The Augusta Museum of History will present what they are billing as an “evening of mystery and wonder at Augusta’s very own ‘Night at the Museum.’”
The museum will present two shows on August 14, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m.
In what has proven to be the museum’s most popular annual event, theater and history come together as some of Augusta’s most well-known living citizens portray the lives of some of the city’s luminaries from the past.
Gen. Perry Smith, artist A.C. Daniel and Gary Dennis of the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, just three of the ten presenters, are well known members of the community, but executive director of the museum, Nancy Glaser, says the real stars are the local historic figures being presented.
Some of the characters, such as Archie Butt, Sharon Jones and Ike Eisenhower are prominent in the historic record, but others, such as baseball great Lou Brissie and Dorothy Camber Walton tend to get buried under the pile in the Information Age.
Brissie was a rising athlete when the Army came calling during World War II. December 7th, 1944, his division was caught in battle and shrapnel broke both of his feet and shattered his left tibia and shinbone. Medics wanted to amputate but Brissie refused, knowing this would end his dreams of playing in the Majors.
Instead, this hero underwent 23 surgeries and endured painful rehab. Three years later, after pitching in Savannah for the Sally League, Brissie made his Major League debut for the Philadelphia Athletics.
Meanwhile, in 1779, Dorothy Walton, wife to Declaration of Independence signer George Walton, was captured at sea by the British and was held in Antigua through the Christmas season until early 1780 when she was exchanged for two British colonels.
Walton didn’t just have a front row seat to history, she lived it.
“These characters are important. Some of these people haven’t had their stories told before, except in books, and this gives us the opportunity to bring them to life and share those stories,” Glaser said.
Most people know of Archie Butt and the tales of his selflessness during the sinking of the Titanic; this is not a spoiler alert, but most are not aware that Butt, President William Taft’s military attaché, had impeccable taste in clothing and was the curator of Ms. Taft’s treasured ball gowns.
It is said that Ms. Taft objected to Butt’s planned “goodwill” trip to the Vatican in 1912, not because of any perceived omen about the R.M.S. Titanic, but because she fretted about who would look after her frocks while he was overseas.
The award-winning Augusta Museum of History, the only museum in the region that is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, has a long track record of preserving and presenting history, so it comes as no surprise that tickets for the A Night at the Museum are almost sold out.
Whether one is a history buff or just a casual reader of history, you will want to snap up the remaining tickets, after all, you may learn something you had not known before.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
