Post on 23-Mar-2023
SPRING 2019 NEWSLETTER & CALENDAR OF EVENTS
STATE OF SOUND, PG 2 NEW ACQUISITIONS, PG 4 CALENDAR OF EVENTS, PG 19
1DIRECTOR’S COLUMN
With spring upon us and summer around the corner, Tennessee is blossoming into a state full of fun and unique festivals. Whether or not they are specifically a music festival, they all include music as a key
ingredient. And that makes sense. Music is tied to Tennessee history, from the bluegrass of Appalachia in the East, to the country in the Middle, and the rock, soul and blues in the West. Of course, all of these genres collaborate with each other, along with pop, gospel, jazz and hip-hop, across all three grand divisions.
In this issue’s cover story, we explore our state’s formidable music history through our temporary exhibition, The State of Sound: Tennessee’s Music Heritage. History curator Rob DeHart walks you through the gallery, touching on some of the little-known stories and highlights of the show. We open you enjoy the read and consider coming for a visit to discover – and listen – to more.
Elsewhere in this issue, we invite you to explore some new additions to our permanent exhibitions since we opened last fall, and to learn more about some key artifacts that have never-before been exhibited. Our new acquisitions section focuses on artifacts with stories that stretch from as far back as 1861 to as recent as few months ago, while our acquisition highlight tells the story of a generous former Marine from Mt. Juliet and his experience serving in Afghanistan.
We have plenty of exciting events coming up in our Digital Learning Center, in our building and throughout the state, so be sure to check our events calendar at the back of the book. Thank you, as always, for your continued support in the Museum, and interest in Tennessee art and history. I hope to see you at the Museum this season, where the Purple Irises are blooming on our grounds and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park is coming alive. If you can’t make it to Nashville, be sure to visit our website and our social media channels, where every day we share even more of Tennessee’s extraordinary stories.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Ashley Howell, Executive DirectorTennessee State Museum
TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019
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STATE OF SOUNDT he State of Sound: Tennessee’s Musical
Heritage is one of the inaugural temporary exhibitions the new Museum opened with
last year. Currently scheduled for display through the spring of 2020, the exhibition highlights the incredible diversity of music and music creators that have emerged from the Volunteer State. Just as the state’s geography changes dramatically from mountainous in the east to river delta in the west, its music touches practically every genre, and has produced many transformative artists. This exhibition provided an opportunity to examine more than the trends that frequently place Tennessee among the top five most influential states in American popular music. It also allowed curators to dig deep into the Museum’s collection and tell some lesser known stories about Tennessee’s musical heritage.
Before Nashville, Memphis and Bristol became commercial centers of popular music, people in Tennessee played and listened to music for many different reasons. Music making was a pleasurable way to pass the time. It played important roles in religious services, celebrations, public ceremonies and the military. Because electronic forms of music reproduction did not exist until the late 19th century, people experienced music by hearing musicians perform live. Life moved along to the rhythm of the solo fiddle, the banjo, the parlor guitar, and string and brass bands.
The oldest artifact in The State of Sound is also one of its most modest— an 18th century jaw harp found during an archaeological excavation at the former Cherokee town of Citico in Monroe County. A jaw harp is a very simple instrument that takes little skill to play. The user places it between the lips, plucks the flexible metal post, and changes her/his mouth to produce different sounds. Since this jaw harp is European in origin, it is evidence of trade between white settlers and Cherokees.
It also highlights the tragedy of this relationship. In an effort to stop settler encroachment on their land, the Cherokees allied with the British during the American Revolution. As a result, American forces destroyed a number of Cherokee towns, including Citico, in 1776. This jaw harp represents the contact that occurred between Cherokees and settlers and how it eventually led to the loss of the Cherokees’ ancestral lands in the eastern United States concluding with the Trail of Tears.
During the 19th century, piano, guitar and flute were the most common parlor instruments. Those with means could purchase sheet music to ensure the most popular tunes of the day could be heard in the household. But in many rural areas, people made do with homemade instruments and learned songs by ear. The museum has a wonderful collection of handcrafted banjos and dulcimers, including the “Tennessee Music Box” from Sullivan County that is on display in the
The
32 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019
exhibition. This instrument is played like a dulcimer, but has a very simple rectangular body form that appears to have developed in Tennessee. The four strings would sometimes be tuned to the same note. The player would create a tune by pressing one or two strings on the fingerboard to play notes in conjunction with a drone produced by the remaining open strings. This instrument is a good example of how Tennesseans were creative at discovering new ways to make music.
Visitors to The State of Sound may be surprised by Tennessee’s influence in the genres of jazz and classical opera. In 1927, Fisk University graduate Jimmie Lunceford organized a jazz band at Manasass High School in Memphis, perhaps one of the earliest public education jazz programs in the country. From these players he created a professional group originally called the “Chickasaw Syncopators” – the name later changed to the “Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.” The group’s success led to a stint playing at New York City’s Cotton Club that rivaled
performances by other big jazz bands of the era such as those led by Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. On display is a 78rpm record that Lunceford’s band recorded in 1946 featuring the hard-driving swing of a tune called “Cement Mixer.”
Tennessee has produced outstanding classically trained musicians. One of the most significant was opera soprano Grace Moore. Born in Slabtown in Cocke County, she spent most of her youth in Jellico near the Tennessee/Kentucky border. She studied briefly at Ward-Belmont College in Nashville before moving to Washington, D.C., and then New York City where she made her Broadway debut in 1920. Moore was one of those rare performers who equally felt at ease on the stages of the Metropolitan
Opera and a Hollywood film studio. She had a number
of operatic and comedic roles for MGM films
including One Night of Love in 1934. For this story, which mirrored her own life about a girl from a small town who wants
to sing opera, she earned an Academy
Award nomination
for best actress. A steamer trunk that accompanied Moore on her tours is on display in the exhibition.
These are just a few of the lesser known Tennessee music stories that visitors can experience in The State of Sound. Of course, visitors will also find icons such as Jimmie Rogers, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and Isaac Hayes are well represented in the exhibition too. In fact, one of the amazing aspects of the Museum’s music collection is that many of the featured items were donated by the artists themselves. As this exhibition shows, the music makers and listeners of the Volunteer State have never been limited by a particular genre, nor have they always been driven by commercial success. The State of Sound ultimately inspires visitors to take their own musical journey to discover the sounds of Tennessee, both past and present.
The Tennessee Music Box dates from the late 19th century and is unique to Ten-nessee. It was simpler than the typical dulcimer, which has an hourglass shape.
Photos by Dakota Elliot/ Curatorial Assistant.
AWARD OF EXCELLENCEThe State of Sound: Tennessee's Musical Heritage was recently awarded a 2019 Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums in recognition of superlative achievement in Temporary Exhibitions. It was one of ten awards the Museum received at the TAM Conference in Clarksville in March.
ExcellenceAWARD
OF
Rob DeHart History Curator
4 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019 5
World War II profoundly changed Tennessee. An exhibit dedicated to the conflict and its role in American and Tennessee history is now open as part of the Change and Challenge (1870-1945) exhibition near the end of the Time Tunnel. Many Tennesseans served with distinction in the armed forces overseas, while others contributed on the home front in a variety of ways. Tennessee became a site for military training bases, known as the Tennessee Maneuvers; prisoner of war camps, such as Camp Forrest; and war industries, including the atomic facility at Oak Ridge. World War II not only ended the Great Depression, it set the state on the path to greater economic opportunities in the future. The artifacts, uniforms and photographs from the Museum’s collection on display tell the story of the state’s role in this worldwide conflict.
Tennessee in World War II
NEW IN THE PERMANENT GALLERIES
Pre-1800 American FlagBoth the state of Tennessee and Tennesseans played important roles in the Modern Civil Rights Movement in the Southern United States from the late 1940s to the 1970s. African Americans and many others participating in the movement employed a variety of strategies, including legal challenges, sit-ins, protest marches, boycotts and labor strikes. Artifacts from the Museum’s collection, from all three grand divisions of the state, interpret the poignant stories surrounding these events that shaped our nation’s history. A newly-enhanced exhibit in our Tennessee Transforms gallery now gathers them together.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Clinton High School in East Tennessee was the first Southern public
school to be integrated and lead the way for other schools around the state to follow suit. In Middle Tennessee, the Nashville Sit-Ins, a nonviolent direct action campaign organized by the Nashville Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council, brought an end to racial segregation at downtown lunch counters. Worker’s rights and fair pay for African Americans emerged as a critical issue in West Tennessee. It was during the Memphis sanitation workers strike that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
Legislation to end segregation, black voter suppression, discriminatory employment and housing practices was the result of efforts by Civil Rights activists and countless protesters across the nation and here in Tennessee.
One of the rare artifacts on exhibit in the Museum’s Forging a Nation exhibition is a 13-star American flag and its pole. Both likely date to the 1790s. According to Dr. Candace Adelson, curator of fashion & textiles, fewer than 20 large pre-1800 U.S. flags have survived. The flag is part of the Tennessee Historical Society collection, which the State Museum holds in trust. In 2003, while surveying State Museum flags, flag conservator Fonda Thomsen gave her opinion that the flag dates to about 1790–1810. The 13-star U.S. National flag, representing the original 13 colonies, was adopted by Congress in 1777, but the star pattern was not mandated. Most patterns seem to have been in lines of 4–5–4, rather than the circle that is a more well-known representation of the early flag. Conservation work on the Museum’s flag, which is constructed mainly of silk, took 18 months before it was ready to go on exhibit when the new Museum opened in 2018.
Modern Civil Rights Movement
6 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019 7
Traveling Trunk Program ExpandsThe Tennessee State Museum is expanding the Museum’s popular traveling trunk program. With the addition of the Natural History gallery in our permanent exhibition, we are now creating a brand new Tennessee Geology Trunk. Once the curriculum packets for the trunk are complete, the trunk will be filled with engaging hands-on resources, including examples of minerals, fossils and rocks from around the state. Students will have a better understanding of how Tennessee’s geologic landscape shares our economy and culture. The Museum is also working with the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission to develop a financial literacy trunk. This trunk will be filled with hands-on activities and games that will help introduce financial concepts like budgeting and saving money. In anticipation of the centennial commemoration of the ratification of the 19th amendment, plans are also underway to duplicate our trunk on Women’s Suffrage trunk to serve more
schools across the state. The current traveling trunk program continues to serve schools statewide. During the first quarter, the Museum served 7,784 students in more than 35 counties spread across the state’s three divisions.
New Digital Learning ProgramsThe Tennessee State Museum is launching a new Digital Learning initiative for schools this fall. In order to better serve all of the counties across the state, no matter how far they may be, these digital learning programs are designed to reach directly into schools and classrooms and provide all Tennessee students with high quality, engaging, and standards-based social studies programs. Teachers from any county will soon have access to Museum resources and expertise to enhance their classroom curriculum.
