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2020
Special Events
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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 Librarys
circulation desk and from on-line booksellers like Amazon.
Also, a kindle version of the book can be ordered online.
Material
posted on the instructors 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 Librarys Local History Collection.
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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.
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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.
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KID-CON
A Celebration of Children's Literature
Cancelled
Due to COVID-19 Restrictions
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Centers Barbecue Nation exhibition, which inspired
his latest book, Smokelore.
Sponsored
by the Friends of Smyrna Library.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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First
Sunday Virtual Lecture Series
Renewing
Smyrnas 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.
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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.
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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
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