By Staff
There has been a changing of the guard at the Thomas E. McMillan Museum at Jefferson Davis Community College. For some time Carol Madden has been the curator, but she had to give up the position due to family obligations. She came from a nursing background but admitted that she loved the work at the museum.
That is what it takes for someone to spend hours and hours going through dusty old boxes and cataloging each and every item.
Jerry Simmons has accepted the position of maintaining both the museum and the collections of the Escambia County Historical Society. For years his name has been associated with the Alger Sullivan Historical Society in Century, Fla. He also writes a weekly column for The Tri-City Ledger in Flomaton.
Simmons would also like the public to know that he will be available to help them on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. He will also make arrangements to be there for anyone who can't make it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Just call the college at 867-4832 and make an appointment, or you can call the museum directly at 809-1528.
The Thomas E. McMillan Museum was founded in 1979 and is located in the Fine Arts Building at the college. It houses several displays, including personal items, such as the tools of one of the early builders in this area, doctors' tools from the past and most recently the collection of both medical and pharmaceutical items of Dr. Jimmy Adkisson. There is also a fossil dating back some 10,000 years, old cameras and a printing press which was once used by the forerunner of The Brewton Standard.
Genealogists can have a good time in the museum also. They will find old newspapers on microfilm and a large vertical file holding stories and facts on the county's oldest citizens.
Simmons has another qualification that will be useful to the researcher. According to Madden he is well versed in the operation of a computer. This certainly comes in handy when you are doing research.
Go on out and introduce yourself to Jerry Simmons. Get to know him and you might even want to offer your services to help him. He is looking for interested people to volunteer a few hours here and there.
I want to show you another photograph from the Whitman collection that I told you about last week. If anyone can identify these people, let me know at 867-4876.