Country Music Topic for Virtual History Happy Hour August 20th

Join us online on August 20th at 6:30 pm as we welcome back Dr. Rene Rodgers from the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. The presentation will be free and can be accessed either through Zoom or on the Chester Inn Museum’s Facebook page. The Zoom login information is also available on Facebook in the description for the event.

Dr. Rodgers will be speaking about different guitar styles that were used during the Bristol Sessions, a series of influential recordings that were integral to the early development of country music. Recorded in Bristol, the sessions featured local artists and prominent figures such as the Stoneman Group and the Carter family. The program will begin online at 6:30 pm and participants can join the Zoom meeting or stream live on Facebook at that time. Participants who use Zoom are encouraged to keep their microphones muted, and viewers can relay questions on Zoom or Facebook to the chat during and after the presentation. The program is free and open to the public!

 

This project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Historical Commission.

Topic: History Happy Hour: 1927 Bristol Session Guitar Styles
Time: Aug 20, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82509102750?pwd=N1ZxRnV1dVlHN1NZM0labERvbVV1UT09

Meeting ID: 825 0910 2750
Passcode: history

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Taste of Tennessee: Virtual Appalachian Food Celebration

What’s cooking at the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia? The organization is serving local residents a new event that highlights the history and culture of Appalachian foodways. “Taste of Tennessee” is a new virtual program that promises to bring people together to explore and celebrate Appalachian cuisine from the comfort of their homes. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, the event is completely online and is scheduled for Saturday, August 22nd from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This day-long digital celebration is full of education and entertainment, and also serves as a fundraiser for The Heritage Alliance. As part of the event, The Heritage Alliance will present a variety of offerings via Facebook and Zoom, including lectures, demonstrations, cooking classes, and more.

 

 

 

“When we first conceived of the idea of Taste of Tennessee, it was envisioned as an in-person Appalachian food fair,” says Executive Director Anne Mason. “Unfortunately, COVID-19 has forced us to re-conceptualize the event, but we still wanted to keep the intended spirit of the event alive.”

“Our goal is to get people excited about Appalachian cuisine, past and present,” adds Programming Coordinator Megan Tewell. “That’s our main objective with this event—to connect people to food and to each other.”

A complete program for “Taste of Tennessee” will be released shortly, although confirmed speakers include prominent chefs, “foodies,” farmers, historians, interpreters, to name a few. Tickets for special Zoom events are available on the Town of Jonesborough’s website. Featuring historic recipes, techniques, and ingredients, as well as modern spins on Appalachian classics, the Heritage Alliance hopes that “Taste of Tennessee” helps the public to come together around a virtual “table” and enjoy a sense of community once more.

The Heritage Alliance is also continuing to collect recipes for their community-curated cookbook, as part of “Taste of Tennessee.” Do you have a favorite recipe that you would like to contribute? Please contact programming coordinator Megan Cullen Tewell at mtewell@heritageall.org in order to share. And don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn more about our local food heritage on August 22nd— bring your appetite for Appalachia!

Historic Quilt Care Video and Resources

Do you have a historic, family quilt that you think needs to be cleaned? Before you go any further, we suggest you watch this instructional video prepared by the McKinney Center. Watch as Programming Coordinator Megan Tewell takes us through proper ways to clean and store your historic and antique quilts! In the video, Megan is posing in front of historic quilts from our collection. These pieces are currently on display at the McKinney Center through August 7 as part of the Stories & Stitches exhibit.

Historic Quilt Care Video – https://youtu.be/-ePZnWM_2Vk

For additional information, we suggest you download our Historic Quilt Care best practices.

 

 

Calling All Cooks, The Heritage Alliance Seeks Contributions for New Cookbook

The Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia is asking local residents to submit their favorite recipes for a new project! The request comes as part of an initiative to create the organization’s first-ever community cookbook.

To access the form in PDF format, click here.

The cookbook represents an effort to celebrate Appalachian foodways by collecting, preserving, and sharing local recipes. The Heritage Alliance is accepting submissions for the following categories from July 16 to August 16, 2020. Contributors can submit as many entries as they like, and their names will appear in the cookbook alongside their dishes. The final product will be published and available for sale by the end of 2020, and will feature various recipes, as well as information about the history and culture of Appalachian food. This community-based project is part of the programming for The Heritage Alliance’s inaugural “Taste of Tennessee” event, an online Appalachian food festival that launches on Saturday, August 22.

Please send your entries by mail to the Heritage Alliance at 212 E. Sabin Drive, Jonesborough, TN 37659 or submit by email to Megan Cullen Tewell (Programming Coordinator) at mtewell@heritageall.org.

