"Our Story" exhibit Opening at the Museum of the Albemarle

Over the weekend, I attended the long-awaited opening of the Museum of the Albemarle's "Our Story" exhibit. As a board member of the "Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle" and its Vice-President, I really didn't have much choice but to be there to press the flesh and help out to make it the opening a success. The private, "supporters-only" opening on Friday night was typical for a semi-formal happening, however, the real fun was seeing the ribbon cutting and public opening on Saturday morning and the chance to actually do a bit of interpretation for the public. The Our Story exhibit is the first big exhibit to welcome visitors to the Museum of the Albemarle since the move to the wonderful facilities located on the waterfront in Elizabeth City. It succeeds in painting a picture of the surrounding 13 counties' past beginning with the native americans and ending in the late 20th century. I spent most of my time in the Civil War section, along with local historian and fellow board member, Alex Leary, engaging the public and answering questions. That particular section contains artifacts associated with various battles including the Battles of South Mills, Elizabeth City, Roanoke Island and my personal favorities, the Battles of Plymouth and Albemarle Sound. For all to see, they have General Hoke's Headquarter's flag and the smokestake from my favorite Confederate ironclad, the CSS Albemarle. Going backwards in time, I also was intriqued by seachests from the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the Queen Anne's Revenge's cannons and a broach containing the only known image of Joseph Hewes, one of NC's signors of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress' Maritime Committee and the man who is credited for obtaining a commission for the great US naval hero, John Paul Jones. If you are up in the northeast corner of the state, drop in on the museum and visit "Our Story", the story of Northeastern NC.