Friday, May 20, 2011

Augusta 2011: A Year of Milestones

/PRNewswire/ - History, golf, Southern hospitality, and James Brown are center stage in 2011 - a year of milestones for Augusta, GA with the 75th Masters Tournament, the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the fifth anniversary of James Brown's passing, and the 150th anniversary of the historic Summerville neighborhood. www.augustaga.org

Although the Masters Tournament celebrated its 75th tournament in April, visitors to the city can continue to experience the golf connection. At the Augusta Museum of History, "Celebrating a Grand Tradition, the Sport of Golf," explores how golf has evolved over the centuries and features memorabilia and famous personalities www.augustamuseum.org Golfers who want to walk in the legends' footsteps can play on affordable courses - Forest Hills Golf Club, The Club at Jones Creek and The River Course.

2011 begins the nation's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and many of Augusta's landmarks have close ties to the era. The Confederate Powderworks Chimney, the last remaining piece of the only factory built by the Confederate Army, is a part of The Augusta Canal National Heritage Area which offers guided tours on replica Petersburg boats. www.augustacanal.com The Augusta Museum of History also features Civil War relics such as the CSA Second National Flag and a 12-pound bronze Napoleon Cannon tube manufactured at the Augusta foundry. The Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson focuses on the life of the 28th President, who witnessed the destruction that war caused as his father's church across the street was turned into a hospital. Today, the national historic landmark and museum offers a glimpse of Wilson's life during that time. www.wilsonboyhoodhome.org

James Brown called Augusta his home and his presence is still felt. A one-of-a-kind exhibit at the Augusta Museum of History features rare memorabilia and personal artifacts that vividly tell the story of The Godfather of Soul's life. Also, standing in downtown Augusta is a life-size bronze of Brown where visitors can take photos.

Celebrating its150th year, the Summerville neighborhood features Augusta's most architecturally distinctive homes. Every October, the neighborhood opens its homes with the annual Tour of Homes. A tour stop includes The Partridge Inn, which celebrated a centennial in 2010.

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Monday, May 16, 2011

Remembering Allegheny County Area World War I Veterans

During the last year, a group of 46 volunteers has been reading the old Pittsburgh area newspapers in search of deaths, marriages, divorces and photographs. This group has indexed over 73,000 death entries which can be found on the PA USGenWeb Archives pages.

Last December, one of the faithful volunteers contacted the coordinator to see if there would be interest in setting up a new index specifically for those Allegheny County area men and women who served America in World War I.

The index posed was readily accepted by coordinator Ann S Eldredge. So volunteer, Lynn Beatty who had grown up in Allegheny County and left the area some 30 years ago, spent five months indexing the World War I veterans. This military index includes the names found in the 1918-1919 Pittsburgh newspapers, the letters, the stories, the deaths and the celebrations of coming home.

When asked why she wanted to do this index, Beatty said, "When I saw some of the articles were personal about western Pennsylvanians, I knew somebody had to make a record of those. It just snowballed! This is the part of genealogy I like best - the stories about real people - like the soldier whose family was being evicted while he was a POW."

Coordinator Eldredge smiles as she recalls the thrill she felt when her grandfather's name was found. "HIs service records had been lost in the fire," she said. "All I had was his Company and his Infantry unit. Those I found on his headstone. I had researched the history of his unit and was surprised to see the 11th Infantry had seen 43 days of combat with 386 casualties. Of these, 348 were wounded in action, including my grandfather."

"Lynn's dedication to the project brought some joy to me as I found when my grandpa returned to the United States, and more specifically, to Pittsburgh. Now, I can identify the location and approximate date of the picture I have of him sitting in front of the US General Hospital #24 in Parkview Station with his future bride."

The Military Index now contains 85733 entries, and can be seen at Norm Meinert's Allegheny River Family Archives, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njm1/index.html
or on the PA USGenWebArchives, http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm .

The Military Index can be searched to locate the veteran's name,type of article, unit of service, newspaper name, date and page. With this information, the Allegheny River Family Archives can be utilized to go to the actual date the information appears.

Eldredge said, "It's just a wonderful gift of love Lynn has given to the genealogy community that has its heart in Pittsburgh. This genealogy group is just so giving- of themselves and their time in an unending quest to help others."

Ann S Eldredge



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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Battle Rages in Georgia as History Goes Live

/PRNewswire/ -- Guns will fire, horses will charge, flags will wave, and men will "die" on May 20 – 22 as fighting ensues in a dramatic reenactment of the 1864 Battle of Resaca in Gordon County, GA. Authentically clad soldiers will converge on the original conflict site to commemorate the 147th anniversary of a turning point in the Civil War, the first major battle in General William Sherman's March to the Sea and the eventual burning of Atlanta. The reenactment is one of few to occur on an original battle site. The public is invited to witness history recreated.

The Battle of Resaca Reenactment will occur on the 480-acre Chitwood Farm, which was recently protected as part of the full 650-acre battlefield site. In 2008, when owners of the site had financial difficulties, The Trust for Public Land bought the land. Two months ago, TPL sold to Gordon County an easement, which forever protects the land from development.

There was fierce fighting at the original Battle of Resaca, including the awarding of two Medals of Honor for capturing Confederate guns.

Primary scenes from the original battle will be recreated when the bugler sounds the charge at 2 p.m. each day. Other battle-related activities will take place during the three-day commemoration. Visit http://www.georgiadivision.org/bor_reenactment.html for directions and more information.

TPL's conservation of the Chitwood Farm in time for the 150th Civil War anniversary in 2014, allows for continuation of plans that will include educational activities for area students, Civil War tours about Sherman's March on Atlanta, and the annual Resaca Battle Reenactment.

The Trust for Public Land is a non-profit organization and depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to achieve their land for people mission. For more information, visit www.tpl.org.

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Touch the Moon at NASA's Exhibit in Atlanta and Carrollton, GA

/PRNewswire/ -- Georgians have the rare chance to touch a nearly 4-billion-year-old piece of moon rock at NASA's Driven to Explore traveling exhibit, a mobile, multi-media experience that immerses visitors in the story of NASA.

The exhibit will be at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta on Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6, noon to 10 p.m. EDT. It also will be at the Mayfest Arts and Crafts Festival in Carrollton, Ga. on Saturday, May 7, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The centerpiece of Driven to Explore is the opportunity to touch a lunar rock sample brought to Earth by the astronauts of Apollo 17 in 1972, America's last human mission to the moon. The rock is one of only eight lunar samples made available for the public to touch.

Driven to Explore allows visitors to learn why we explore, discover the challenges of human space exploration and how NASA provides critical technological advances to improve life on Earth. The exhibit also details the accomplishments of the space shuttle and the International Space Station.

As the space shuttle approaches retirement, NASA is investing in the building blocks of a more capable approach to space exploration, including research and development to increase space travel capabilities. In support of these efforts, NASA is performing field tests, designing surface systems and conducting advanced human research to ensure that future missions are safe, sustainable and affordable.

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