Distressed CountiesEarlier this year, as his first executive order, Governor Bill Lee required all state executive departments to
issue a statement of rural impact and provide recommendations for better serving 15 distressed rural counties in Tennessee. The Museum is doing its part. Staff recently traveled to Collegedale for a trunk presentation and set up appointments with additional schools along the way. They stopped in Grundy County to speak with teachers and drop off educational materials from the museum. One school in Altamont, in Grundy County, has already reserved one of our traveling trunks, which will go on to serve 300 students. Other distressed counties served by the traveling trunk program include Lauderdale and Morgan County. Packets sent to schools in distressed counties include additional information about the Museum’s outreach and programming, and teachers in those areas are beginning to inquire about our resources.
Summer Teacher Professional Development Tennessee schools across the state will roll out brand new social studies standards this academic year, including a
EDUCATION NEWS
SEARCH OUR COLLECTIONJUNE 4: “Discover Tennessee History” – Jackson, TN
JUNE 14: “Teaching Tennessee” - Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN
JUNE 26-27: “New Standards Roll Out” – Knoxville, TN
JULY 15: “Tennessee History Tent Revival” – Chattanooga, TN
JULY 16-17: “New Standards Roll Out” – Knoxville, TN
JULY 23: “Teaching Tennessee” – Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN
JULY 25: “Teaching Tennessee” – Warren County
BRISTOL: (TBD)
The Tennessee State Museum’s collection of art and artifacts holds thousands of stories about Tennessee history. That collection also extends well beyond the items currently on
display in our galleries at our main location at Bicentennial Mall State Park and in our Military Branch in Downtown Nashville. You can now explore some items both on display and currently in storage via our new online search portal at tnmuseum.org. You can search by item type, description or exhibition.
Artifacts will be added each month, so be sure to return to research and learn more about our collection. Please email our collections department with artifact questions at collections@tnmuseum.org.
new Tennessee history course in the 5th grade. The Tennessee State Museum will support teachers in this transition by providing many opportunities for professional development. Plans are underway for the Museum’s 2nd annual teacher professional development tour around the state. Dates have been planned for Jackson, Bristol, Chattanooga and Williamson County already. In Jackson, the Museum will partner with state institutions to deliver curriculum development on the new Tennessee State History course that will begin in the academic year 2020-21. Partners at this workshop include Tennessee State Library and Archives, East Tennessee History Center, MTSU’s Teaching with Primary Sources and Tennessee State Parks. The Museum will also host two professional development dates at the Museum entitled “Teaching Tennessee.” These one-day workshops will feature a variety of topics related to Tennessee history and the new 5th grade Tennessee history course.
First graders from Chapel Hill Elementary School learn about geography with the Museum's "Tennessee: Its Land and People" traveling trunk. Credit: Chapel Hill Elementary School
8 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019 9
PRIVATE EVENTS at the New Museum
Sitting at the foot of historic Capitol Hill at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, the new Tennessee State Museum has become a popular place to book private events. An opulent Grand Hall, second floor
rotunda and wrap-around veranda all offer stunning views of downtown Nashville, while the state-of-the-art Digital Leaning Center offers ample and flexible space for conferences, lectures, film screenings and more. All events can be enhanced with access to the Museum’s extensive ongoing exhibitions and temporary galleries, where 13,000 years of Tennessee history come alive through art, artifacts, documentary films and interactive screens. To learn more about the Museum’s pricing and policies for hosting a private function, contact the Museum’s Event Manager at 615-741-2692 or events@tnmuseum.org
10 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019 11
NUMBERS
24,350 Tennessee Students and educators served by the Tennessee Treasures Traveling Trunks Program during the 2018-19 School Year (as of 4/1/19)
106,201Attendance at New Museum
Since October 4, 2019.
6 MONTHSAge of Newest Artifact Currently on Display: Modern Basket quilt on display in the temporary gallery by the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild
488
703Post-it® Note Comments
Shared by Visitors in the Between the Layers
Exhibition (as of 4/22/19)
15Benches on the grounds of
the Museum to rest your feet and enjoy a spring day
100Age of Lillian
Beattie when she made her quilt,
People of the World
31Quilts on Display in
Between the Layers: Art & Story in Tennessee Quilts
20TN Counties Represented
by those Quilts
66Number of songs on the listening stations in the State of Sound Exhibition
509 mi. 69.25 ft.Walking Distance between Bristol and Memphis in the
Children’s Gallery
Walking Distance between Bristol and Memphis
SPRING 2019
Estimated age of Oldest Artifact on Display: Fossil brachiopod and limestone made almost completely out of skeletal material from Cathey’s Formation in Nash-ville, Tenn. Ordovician Period. Brachiopod is a hard “valve” shell marine animal.
MILLIONYEARS
By the
1312 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019
NEW ACQUISITIONSModern Basket quilt, Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild, 2018–2019The recent trend of ultra-streamlined furnishings inspired by mid-20th-century Modern Art has inspired many quilters, particularly members of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG), to design more graphic quilts. MQG’s convention, QuiltCon, which was held this past February in Nashville, challenged Tennessee’s four Modern Quilt guilds to make group quilts reflecting local designs. Chattanooga’s guild selected a mid-19th century basket quilt as their model. Working within the parameters dictated by the challenge (purple, small piecing, and a new take on a traditional pattern), they added a touch of humor to the cheerful theme, as one giant basket tumbles off the quilt top at an angle. This quilt is currently on display in the Museum’s Between the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts exhibition.
Photograph Collection by Jack Spencer, 1988-2017This photographic collection of three decades of work by Nashville-based photographer Jack Spencer includes 54 pieces. It covers most of his career, with an emphasis on the American South, and excursions into other parts of the United States, as well as Mexico.
Spencer is known for his sensitive portrayals of his native South, as well as his explorations of other regions and cultures. In processing his prints, he has moved from increasing and decreasing the light in his finished prints, to toning them with pigments now. He is in many collections including the Berkley Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Brookings Institute, Mississippi Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Art Glass by Irving Slotchiver, 1975 - 2005Irving Slotchiver was one of the first artists to exhibit at the Tennessee Craft Fair, beginning in the mid-1970s. Retiring at age 52, he went back to school at Vanderbilt University, –where he earned an M.A. in Art in glass technology and glass making. He studied under glass artist Michael Taylor. Slotchiver spent twenty years making art glass, and then retired for a second time.
Sword belt, Leech & Rigdon, 1861-1862The Museum recently acquired a fine sword belt crafted by Leech & Rigdon of Memphis, Tennessee. Thomas Leech owned a cotton business in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the 1857 Memphis City Directory. By 1859, he was listed as a cotton broker and a dealer in guns. When the Civil War began in earnest, Leech turned his attention to making and selling military swords, Bowie knives, brass castings, scabbards, sword belts and imitation Colt revolvers. Leech was soon joined in business by Charles H. Rigdon of St. Louis, Missouri, and the firm name was changed to Memphis Novelty Works. The business continued in Memphis until the city fell in June 1862, when they relocated to Columbus, Mississippi, and eventually, Greensboro, Georgia.
St. George Benevolent Association Ribbon, 1866 This artifact was saved within the pages of a 1860s world history book. The ribbon, representing the St. George Benevolent Association in Memphis, dates to the organization’s creation in 1866. According to General Assembly notes from that same year, the association was founded to promote the welfare of “Englishman (sic) and their families.” Benevolent societies often served as charity groups, and this society was no different as “Charity Coverth (sic)a Multitude of Sins” is printed on the ribbon.
The association hosted an annual picnic every spring. Large advertisements for the event were spread throughout local Memphis newspapers listing dancing and games, including greased pole climbing and wheelbarrow racing.
Poster, Aretha Franklin at Howard High School, 1960Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 25, 1942. The family relocated to Detroit, Michigan, when she was only 2. At an early age, she showed a remarkable singing talent and began touring with her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, when she was only 12. The Reverend was considered one of the best circuit preachers in the country at the time, and his gospel caravan tours offered music and preaching.
The poster, recently acquired by the Museum, is from a pivotal time in young Aretha Franklin’s life when she performed at Howard High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1960. Not long after this concert, Franklin convinced her father to let her travel to New York and attempt a career singing pop music instead of gospel.
Materials from Development of First Closed Captioning Broadcast, 1971This summary report and accompanying photographs document the First National Conference on Television for the Hearing Impaired held at the Southern Regional Media Center for the Deaf at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1971. The conference brought together television industry representatives and advocates for individuals with hearing impairments to find a way to make television more accessible. Closed captioning of the television program, “The Mod Squad,” was demonstrated at this conference. The following year, PBS successfully broadcast an encoded closed captioned program. These materials were donated by William D. Jackson, director of the center from 1966 to 1973.
14 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019
Adam Thomas, a former U.S. Marine corporal from Mt. Juliet, recently donated a collection of artifacts documenting his experiences serving in Afghanistan. During Corporal Thomas’s first deployment, he
participated in the Battle of Marjah with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, beginning December 2009. This was followed by a second tour in the Upper Sangin Valley as a Rifle Squad Leader in Operation Eastern Storm in July 2011.
While still in high school, Thomas persuaded his mother to agree to an early enlistment by declaring his intention to join the Marine Corps as a musician. Plans changed, and he traded his trumpet for a pair of Rugged All Terrain (RAT) infantry boots claiming, “It was something I needed to do and I have never regretted that decision.”
Thomas’s muddy, worn boots and an array of items he wore or used during his time in Marjah are included in this collection. His talismans, a torn “lucky shirt,” personal photos carried into battle, a wristwatch, chest rig and sunglasses, are also featured.
Following active duty, Thomas joined the Marine Corps Reserve where he served until being honorably discharged in 2015. Today, he is a firefighter/paramedic with the Goodlettsville Fire Department.
