FAM-Winter Newsletter 2024

Florence Arts and Museums is partnering with Summer McCreless, an herbalist who specializes in regional plants and materials, to conduct a series of workshops, presentations, and demonstrations where participants can explore aspects of our region’s history.

Summer McCreless has been practicing herbalism for over 11 years, teaching herbal education and plant identification and uses in North Alabama. She has over 20 years of experience and education in plant identification in the United States.

We hosted two workshops at Pope’s Tavern in the fall, and plan to host two more in the winter/spring. In February, Summer will host an herbal tea making workshop, followed by a soap making workshop in March.

We are excited to offer programs where people can directly engage with tangible aspects of the past, and grateful for this partnership with Summer McCreless and the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area.

BOOK SIGNING with MICHAEL DIAZ-GRIFFITH

In November, we hosted author Michael Diaz-Griffith at the Rosenbaum House. Michael signed copies of his latest book, The New Antiquarians: At Home with Young Collectors (Monacelli Press, 2023). The book is available for purchase locally or online.

Michael Diaz-Griffith is a native of Florence, Alabama. He is a writer, designer, art-world leader, and Executive Director of the Design Leadership Network. Prior to joining DLN, Diaz-Griffith served as Executive Director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation and as Associate Executive Director of The Winter Show, America’s most prestigious and longest-running art and antiques fair.

We hope to offer more free community events at the Rosenbaum House in 2024. Be sure to fill out the survey in the Spotlight section to let us know what types of events and programs you’d like to see.

YOUNG LEARNERS SERIES

From the fall of 2022 to the fall of 2023, the Young Learners Series at the Florence Indian Mound & Museum learned about important individuals in Native American history. We had fun participating in activities that helped us learn how Native Americans shape the foundations of our country from figures in early history like Levi Colbert. We also learned about those who helped the country evolve into more modern times, like Cherokee leader Wilma Mankiller.

In November 2023, we began to study another series of topics, Native American artisans and their craftsmanship. Native American art has a deep connection to Native American history and culture. For the calendar years of 2023 and 2024 we will be learning about the art of different Native American cultures through hands-on activities.

                                                 What’s new?

ARCHAEOLOGY AT POPE’S TAVERN

In October of 2023, a crew with the Department of Urban Forestry with the City of Florence removed several boxwoods that had died the previous winter. Upon removing one of the bushes, they discovered a large, brick lined circular hole. They alerted museum staff, who made it a focus of Archaeology at Pope’s Tavern. Volunteers cleared out the area around the cistern and they focused on a quadrant within the cistern itself.

The findings can be categorized (so far) into six different levels:

Level 1–historic artifacts in loose dirt

Level 2– clean, loose fill

Level 3–dark colored soil with brick and mortar

Level 4– Clay

Level 5– a thin layer of mortar

Level 6– a mixture of ash, burnt material, broken pieces of glass, nails, and at least two intact artifacts dating to the 1950’s.

APT believes level 6 may contain items dating back to when the cistern was first abandoned and will continue excavating in 2024.

NEW POTTERY EXHIBIT

We are excited to introduce our new pottery exhibit at the entryway of the Florence Indian Mound Museum! Stop by and learn about the connection with the land, uses for different types of pottery, and artistic expression of the pieces. All four pieces are replicas of utilitarian or ceremonial pottery. We are thankful for the donations from Ben White of the Chickasaw Nation, local artist Nick Garrison, and Kayla Holman, a UNA Graduate of Art and F.A.M. staff member.

ROSENBAUM HOUSE COLLECTION

Some interesting finds have been discovered at the Rosenbaum House. As many know Stanely Rosenbaum was an English scholar and eclectic book collector. During our cataloging of his library we discovered books on diverse subjects. Some of the oldest volumes date to the 1850’s including a 20 volume set of British Poets and a wonderful volume by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. A more touching find was Mildred Rosenbaum’s address book. Listed are family and friends as well as businesses and professionals she employed over the years.

KD COLLECTION

Since Kennedy-Douglass opened its doors in 1976, we have been developing a permanent collection of art to care for and share with the community. Now, in 2024 it has grown so large we plan to dedicate time and resources to BETTER care for this wonderful collection by installing new storage and refining our catalog. We are really looking forward to tackling this new project!

COMMUNITY DAYS AT THE ROSENBAUM HOUSE

In keeping with the mission and vision of FAM, the Rosenbaum House will be holding a series of Community Days. The first one was held on Sunday Dec.2nd and we gathered some useful insight from our immediate neighbors. The future events will normally take place on the lawn where there will be opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with FAM staff and interact with the community. There will also be an opportunity to tour the house and learn more about this local architectural treasure.

Media Release/Florence Arts & Museums