Northeast Georgia History Center (NEGAHC)

Today we had some preparation to do for KidPak, but there was fun to be had in town as well.  We noted on the calendar that there was a "Family Day" at the Quinlan Arts Center, as well as the Northeast Georgia History Center, so we decided to go and check out the fun.

We started out with the familiar, the Quinlan Arts Center.  There were plenty of things to do for us here.  As you can see above, there was a potter's wheel demonstration that absolutely fascinated Madison.  We did our own pottery at a separate table, making 'pinch pots' out of a small amount of clay, adding Indian symbols afterwards.  Madison had one of those as we walked over to the weaving section, where she dropped everything to work on a weaving of her own.  After that, we were watching a painting demonstration, and then upstairs on a few scavenger hunts in the art galleries.  Madison walked away with some prizes.  This was pretty cool.  She was given something to be creative with later on, which we'll be using soon, no doubt.

After this, we went some place new, and some place pretty close by.  We were surprised that there was a museum of this caliber so close to us.  This is something we literally pass by each day, on the way to ballet, and yet we've never really knew it was there so much.  This is the Northeast Georgia History Center, or NEGAHC for short.  Yes, I know that NEGAHC isn't short.

But this place was not short on learning and fun.  See what I did there?  Anyway, it isn't a huge place, but there is quite a bit crammed into it about - oddly enough - Northeast Georgia.  You can see above Madison inside an old home, with plenty of antique furniture from the 1800's, some of it replicas and others authentic.

There was a blacksmith shop beside the place, along with a few guys out front dressed in period clothing that gave a demonstration about the job surveyors used to do a few hundred years ago.  Also outside:  an old-fashioned ice cream maker.  Yep, we had some free ice cream too!

Inside, there was a tornado.  This was fascinating to the kids, while parents read all about the terrible tornado that came through here in 1936.  It was a horrifying weekend, probably the worst thing to happen to the South since Sherman came through.  Daddy just toured the courthouse built in 1937, the 'old' one.  The one prior to that was destroyed, along with many, many other buildings in Gainesville.

What was neat about the place were the old appliances and furniture pieces.  Mommy is here explaining a telephone switchboard to Madison, something our ancestors used to do for a living (both Nana Green and Daddy's grandmother did this for a living).  You can see the old typewriters there - who has one of those anymore?  Also, there was an old washing machine as well, which was amusing to look at.  The exhibits about Indians were fascinating, especially given the fact that Madison will be learning more about the Indians this year.  There were old cars, pictures of the old schools.  There were a few old North Georgia College yearbooks, and Daddy was surprised to see one with his picture inside it!  Wait a minute!  I'm not old enough to be called history now!

Anyway, there were plenty of exhibits.  There was a great room dedicated to Mark Trail and Ed Dodd, and a map of the dam that created Lake Lanier.  All kinds of interesting things for the three of us to see.  If we had a bit more time, I could imagine spending longer there.  The old country store inside was interesting, reminding me of JB Hunt's gas station that was just down the road from us.  Or what Betty's Country Store in Helen used to be.

It was good fun, but there was still work to be done over at the church.  So we headed over there, after dropping by for some Chick-Fil-A.  We stayed a bit later, but the job is done, and we're all ready for tomorrow.  It's going to be a great morning at KidPak, and we're looking forward to another thrilling chapter to unfold in "The Spirit Awakens."

See you tomorrow...