Washington County Mask Mandate and the Heritage Alliance

In observance of Washington County Executive Order No.2, a Face Covering is REQUIRED inside the Chester Inn Museum and our office at the Duncan House for all visitors who can safely wear one and are 12 years of age and older.

The Chester Inn Museum and Duncan House are enclosed spaces where six feet of distance cannot be guaranteed. If you do not have a Face Covering, we have Masks available inside the Museum and our office for a $1.00 donation to the Museum and our educational programs. If you do not have a Face Covering and want to purchase Town/Cemetery Tour Tickets, call the Museum at 423-753-4580, and we can meet you outside to complete the transaction.

Since the tours take place outside where adequate distancing can be achieved, a face covering is recommended  but optional. At this time, all tours are limited to ten people. You can contact us in advance to reserve your spot for a tour.

This mandate is in effect from July 14 – August 3, 2020.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to keep our staff, volunteers, and visitors safe.

CANCELLED Online History Happy Hour: Women’s Roles in Post-WWII Food Production

Due to technological difficulties, this event has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The July History Happy Hour, originally scheduled to be held at the museum on July 16th, has been rescheduled as an online presentation for July 23rd at 6:30 pm.

Join speaker Dr. Angela Keaton for her presentation “Women’s Roles in Post-WWII Food Production.” Dr. Keaton is a history professor from Tusculum University and longtime friend of the History Happy Hour program. She will be discussing how World War II changed food production and how those changes intersected with the postwar emphasis on gender roles. Which processed foods emerged, which ones did not succeed, and what role did women play in the process? Join us online on Thursday July 23rd at 6:30 pm and find out!

The program will be offered through the Zoom platform and will also be streamed live on the Chester Inn Museum’s Facebook page. Go to the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum’s Facebook page for the link to the meeting room and for the password to login. You can also find this info at heritageall.org under events. The program will begin online at 6:30 pm and participants can join the Zoom meeting or stream live on Facebook at that time. Participants who use Zoom are encouraged to keep their microphones muted and relay any questions during the presentation to the chat. The program is free and open to the public!

Topic: History Happy Hour
Time: July 23, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87410560423…

Meeting ID: 874 1056 0423
Password: History

Stories & Stitches: A Historical Quilt Exhibit

‘Stories & Stitches’ will open Friday, July 17th, at 7 pm with a virtual exhibit tour lead by Merikay Waldvogel on Facebook Live via the McKinney Center Facebook page and will then share it to the Heritage Alliance Facebook page. This exhibit will largely take place virtually, offering activities for children and adults in education and craft. ‘Stories & Stitches’ will also offer a way for all to participate by allowing submissions for online gallery of quilts on the McKinney Center’s Facebook page.

 

 

The exhibit will be open for appointment only visits at the McKinney Center, July 20th– August 7th, Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm. To schedule your private viewing of this exhibit please call 423-753-0562. Scheduled viewings will be 30 minutes at a time, but if larger groups or longer times are needed, please let us know when you call. Groups can be up to ten people at a time and admission is free, but a donation is appreciated.

 

The McKinney Center and Heritage Alliance invite you to experience Stories & Stitches: A Historical Quilt Exhibit that will feature 15 local and regional quilts from the Heritage Alliance historical collection. These quilts each come with their own stories. This exhibit will include a variety of quilt styles, including Crazy, Friendship, Irish Chain, and Floral Pattern. One Friendship quilt even includes a personal poem on the quilt, created for a local businessman in 1860. You will not want to miss the history, stories, and beautiful stitches of these historic quilts from right around here in Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee.

 

The McKinney Center and Heritage Alliance welcome Merikay Waldvogel as the guest expert on July 17th, on the McKinney Center’s Facebook Live, at 7pm. Waldvogel is an author, curator, and quilt researcher. Co-directing the Quilts of Tennessee survey with Bets Ramsey in the 1980s sparked a keen love for Southern quilts and quiltmakers. Her writings include: Quilts of Tennessee (1986), Soft Covers for Hard Times (1990), and Southern Quilts of the Civil War (1998). She has served on the Board of Directors of American Quilt Study Group and the Alliance for American Quilts. In 2009, she was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame. Waldvogel says, “Quilts documented for the Quilts of Tennessee survey in Jonesborough in the 1980s were some of the most interesting due to the diversity of their stories and styles. I am excited to delve into the stories of these quilts from the Heritage Alliance collection.”

 

 

Between July 17th and August 7th be sure to pay close attention to both the McKinney Center and the Heritage Alliance’s social media as they release educational resources in companionship with this exhibit. A children’s resources packet will be available on July 20th, a Crazy Quilt craft challenge July 22nd, an online quilt puzzle, July 29th, ways to submit your own quilt photographs, July 17th, and a “How to Care for your Quilts” video August 1st, offered by the Heritage Alliance.