Adam Thomas Collection, 2009-2015
RENEWALS Gayle BarbeeKay BarnettMrs. Myra BessNicholas EdwardsMrs. Sandra FrankRoger GrahamRoger GrayNathan GroomsAmelia HartzMrs. Henry W. HookerDr. James C. KellyCowinta & Gaithor KeyKeith LawrenceJoy LozierRobert MatherJoe MorrisDavid RectorDavid SatterfieldMr. Stephen SparksDorothy VaughnMs. Virginia Watson
DUAL RENEWALSMerle Born & Gregory HershMs. Teena CampSuzanne Day DevineDr. & Mrs. William DowneySarah & Mark DruryMr. & Mrs. Charles L. HarrisonSean HunterBarbara & Terry MacIlvainGeorge & Carrol SmithDarlene StringfellowDarrel & Lonna TraynorMrs. Martha Winston
FAMILY NEWBob & Amy Shults
FAMILY RENEWALSMs. Lyn AndrewsMr. & Mrs. Robert BoydstonMr. & Mrs. Gary CriggerMr. & Mrs. A. Dibadj
Mr. & Mrs. Robert DoochinMike & Debbie GulleyMartha Hammond, Martin
Kissane & Logan KissaneEstelle HarrisBruce & Martha Hieronymus,
in memory of Clara Hieronymus
Bill Purcell & Debbie MillerBets M. RamseySteven & Esther RemerBonny & Alan ShuptrineRon & Marcia Westphal
CONTRIBUTING NEWNorm Scarborough & Kim
Howell
CONTRIBUTING RENEWALSDavid AndersenJere & Ann BassIrma Bolster
Judge & Mrs. Lewis H. Conner
Joel & Rebecca CooperMr. & Mrs. John DowneyMrs. Walter DurhamDr. William & Frances
EdwardsJohn & Cynthia LancasterJim MarshallMartha MooreLarry & Marcia MullinsDr. & Mrs. William NashMr. & Mrs. David PalmerMr. & Mrs. Philip R. RussJohn J. RossMrs. Rhonda SmallDennis & Joyce TempleMrs. Catherine W. TurnerMary Unobsky & Eli Ball
SUSTAINING RENEWALSMr. & Mrs. Robert Minter,
Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame
JOHN SEVIERSOCIETYMark Emkes & Maria
Concepcion RenesThe Steven and Laurie
Eskind Family FoundationBayard & Rosemary Walters
ADDITIONALSUPPORTDennis & Jean Bottorff, in
honor of Clare ArmisteadJohn RutherfordAnna Windrow, in memory
of The Honorable Charles Sargent
Winter/Spring 2019Membership
$1,000,000 AND ABOVEBill and Crissy HaslamJim and Natalie HaslamJimmy and Dee HaslamAnn and Steve BaileyPilot Flying JFedExCongressman Diane Black
and Dr. David L. BlackMike Curb Family
FoundationNissan North America, Inc.The Frist FoundationHCA HealthcareThe Ayers FoundationBlueCross BlueShield
of Tennessee Health Foundation
Jenny and Randy BoydBridgestone Americas Trust
Fund
CoreCivic FoundationMartha Rivers IngramCharles and Shannon Martin
$500,000 AND ABOVEAndrea Waitt Carlton Family
FoundationFirst Tennessee Foundation
$250,000 AND ABOVECare Foundation of AmericaCracker Barrel Old Country
Store FoundationJackson National Life
Insurance CompanyThe Memorial Foundation
$100,00 AND ABOVEAdvance Financial
FoundationAsurionAutoZone
W.L. Lyons Brown Foundation
Charlotte and Tom ConeDollar General Literacy
FoundationEastman FoundationBill and Babs FreemanSenator Bill and Tracy FristHyde Family FoundationsWalter and Sarah KnestrickPamela LewisJustin and Valere Blair Potter
FoundationRich and Memree RobertsRyman Hospitality
Properties FoundationMr. and Mrs. Tom SmithTennessee Titans FoundationTennessee Valley AuthorityColleen Conway WelchAnne Potter Wilson
Foundation
$25,000 AND ABOVEMark and Cathy CateSteve and Lyn CatesConnie and Tom CigarranPete and Linda ClaussenAndrea Conte and Phil
BredesenMr. and Mrs. Charles W.
Cook, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Daniel G.
CrockettCumberland Pharma
FoundationEOA ArchitectsEzell FoundationState Representative
Matthew and Amanda HillA.J. and Kathleen KazimiJanet and Phil LawsonMcWhorter Family Advised
Fund
Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.
Dianne Ferrell NealAubrey and Michele PrestonCarol and John T. RochfordAnne L. and Joseph V. Russell
FamilyLuke and Susan SimonsBob and Cathy Thomas, John
Z.C. ThomasTurner ConstructionUBSMichael Walden Family,
Walden Security
The Tennessee State Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Governor’s Circle. The donors listed below have made the dream of a new state museum a reality for our state.
(as of March 31, 2019)Governor’s Circle
SPECIALThank You
1716 TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM | SPRING 2019
The following individuals, foundations and companies made generous gifts of $1,000 to $24,999. Many of these gifts honor families and friends with an inscription on one of the museum’s commemorative pavers, made of the state’s unique Crab Orchard stone, leading to the museum’s front door.
Other Gifts Capital Campaign
CONTINUED
Adams Family FoundationJeannine and Greg AdamsThe Adgent FamilyAladdin Industries FoundationDale and Melanie AmburnHomayoun AminmadaniClare ArmisteadSammie and Laine ArnoldThe Honorable Victor AsheBilly AtkinsHunter AtkinsAT&TClarice and Dean BaggettJohn and Sallie BaileyThe Honorable Paul and Amy
BaileyJames B. BakerCommissioner Danielle and
Victor Barnes Edwin and Sheila BartonReen and Jamie BaskinThe Battle of Franklin TrustTom and Wendy BeasleyBell & Associates ConstructionBetty BellamyBelmont Mansion AssociationAmy and Mike BercherPatricia BibleOdell BinkleySid and JoNelda BlalockBrad and Kim BlevinsJohn and Lisa BobangoJohn Bouchard & Sons Co.R.H. Boyd Publishing
CorporationThe Bracken FoundationBroadcast Music, Inc. Scott and Harkness BrownDan and Linda BrownThe Honorable Bill and Rita
BruceBonnie BuonocoreMary and James BushAnn ButterworthTrudy and Will ByrdHacker and Kitty CaldwellPatsy and Charles Camp
Bo and Susan CampbellGinna Foster CannonWendy and Gray CarterDebbie and Fred CassettyDr. Elizabeth CatoJeff and Vicki ChapmanThomas W. ChesterJuliet and John ChobanianKathryn ChoisserAgenia and Charles ClarkMary Ann and Chuck ClarkThe Honorable Bob ClementBill and Donna CobbleChase ColeCompass PartnersThe Honorable Lew and Ashley
ConnerMike and Carol ConnorMelanie and Dave CooleyJames and Mira CraineCrestmoor Surgical Associates
and Dr. J.J. WendelBonne and Gary CriggerMary Jane Crockett-GreenCatherine and Will CromerAngel and Steve CropperAnna and Fred CulbreathBeth CurleyBrownlee CurreyThe Honorable Lincoln DavisMadeline DeCuyper, Allen
DeCuyper and Steve Sirls Nancy DeFrieceSharon DennisThe Reverend and Mrs. Fred
DettwillerDevine-Majors FoundationWard and Barbara DeWittMarilyn DickEdward DismukesDrs. Jana and John DreyzehnerDunlap Stone, Inc. and Jeremy
ThomasThe Honorable Winfield and
Betty DunnDr. Susan EdwardsDr. Robert and Nancy Elder
Conchi and Mark EmkesHugh and Nancy EntrekinJere and Linda ErvinSteven and Laurie EskindDr. William E. EvansDr. Kent and Susan FarrisJohn and Carole FergusonCassie Lynn FooteDebra FowlerThe Dorothy Cate and Thomas
Frist FoundationKaryn McLaughlin FristBobby Jean FrostJoe and Phran GalanteMatt GallaherTom and Caren GallaherPatsy GawThe Honorable Howard C.
