This is from the Greene County mail list. Brenda ----- Original Message ----- From: "Martha Marble" <mmarble@erols.com> To: <NCGREENE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2002 5:37 PM Subject: [NCGREENE] Greene Co Museum opens > >From the Free Press today > > > Greene County opens museum, visitors center > Focus to be art, county history > > By LaToya Mack > > Staff Writer > > Visitors and residents of Greene County now have a > place to go to learn about > the history of the county. > > The Greene County Museum and Visitor's Center > celebrated its grand > opening Wednesday with a ceremony on the courthouse > steps and an ice > cream social. > > The visitor's center has been in the works for > several years. > > "When the bicentennial commission was appointed in > 1998, in our > discussions and plans, we found that the community > really wanted a > museum," said Mary Betty Kearney, president of Greene > County Arts and > Historical Society. "But at the time, we didn't have > enough money to even talk > about doing this." > > Kearney said Robert Masters, president of Carolina > Opportunities Inc., helped > find funding for the project. > > The museum, which involved renovating two former U.S. > Post Office buildings > on Greene Street in Snow Hill, cost $331,700. > Renovation money came from a > loan and a grant from the U.S. Department of > Agriculture. > > Stephen LaRoque's company, The East Carolina > Development Company, did > the interim financing for the renovations. LaRoque > said the finished product is > quite different from what the historical society > started with. > > "I think it's great," LaRoque said. "They've done an > outstanding job. If you'd > seen it before, you'd never think it could look like > this." > > Kearney said the museum's focus will be art and > historical exhibits. > > Dinah Sharpe Sylivant is the first artist featured in > the museum. Her work will > be on display until the first of December. > > Kearney said most exhibits will be changed quarterly. > > Organizers plan to have permanent exhibits on the > history of baseball in > Greene County and on East Carolina University's > archaeological excavations > at Fort Nooherooka . > > Percy Edwards, Snow Hill Town Council member, said > the museum and > visitor's center are beneficial additions to the > community. > > "It's a good thing for the town," Edwards said. "It's > putting us on the map. It will > give the citizens something to be proud of." > > Edith Mewborn Martin is one the proud residents who > welcomes the new > addition to the town. > > "I am so happy. I'm really pleased," Martin, an Arba > resident said. "It cheers > me up to come to Snow Hill." > > LaToya Mack can be reached at (252) 527-3191, Ext. > 273 or > latoya_mack@link.freedom.com. > > > > > > > > > > Post your stories > > Message Boards > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >