Smyrna, Georgia: An Episodic History

6-week Lecture Series
February 3 - March 9, 2020

Instructor: Dr. William P. Marchione, Ph.D.

Each lecture will address two broad themes, with a half hour devoted to each. The series will begin on Monday February 3, 2020 and conclude six weeks later on March 9, 2020. The class will meet in the first floor meeting room of the Smyrna Public Library from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is required. Space is limited. RSVP: sreference@smyrnaga.gov.

Topical Outline:

1. Native Society: Assimilation & Expulsion, 1825-1837; Transportation Challenges and Economic Opportunities, 1837-1851. (Monday, February 3, 2020)

2. The Antebellum Economy, 1851-60; The Impact and Legacy of the Civil War, 1861-1880. (Monday, February 10, 2020)

3. Agricultural Diversification, 1880-1905; The Suburbanizing Impulse, 1905-1930. (Monday, February 17, 2020)

4. The Nadir of Race Relations, 1918-38; The Impact of the Depression Era and the New Deal, 1930 to 1942. (Monday, February 24, 2020)

5. The Economic Stimulus of the World War II and Cold War Economies, 1943-70; An Era of Fevered Development, 1970-1985. (Monday, March 2, 2020)

6. The Transformative Years, Smyrna since 1985; Looking Backward and Forward (Monday, March 9, 2020)

Reading material:

Marchione, A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia (History Press, 2013). The library owns eight circulating copies of this history. Copies are also be available for purchase at the Library’s circulation desk and from on-line booksellers like Amazon. Also, a kindle version of the book can be ordered online.

Material posted on the instructor’s blog, “Local Historian North & South,” which can be accessed via www.wpmarchione.com.

Recommendations will be made from time to time of books and other material housed in the Smyrna Public Library’s Local History Collection.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Historic African-American Neighborhoods of Smyrna
Sunday, February 9, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Dr. William Marchione, author of A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia

Free admission. Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Lorena Pace Pruitt, Smyrna's First Female Mayor
Sunday, March 1, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Mary Wallace Moore, Smyrna Library Director

Free admission. Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Saturday, March 28, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Sponsored by Smyrna Public Library, Friends of Smyrna Library,
and Smyrna Parks & Recreation

Check back soon for more information.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Smyrna Sustainability Initiatives
Sunday, April 5, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Janet Liberman, Smyrna Environmental Services Director

Free admission. Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Concord Covered Bridge
Sunday, May 3, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Phil Ivester, Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District, Inc.

Free admission. Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Annual Spring Used Book Sale

Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

We will have HUGE selection of NY Times fiction bestsellers, an A-Z of non-fiction, cookbooks, coffee table art/decorator books, reference books, children's books in the kiddie pools, tween/teen fiction, music CDs and even some old records.

Please bring small bills or checks to pay for your purchase.

LOCATION: Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

DATES:

Saturday, May 9, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
1:00-4:45 p.m.

First Sunday Virtual Lecture Series

Smokelore: A History of Barbeque
Sunday, June 7, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Free Virtual Meeting Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Presenter: Jim Auchmutey, author of Smokelore: A History of Barbecue.

In Smokelore, Auchmutey tells the story of the most truly American food -- barbecue -- which dates back to the earliest encounters between European explorers and native populations and was literally there at the foundation of the U.S. government. Barbecue figures in almost every epoch of our history. It is America in a mouthful.

Jim Auchmutey has written extensively about food. He has co-authored two cookbooks, including the first devoted solely to barbecue sauces and rubs, The Ultimate Barbecue Sauce Cookbook. He is a founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi and has won awards for his food writing from the James Beard Foundation and the Association of Food Journalists. He was a guest curator for the Atlanta History Center’s Barbecue Nation exhibition, which inspired his latest book, Smokelore.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Virtual Lecture Series

Hernando de Soto in Georgia
Sunday, July 12, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.

Speaker: Professor Dennis B. Blanton, author of Conquistador's Wake

The focus of Conquistador's Wake is a decade-long archaeological project undertaken at a place now known as the Glass Site, located in Telfair County, Georgia. This spot, near the town of McRae, Georgia, offers clues that place Hernando de Soto in Georgia via a different route than previously thought by historians and archaeologists.

