Center News

North Carolina Humanities Council Funds "After the War"

The Mountain Heritage Center has been awarded a $10,650 grant by the North Carolina Humanities Council to produce a traveling exhibit to examine the 20th century world wars as a catalyst for change in western North Carolina. The project entitled "After the War: Conflict and Domestic Change in the North Carolina Mountains" will put human faces on war and its aftermath by telling the story of war's effects from the point of view of those who experienced both the conflict and the changes it generated. The exhibit will depict these changes in a regional context so the nature and extent of the effects of war in western North Carolina can be better articulated, appreciated, and understood.

The project actually began in the summer of 2002. Preliminary fieldwork with veterans was conducted by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Public History, Oral History, and Anthropology classes at Western Carolina University. According to Suzanne Hill McDowell, project director, "with the recent events in Iraq, people have a heightened sense of the disruptive nature of war both in a war zone and on the home front. By asking questions about the effects of wars on people and communities in western North Carolina, this exhibit will show how events a world away became a force for change within the local communities."

The NCHC is a non profit foundation and the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its primary mission is to work with North Carolina communities to broaden the meaning of public education for the public good. The Council's free humanities programs provide ongoing educational forums for all North Carolinians which address questions of identity, community and citizenship. The North Carolina Humanities Council is made up of volunteer citizens who meet three times a year to review proposals submitted by non-profit community organizations and institutions.

Mystery Artifact

The last mystery artifact (left) was identified by Terri King and Boyd F. Hammond as a tool used in hanging siding or clapboards on structures. This device, used in pairs, helped maintain the distance of the overhang of the clapboards and assured that they were evenly spaced.

Can you help us identify this artifact (right)? Made of wood, it measures slightly over 12" long. It is from the George Satter Collection from Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Send information about the use of this mystery object on a postcard or email "mcdowell@email.wcu.edu"

Fundraising

• Support family programming. "Spring Into Summer" and "Arti-Facts!" are family-oriented programs that offer fun, educational, hands-on learning. Your tax-deductible contribution designated family programming can help us acquire the talented people and materials necessary to continue these programs.
• Support an exhibit. Our exhibits are always changing so people will have something new to see and learn each time they visit. Traveling exhibits provide one option; however, fees range from $500 for a 4-week rental to "call us for pricing." The Center also is committed to developing new, original exhibits based on sound scholarship. To do so requires special grants and/or donations. Your tax-deductible contribution designated exhibits can help fund parts of an exhibit: fees and transport, educational materials, consultants, researchers, duplication of photographic materials, and acquisition of artifacts.
• Support a public program. The Center remains committed to offering our programming free of charge. However, the speakers, musicians, and craftspeople that bring special skills and talents to programming must be paid. Your tax-deductible contribution designated public programs can help fund these programs as well as special festivals, such as Mountain Heritage Day, that showcase a host of talented individuals.
• Become a Friend of the Center or renew your membership. The annual tax-deductible contribution of $25 brings you news of Center activities through "newground" published twice a year.

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