponsored a give-a-way and this year it got a lot bigger and included his and her Citizen watches, a 7-inch E-reader and a 40" flat screen TV.

Look at all the tickets that were entered in the giveaway!

Kenny Ellington  was on hand to give the box a good shaking before the drawing.

And you always need a child around to do the drawing .... 

Thanks to the BBA for choosing us as the drawing location and congratulations to the winners. I think it was a very successful event with 20 merchants participating. We're looking forward to next year already!

Remember it pays to Shop Brownsville First!

West Tennessee native writes mystery books

A. Scott Pearson

Scott Pearson is a Haywood County native and a Nashville surgeon. He's also a mystery writer.

His first book, Rupture, was released in 2009. The second in the series of medical mysteries, Public Anatomy, was released earlier this year. Pearson uses his knowledge of medicine and the Mid-South area to weave a compelling plot that takes place in and around areas that we are all familiar.

Rupture's main character, Eli Branch, is a successful surgeon and scientist, who finds himself searching for answers when a patient dies under suspicious circumstances. What he finds leads the reader on an adventure through the streets of  Memphis where he encounters danger and the "dark side of medicine."

In Public Anatomy, Eli Branch is found investigating the murder of a colleague and discovers even more lives are in danger. Once again, this book holds your interest until the very end.

Both books are an easy read .... and you won't want to put them down once you start. They are both available in our gift shop -  Rupture $10, paperback; Public Anatomy $20, hardback

Learn more about A. Scott Pearson and his books at http://www.ascottpearson.com/index.htm.

Freedom Ride driver shares his story

Jim Ruth

We are always so excited when people call and say they've heard about us on the radio, TV or newspaper, but it was an especially nice surprise to get a call a week ago from Mr. Jim Ruth. He had heard about our new exhibit on Channel 3 news (a short sound bite they had picked up from the AP).

Mr. Ruth began to tell me his story... of being the youngest driver Trailways ever hired in Nashville .... that he was the first driver to take a group of Freedom Riders from Nashville to Jackson, Miss in 1961. ... and he was and still is a resident of West Tennessee.  What a find! Or rather what a blessing that he found us!

Mr. Ruth autographs a picture of himself for Tennessee State Museum Curator of Social History Graham Perry during the installation of the exhibit "We Shall Not Be Moved: 50th Anniversary of Tennessee's Civil Rights Sit-Ins" at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center December 8, 2011.

He was coming through Brownsville the next day and wanted to stop and see the exhibit. I explained the curator of the exhibit would be here and I was sure would want to meet him. I also invited him to come back on Friday for our Opening Reception. He immediately accepted.

The next day Mr, Ruth shows up with memorabilia of his early days with Trailways and other Freedom Ride artifacts. I couldn't help but ask if we could include them as part of our companion exhibit and happily he agreed to leave them.

Mr. Ruth tells his story to O. G. Stewart at the Opening Reception of "We Shall Not Be Moved" Friday evening, December 9, 2011.

This gracious man is full of interesting stories, but what stands out more than anything is the fact that he considers it a privilege to have driven that bus. He was doing his part for his fellow man in a day and time when he was certainly ridiculed and in mortal danger. Luckily the ride went smoothly and everyone remained safe on this particular voyage. Other Freedom rides were not so lucky.

Ruth's memorabilia, from the 1961 experience and recent honors, on exhibit at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center.

Within the last year, Mr. Ruth has had opportunity to reunited with several of those who shared that ride in 1961. He says they were the best group he'd ever driven. From what I hear they seem to be as complimentary of him as he is them.