Gentry, Jr.Edwin GeraceCommissioner David Gerregano
and Sohnia HongBill and Julia GibbonsChristi and Landon GibbsCommissioner Greg and Lori
GonzalesDarin and Shawn GordonClinton GreenThe Honorable Mark GreenRiney GreenMany-Bears and Ernie GrinderLeslie and Matt HafnerThe Honorable and Mrs. Bill
HagertyThe Honorable Ferrell and Kay
HaileThe Honorable Curtis and
Charlotte HalfordDavid HallRon HarmanMichelle and Jeremy HarrellLisa Harrison-FergusonNat and Jean HarrisAubrey HarwellThe Honorable Beth and Sam
HarwellTrey Harwell
Hashem HashemianMajor General Max and Anne
HastonThe Honorable David HawkTed HaydenSharon and Garrett HegelLyman HeidtkePeter HeimbachAshley and Douglas C.H. HenryMary Leland Henry-WehnerThe Honorable Jim and Jeannie
HenryNashville Predators and Sean
HenryCommissioner Nancy Miller
Herron and Senator Roy B. Herron
Laura and John HerzogH.G. Hill CompanyHickory Construction, Inc.Damon and Carrie HiningerHodges Properties, LLC Tina and Mike HodgesDrew and Ellie HolcombRick and Vicki HoltonBonnie and Denis HommrichAlice HookerPhillip and Hannah HopperShirley and David HorowitzAshley and Joe HowellJimmy HudsonKevin and Amy HuffmanTommy and Carol HuntRebecca and David HunterClay JacksonSusan JamesKia JarmonThe Honorable Darren and
Michelle JerniganJessup & AssociatesBill and Rena JohnsonJulius and Karen JohnsonThe Nancy M. and Victor S.
Johnson, Jr. Foundation, Inc.Richard and Mary JohnsonRuth JohnsonCrews Johnston
The Honorable Lynda JonesThe Joyce FamilyDan JusticeKim KaegiSally KanadayJim and Elaine KayThe Honorable Kelly KeislingMike and Cathy KellyThe Honorable Bill and Theresa
KetronJames KingBob KirkMichael KobanThe Honorable Bill and Debby
KochPaul KuhnLaRoche Family FundKen LevitanJason LevkulichRon and Marty LigonRobert LipmanWendy and Rick LongKim and Bob LooneyLord Cultural Resources Planning
and Management Inc.Andrea and Ed LoughryMarty LuffmanSallie MaddinEmily MagidMargaret MaheryCathy and Mark MamantovJane and Larry MartinRobert J. Martineau, Jr.Alice MathewsJoseph and Lynn May W. Neal and Kelly McBrayerDr. Paul and Carla McCombsThe Honorable Gerald
McCormickThe Honorable Steve McDanielJanet and Tim McGahaMcGaha Electric Company, Inc.Mick and Ann McGauranLeatrice McKissack Dugan McLaughlinDavid McMahan
Ed and Tracy McNallyCommissioner Julie McPeakAndy and Candice McQueenMary Jane and Mike McWherterThe Ned Ray McWherter
Charitable FoundationShari and Mark MeghreblianKathryn MikusDana MooreEllen MoreDavid and Janice MorganKaren MorganErin and Theodore Morrison, Jr.Jim and Marie MurphyThe Honorable Jimmy NaifehRandall NoelThe Honorable Mark NorrisMark and Mindy OdomClifton and Jennifer OgdenBob OglesbyJoe PagettaOphelia and George PaineCommissioner Tony and Misty
ParkerAllegra and Tad PattenDebbie and Mike PayneAustin PenningtonJames PerkinsClay PetreyPam and Phil PfefferBurns PhillipsPinnacle Financial PartnersAlexia and Charley PoeDan PomeroySharon and Joe PryseThe Honorable David and Pam
PurkeyTaylor and Jennings RaganThe Honorable Bob and
Margaret Ramsey Jan RamseyMartin RashBrenda and Colin ReedThe Honorable Shane and
Amanda ReevesDeeAnne Reynolds
Emily ReynoldsLaura and Steve RileyRachel RobertsRichard Roberts and Imogene
KingRogers Foundation, Inc.Kathy and Bobby RolfeMary Frances RudyThe Honorable Charles SargentSandra Schatten FoundationElizabeth SchatzleinDerrick SchofieldThe Honorable John and
Marianne SchroerJackson SeamanBones and Bettye SeiversBob and Harriet SewellAnne ShepherdDr. O’Farrell and Melanie
ShoemakerCharles and Jane SlateryThe Honorable Herbert and Cary
SlateryStephen and Christina SmithThe Honorable Steve and Cheri
SoutherlandShirley and Stuart SpeyerFrances and Jimmy SpradleyElizabeth and James StadlerJohn and Rosemary StitesStones River GroupSarah StowersHope StringerJoshua SudburyCatherine SullivanStephen SusanoDwight TarwaterJai TempletonGinger TerryJohn and Ann TicklePat Kerr TigrettBill and Susie TolbertByron and Aleta TraugerThe Honorable Ron and
Commissioner Laura TravisKevin and Jill Triplett
TriStar BankCharles and Annie TrostMeg and Terry TroutmanJeff VallettThe Honorable Micah and Annie
Van HussDoug and Teresa VarneyVerizon WirelessErica VickVillage Real EstateGreg VitalMary and Alex WadeRobert and Nancy WahlLouise B. Wallace FoundationRosemary and Bayard WaltersIrene WardAnn WarwickChristy WatkinsThe Honorable Bo and Nicole
Watson The Honorable Terri Lynn WeaverChuck WelchWarren and Jessica WellsSusan and Ken WhitakerEleanor WhitworthMarshall and Clare WilkinsDavid and Gail WilliamsDick and Susan WilliamsCommissioner Marie WilliamsRidley and Irene WillsAnnabel and Jesse WoodallJo Ann YatesMrs. Eleanor Yoakum and Mr. Bill
DunavantThe Honorable Bill and Jane
YoungMandy and Stephen YoungShirley ZeitlinMichael Zibart
Thank You