 

 

The Heritage Alliance and McKinney Center have continued to provide free educational content throughout the pandemic. If you would like to make a donation to the McKinney Center, please go to mckinneycenter.com, scroll down, and click “Partner.” If you would like to make a donation to the Heritage Alliance, please go to heritageall.org and click “Donate Now” at the top of the page. You can also send a check to either the McKinney Center or the Heritage Alliance. To find out more about either organization visit mckinneycenter.com and heritageall.org.

Historic Jonesborough Main Street Strolling Tours Resume on July 4th

The Heritage Alliance’s Main Street Strolling Tours will resume on Saturday, July 4th. The Tours were stopped in March while the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum was closed. During this time, the Heritage Alliance hosted virtual tours online. Now the in person tours of Tennessee’s Oldest Town are back.

Guests can enjoy a Town Tour with a costumed guide on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. The Mythbusting Tour, which puts guests’ history detective skills to the test, will be available the second Saturday of the month at 1:00 p.m. The Old Jonesborough Cemetery Tour will also return on July 4th. The Cemetery Tour will be available the first and third Saturdays of the month at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the Town Tour and Mythbusting Tour are $5 per person. Tickets for the Cemetery Tour are $3 per person. Combo tickets for both tours are available for $7 per person. During the month of July, tours will be limited to groups of ten. All tour tickets are available at the Chester Inn Museum. Guests can call ahead of time to reserve their space for a tour.

Jonesborough TN Town Tour – photo by Whitney S Williams

The Chester Inn Museum is open on the following schedule: Friday, Saturday, and Monday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sunday 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and Tuesday-Thursday closed. If you or a small group would like to visit the Museum during an off day contact the Heritage Alliance directly and we will try to schedule a time that works. Here are some tips for visitors to the Museum. Currently, 25 people are allowed in the Chester Inn Museum at one time. Anyone entering the museum is suggested to wear a mask. Visitors are asked to follow social distancing guidelines. This plan is subject to changes. If you have any questions please call us at (423) 753-4580 or (423) 753-9580. You can also email us at chesterinn@heritageall.org or message us here on Facebook.

History Happy Hour Online June 25th with “Printing in the Victorian Period” Program

There are a couple of schedule changes for the June History Happy Hour at the Chester Inn Museum.

The June program, originally scheduled to be held at the museum on June 18th, has been rescheduled as an online presentation on June 25th at 6:30 pm. It will be offered through the Zoom platform and will also be streamed live on the Chester Inn Museum’s Facebook page. Go to the Chester Inn Museum’s Facebook page for the link to the meeting room and for the password to login. We are excited to offer this online option as we transition into our phased reopening plan at the Museum.

 

 

The speaker and topic have changed due to travel cancellations related to the pandemic. The updated presentation is “Printing in the Victorian Period” with speaker Jacob Simpson, Assistant Director of the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum. Jacob is the former Exhibits Coordinator for the Heritage Alliance and will be joining us from his location in Cincinnati, OH. The program will begin online at 6:30 pm and participants can join the Zoom meeting or stream live on Facebook at that time. Participants who use Zoom are encouraged to keep their microphones muted and relay any questions during the presentation to the chat. The program is free and open to the public!

 

This project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Historical Commission.

 

Topic: History Happy Hour
Time: June 25, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87410560423?pwd=bjBCenNib1IvVnNCbnRxQWk5ZElvQT09

Meeting ID: 874 1056 0423
Password: History

Heritage Alliance Awarded Humanities Tennessee CARES Act Grant

The Heritage Alliance is excited to announce that we have recently been awarded a Humanities Tennessee CARES Act Grant. In the first installment of their CARES Act grant imitative, Humanities Tennessee was able to award more than $30,000 to non-profits from across Tennessee’s nine Congressional districts. Like many organizations, the Heritage Alliance’s offices and museums were closed for most of the spring. During this time, we had to cancel and postpone scheduled programming and fundraisers.

 

During our closure to the public, Heritage Alliance staff was hard at work transforming our historic materials into virtual exhibits, including a digital exhibit on the flu pandemic of 1918, educational videos such as “Social Distancing with the Victorians” and “Homecooked History,” and more, including our first ever Virtual Fieldtrip Day. With the assistance from Humanities Tennessee CARES Act Grant, we plan to continue creating educational content that can be enjoyed both in our museums and online. The Heritage Alliance knows that even though our spaces have reopened to the public, we will need to continue to adapt our programming in order to ensure the safety and comfort of our audiences.

 

Funding has been provided by Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020. The Heritage Alliance is dedicated to the preservation of the architectural, historical, and cultural heritage of our region and to providing educational experiences related to history and heritage for a wide range of audiences.