GONE WITH THE WIND
Speaker: George W. Terrell, Jr.
Location: Lanier Room, H. Grady Bradshaw Library, Valley, AL
One of the world's foremost authorities on Gone With the Wind memorabilia will speak at the winter quarterly meeting of the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held January 15, at 3:00 pm EST, at the Bradshaw Library in Valley, Alabama.
George W. Terrell, Jr., has been collecting GWTW memorabilia for decades. Most recently, he organized the largest collection of GWTW memorabilia ever shown in the United States. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, Terrell masterminded the recent exhibit, Gone With the Wind at 75: A Diamond Jubilee at the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts in Gadsden, Alabama. The exhibition opened to the public in June, 2011, and included memorabilia from the 1939 movie as well. Terrell began planning this exhibition two years prior to its opening, and included items drawn from leading GWTW collections across the country. By borrowing items from many collectors, Terrell was able to showcase numerous pieces that had never before been seen by the public. He also created an audio-tour of the exhibit, whereby visitors could access the tour using cell phones. By the time of its closing in December, over 20,000 visitors had viewed this Gadsden exhibit, including visitors from six foreign countries. In appreciation of his efforts, the Hardin Center honored Terrell on November 8, 2011, the 111th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Mitchell, by proclaiming that day as “George Terrell Day”.
Currently chair of the Social Sciences department at Gadsden State Community College, Terrell has been associated with the college for the past 31 years. An international traveler, Terrell has visited Russia on eighteen occasions, and has a special interest in rare Faberge Imperial Eggs. Recently, he traveled to New York City to see the two remaining eggs that he had not yet seen.
“We are very fortunate to have Mr. Terrell as our upcoming guest speaker, and believe his topic and audio-visual presentation will have a lot of public appeal,” commented Dr. Horace Holderfield, president of the CVHS.
The Bradshaw Library is located on Highway 29 in Valley, Alabama, approximately one mile south of I-85 Exit 79. For additional information on the historical society, including membership and donation opportunities, visit the organization's website at www.cvhistoricalsociety.org.