IT’S NOT TOO LATE to Purchase an Engraved StoneAs visitors approach the welcoming and expansive entry to the Museum, they walk a special pathway of Tennessee’s unique Crab Orchard stone engraved with the names of generous donors and their loved ones. For a limited time, for any donation between $1,000 and $24,999, you can add your name, your company, or someone you would like to honor or commemorate to this piece of our state’s history. Visit tnmuseum.org/pavers or call (615) 770-5863.
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18 Sensory-Friendly Family Open House10 a.m. – 1 p.m.The State Museum hosts its first sensory-friendly family event. This free event is open to people of all ages and abilities, but designed especially for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, sensory sensitivities, or other disabilities. Participants can make sensory-friendly art and crafts, travel through the Museum’s exhibitions on a Family Scavenger Hunt, and enjoy a Storytime session planned for the occasion. Exhibition galleries will have a modified noise level throughout the event.While the event is free, families who plan to attend are asked to register on the website to receive information about the open house.
19 Voyage of Adventure: Retracing Donelson’s Journey 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.The Museum screens Nashville Public Television’s documentary, Voyage of Adventure: Retracing Donelson’s Journey, followed by discussion with photographer John Guider. In the winter of 1779, a flotilla of flatboats left the banks of Fort Patrick Henry in eastern Tennessee for the Cumberland River valley. Led by a Virginia surveyor named John Donelson, these migrants meant to create a permanent settlement that would become Nashville. In 2016, Nashville adventurer and photographer John Guider retraced that journey and captured those same rivers through the lens of his camera.
JUNE
1 Statehood Day 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.Make plans to join the Tennessee State Museum, Tennessee Bicentennial Mall State Park and the Tennessee State Library and Archives in celebration of the day the Volunteer State was admitted to the Union in 1796. There will be free events happening throughout the day at all three locations, including educational talks, family history scavenger hunts, free birthday cake, live music and more.
12 Lunch & Learn: From Nothing to Something, The Innovation of African American Music Noon to 1 p.m.Scheduled to open in early 2020, the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) exists to educate the world, preserve the legacy and celebrate the central role African Americans play in creating the American soundtrack. Acting
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HISTORY COMES ALIVEHighlight Tours of the Museum exhibitions are offered every day at 2 p.m. The Museum features some never-before-seen artifacts. Our Museum Highlights guided tour is a great way to see some of those artifacts and hear the stories of Tennessee. Join one of our experienced guides as they unlock the stories of these one-of-kind artifacts from throughout Tennessee history.
Storytime takes place every Thursday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m. For children 3 to 6 years old, this recurring event includes a book reading and craft or other activities. No reservations are required. In June, our Storytime books will all be Tennessee-themed. Please see page 21 for details.
Some events require registration. RSVP at tnmuseum.org/calendar-of-events.
RECURRING PROGRAMS
The State Museum celebrated its first spring in the new build-ing. The Hop On Hop Off tours dropped off visitors who en-joyed seeing the beautiful grounds with blooming irises (the state flower) and red bud trees lining the nearby sidewalks.
In April, the Museum partnered with the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame to present “Tennessee Takes Flight: Homeschool Day.” The day featured activities which included taking a flight in the simulator, learning about notable Tennessee pilots, and competing in a paper airplane race.
Recently the Museum hosted Tennessee Quilts: Discovery and Identification, an event held in conjunction with the exhibition, Between the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilt. The free all-day symposium featured lectures from notable quilts experts, who also helped visitors identify key information about their quilts. The quilt exhibition continues through July 7, 2019.
The Museum’s spring bus excursion visited Knoxville, TN in early April. Jack Neely of Historic Knoxville took participants on a tour of the historic downtown area. Other highlights included the Knoxville Museum of Art, East Tennessee History Center, and a visit to the iconic Sunsphere.
Schoolchildren enjoy writ-ing and sharing comments about History, Today and Future on comment cards which they post to the peg board in the Tennessee Transforms gallery. Visitors who read them find many of them to be quite amusing.
