Episode 61 – Peggy Allen Towns, winner of the Alabama Historical Association's 2022 Virginia van der Veer Hamilton Award.

Air Date: April 3, 2023

Peggy Allen Towns, a historian of African American life in North Alabama and resident of Decatur, discusses the projects that led her to win the AHA's 2022 Virginia van Der Veer Hamilton Award for contributions that encourage joint endeavors and understanding among avocational and professional historians.  Her projects include videos, walking tours, historical markers, books on local topics, and widespread consulting.

Links to things mentioned in the episode:

Morgan County Archives:  https://morgancounty-al.gov/departments-services/archives/

Limestone County Archives:  https://limestonecounty-al.gov/departments/archives/

Video, "Lift Every Voice and Sing: Decatur, Alabama's African-American Pioneers": https://vimeo.com/32294344

Old Town Decatur OnCell Tour:  https://msnha.oncell.com/en/old-town-decatur-281499.html

Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area:  https://msnha.una.edu/  
ANHA Heart & Soul magazine:  https://www.nationalheritageareas.us/heart-soul/ 

Alabama Historical Commission Cemetery Program:  https://ahc.alabama.gov/cemeteryprogram.aspx 

Fort Henderson and Trinity High School:  https://alabama.travel/places-to-go/fort-henderson-historic-site-and-trinity-high-school

Wallace Rayfield, Architect:  https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Wallace_Rayfield 

Ellen Stephens Hildredth of New Decatur, see "Early Efforts," "Women's Suffrage in Alabama," Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Alabama 

Peggy Allen Towns Author Page, Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Peggy-Allen-Towns/e/B00GM1V6N6%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Facebook – Our Story, Decatur, AL and Surrounding Areas (created by Peggy Allen Towns):  https://www.facebook.com/groups/492907950887933/ 

Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript:  https://tinyurl.com/yr68ah6m 
*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Episode 061 Peggy Allen Towns Recipient Of The 2022 Hamilton Award

Dr. Ruth Truss, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Montevallo, is the 2023-2024 president of the Alabama Historical Association.  With long-time AHA Secretary Mark Wilson, she discusses her plans for her term in office, from maintaining the diversity initiatives of her predecessors to the programs for both the AHA Fall Pilgrimage (Sylacauga) and Annual Meeting (Huntsville).

Links to things mentioned in the episode:
City of Sylacauga (EOA article)  https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/sylacauga/ 
Blue Bell Parlor (Alabama Travel Website)  https://alabama.travel/places-to-go/blue-bell-creameries 
B.B. Comer Library  https://www.bbcomerlibrary.net/ 
Pursell Farms  https://pursellfarms.com 
City of Huntsville (EOA article)  https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/huntsville/ 
U.S. Space and Rocket Center  https://www.rocketcenter.com/ 
R. Isabela Morales, Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom:  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/happy-dreams-of-liberty-9780197531792?cc=ca&lang=en& 
The Alabama Review  https://www.alabamahistory.net/the-alabama-review 
Alabama Heritage  https://www.alabamaheritage.com/ 
"The book I did with you [Marty],"  The Great War in the Heart of Dixie  https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817389277/the-great-war-in-the-heart-of-dixie/ 
Sarah Wiggins, The Journal of Sarah Haynsworth Gayle, 1827-1835  https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817361181/the-journal-of-sarah-haynsworth-gayle-18271835/ 

Rather read?  Here's a link to the transcript:  https://tinyurl.com/4duj5994
*Just a heads up – the transcript was generated by MS Word AI and lightly edited by Lukas Ducker and Marty Olliff.  It is likely to be less than 100% accurate.
The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.
Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Episode 061 Peggy Allen Towns Recipient Of The 2022 Hamilton Award

Alabama History Podcast

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