Professor Blanton's archaeological focus is eastern North America. His teaching at James Madison University concerns historical archaeology, especially the topic of cultural encounters. His interests also extend to questions of prehistory in the Southeast and Middle Atlantic, Native American smoking ritual, and climate change. More information about Professor Blanton's work is available at his website: https://dennisblanton.weebly.com/.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Virtual Lecture Series

A Short History of Bird Feeding in America
Sunday, August 2, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.

Speaker: Professor Jeff Van Detta

Professor Van Detta's presentation is based on the book Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce, and Conservation. The presentation also incorporates fascinating material from the works of Francis Merriam, including her 1889 classic, Birds Through An Opera Glass; the works of Roger Tory Peterson and David Allen Sibley; and Professor Van Detta's own personal experiences in feeding birds in Smyrna. He uses a richly illustrated PowerPoint to engage the audience and to explain how the extraordinary history of backyard bird feeding (1) informs us about feeding our own local backyard birds today; and (2) helps us to support their annual nesting season and the sojourn of migratory birds in our area during spring and fall.

Professor Jeffrey Van Detta has been a lawyer for 33 years, a resident of Georgia for 32 years, and a law professor and legal scholar for 21 years. He has been a knowledgeable amateur bird feeder since summers during the 1960s and 1970s that he spent in Northern Alabama with his maternal grandmother. He has also been a principal in a local bird feeding store.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Virtual Lecture Series

Day of the Dead: Souls and Sweets
a Hispanic Heritage Month event
Sunday, October 4, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.

Speaker: Professor Audry Garcia

This presentation addresses the culturally diverse origin of the Mexican tradition and the relevant role that food, particularly sweets and bread, plays in it.

Dr. Audry García is a native of Mexico City. She has been a faculty member at Kennesaw State University for the last 25 years. She enjoys researching and teaching socio-cultural aspects of Spanish speaking communities, and intercultural communication.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

First Sunday Virtual Lecture Series

Renewing Smyrna’s Tree Canopy: From Vision to Inheritance
Sunday, November 8, 2020
3:00-4:00 p.m.

The Smyrna City Council recently passed a resolution to join other Atlanta Metro communities in planting 1 million trees over the next ten years. Learn how Trees Atlanta, Keep Smyrna Beautiful, the Smyrna Tree Board, and Smyrna citizens are working to achieve this goal - from vision to inheritance. Our discussion covers forest ecology, the benefits of trees to our community, and practical advice on how to select, plant, and care for trees in your yard. Questions from the audience are welcomed and be ready for riddles and games that test your tree IQ.

Speakers:
Chris Zweifel is the founder of Plant A Tree Smyrna and a former science and social studies teacher.
Judy Yi is the Director of Outreach & Marketing for Trees Atlanta. Previously, she was the Director of Education and established the TreeHouse, its first education center. Before joining Trees Atlanta in 2015, she was a marketing and sales operations executive in the telecommunications and digital marketing industries.
Eric Dennis is a member of the Keep Smyrna Beautiful Board and helped create the Adopt a Tree Program for KSB.
Sean Murphy is an ISA Certified Arborist and a Professional Landscape Architect with over 30 years of experience working with trees and he has designed significant projects around Smyrna, including Concord Road Linear Park, Jonquil Plaza and the Shops at Belmont.
Jean Manki has served on the Smyrna Tree Board for the past 3 years and helped write the revised Smyrna Tree Ordinance and organize the Smyrna Tree Scarves Project.

Sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Annual Fall Used Book Sale

Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

We will have HUGE selection of NY Times fiction bestsellers, an A-Z of non-fiction, cookbooks, coffee table art/decorator books, reference books, children's books in the kiddie pools, tween/teen fiction, music CDs and even some old records.

Please bring small bills or checks to pay for your purchase.

LOCATION: Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

DATES:

Saturday, November 14, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 15, 2020
1:00-4:45 p.m.

LEGO SHOW: BOOKS & BRICKS
sponsored by DixieLUG and the Friends of Smyrna Library

Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

December, 2020
Dates To Be Announced