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as a “Museum Without Walls,” NMAAM currently provides educational programming to illuminate the many connections and influences African American composers have had on more than 50 genres and styles of music. Join NMAAM for a demonstration of From Nothing to Something (FN2S), a program that explores the transformative, inspirational and educational influence of music history and techniques used by African Americans to turn common, household items into musical instruments.
26 Homeschool Day10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Designed for homeschool families, this free event will focus on early Tennessee and the creation of the state in 1796. Join educators from the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee Bicentennial Mall State Park for activities and programs for all ages. No registration required.
JULY
14 Waterfest at Cumberland River Park1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The Museum, in partnership with the Cumberland River Compact, presents Waterfest — a free, one-day festival that connects youth to our local waters and is accessible to communities across Nashville. The goal is to connect youth and their families to water through interactive, educational activities in a fun, community-centered festival. We believe environmental awareness is an important element of community knowledge and contributes to environmentally friendly and healthy behaviors later in life. There will be waterslides, music, dancing, educational exhibits, prizes, and more!
17 Lunch & Learn: Nashville to Havana Noon to 1 p.m.Nashville Zoo exists today due to the foresight of two ladies, Margaret and Elise Croft. In October 2018, Tori Mason, Nashville Zoo Historic Site Manager, and
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No person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, or sex shall be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination of services, programs, and employment provided by the Tennessee State Museum and its contracting agencies.
On the cover: 1940 Wurlitzer model 800 jukebox in wood cabinet with red & yellow illuminated plastic trim.
ON THE COVER
Jennifer Randles, TSLA Digital Materials Librarian, traveled to Florida and Cuba for research on the Croft sisters’ business. In Florida they conducted oral history interviews with 94-yr old Bradford Dallas, the man who was their business administrator, and who was in Havana during the Cuban Revolution. Several of his letters and other documents are on the the Tennessee Virtual Archive website (teva.contentdm.oclc.org). They also spent time in Havana traveling around to various locations associated with the Crofts and the Dallas family. Join us for this presentation on the research conducted on the Croft family’s life in Cuba.
20 Space Day 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
This July marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. To celebrate, there will be space-themed activities for families and special programming for all ages throughout the day. Visitors are invited to view fragments from the Moon’s surface that were brought to Earth by the astronauts that took part in the first lunar landing, on display in the Museum’s Tennessee Transforms gallery. At 2 p.m., visitors are invited to watch a segment of the Nashville Public Television documentary “Chasing the Moon” from the American Experience series.
AUGUST
17 East Tennessee History Fair in Knoxville, TN10 a.m. – 5 p.m.The Museum will be participating in the East Tennessee History Fair in Knoxville. Visit us in the kids’ area! The festival includes free activities all over downtown Knoxville. Learn more at easttnhistory.org.
CHILDREN’S CORNER
Storytime for Statehood Day On June 1, Tennessee Statehood Day, Museum staff will read special books about the Volunteer State and having activities that relate to the book. Below is the schedule:
Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs that appear in the newsletter are taken by Museum staff and are protected by copyright of the Tennessee State Museum. Any use of the images without permission from Museum staff is not permitted.
The Douglas Henry State Museum CommissionThomas S. Smith, Chair
Nancy Baker DeFriece, Vice Chair Harbert Alexander, Sr.
The Honorable Victor H. Ashe, IITina Hodges
Walter G. Knestrick The Honorable Susan Lynn
The Honorable Steve K. McDanielDeanie Parker
Scott PriceLaura W. Travis
The Honorable Bo Watson, Senate Representative
Eleanor Yoakum Robert N. Buchanan III, Ex Officio
Ashley Howell, Ex Officio
Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board of Directors
Paul R. McCombs III, MD, Chair Mike Kelley, Vice Chair
Charles B. Welch Jr., TreasurerDianne Neal, Secretary
Foundation Board MembersClare Armistead
Trudy Byrd Mary Ann Clark Angel Cropper
The Honorable Michael Curcio (House of Representative)
The Honorable Howard Gentry Douglas C. H. Henry
Ruth E. Johnson Christine Karbowiak
Mike Kelly Mayor Bill Ketron
Pamela Lewis Mary Pearce
Pat Kerr TigrettThe Honorable Dawn White (Senate
Representative)Ashley Howell, Ex Officio
EDITORIAL STAFF
Director of CommunicationsJoe Pagetta
Community & Media Relations OfficerMary Skinner
Social Media CoordinatorMelina Ludwig
Graphic DesignerRachel Parker
Communications LiaisonLee Curtis
Grants & Title VI CoordinatorLori Thurston-Smith
10 A.M. Count on Us: A Tennessee Counting Book (will also be read on June 6 and 8)Activity: Make a cotton ball sheep
11 A.M. Swamp AngelActivity: Craft bear art
12 P.M. Knoxville, TN (will also be read on June 27 and 29)Activity: Create garden art with make corn and tomatoes
1 P.M. V is for Volunteer (will also be read on June 20)Activity: Make a Tennessee State Flag
2 P.M. Quickest Kid in Clarksville Activity: Create a Gold Medal
3 P.M. Tara and Bella Activity: Make a Tara and Bella friendship magnet
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Tennessee Museum StoreBetween the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts is on view now through July 7, and the Museum Store has a variety of related merchandise for all of you quilt fans. Take home a part of our collection with the eyeglass cloths that feature the Dutch Tulip Quilt by Frances Mary “Fannie” Powers, on display in the exhibition. Friendly Arctic Printing and Design of Nashville has created exclusive prints, shirts, and tote bags. Also choose from mini quilt cards, zippered pouches, quilt block ornaments and artwork, a selection of books, and more.