Photos courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama Voices Exhibit

Museum of Alabama
By Mary Eloise H. Leake

With hands toughened by years of

hard work, generations of Alabama
women carefully cut patches from
their familys worn-out clothing.
They sewed these pieces together to
make quilts, quietly revealing the
fabric of their familys lives.
This hands-on process was the inspiration for the
Museum of Alabamas newly opened $7 million permanent
exhibit, Alabama Voices. It stitches together patches of the
states amazing journey from 1700 to the turn of the 21st
century warts and all, said Georgia Ann Connor, communications officer for the states Department of Archives
and History.
Packed with inviting presentations, short informative videos and interactive displays, the exhibit walks you through
the fabric of that history. Its compelling entrance features
a visual quilt of Alabama faces, past to present. Thanks to
the states eclectic sense of humor, some of the faces are
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next to an empty square. Put your face in its frame and join
luminaries Condoleezza Rice, Kathryn Tucker Windham,
Bo Jackson, Bobby Allison, Helen Keller and Dr. Mae C.
Jemison, the first African-American woman in space.
Like an Alabama river, the 11,000 square-foot exhibit
flows in undulating curves and relates multiple details using
more than 800 artifacts. Nine themes spin out, highlighted
by each areas flooring, layout and ceiling. For example,
overhead in the entry are large interlocking metal circles
which bring to mind the wedding ring quilt motif and the
states iron and steel industries.
As you explore, you find many of the Voices come from
diaries, letters, speeches, songs and treasured mementoes.
For example, to honor her parents, Madelyn Bonnett of
Columbiana donated a unique 20-square ship quilt. Made
by her mother, her great-aunt and great-grandmother, it
commemorates the significant events in her fathers naval
service in World War II. Prominently displayed, its vignette
includes the flag from his casket and pictures of her parents.
Thanks to recordings made in 1941, you can eavesdrop
on 90-year-old Alice Gaston and 88-year-old Isom Moseley
recalling their days as slaves. See and hear Malcolm Marsh,

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Frances Nelson, James Armstrong, George Mills and

Gabriel Chiri recount their World War II experiences
in a short film. In each period, listen for its ambient
sounds such as music, children playing, a train
and vendors selling produce.
Attention to details is paramount. In the first
section, This Is Our Land, the riverbank on
which you can walk is marked by animal tracks,
moccasin prints and French trader boot tracks. In the
Civil War area, Union soldiers and the Confederates
have had a skirmish on muddy red clay. How do
you know? Underfoot you see the evidence on
one side are the Federal cavalrys well-shod horses
imprints and on the other are the Confederates trail
of boot tracks, money and paper casings for black
powder cartridges.
Demonstrating the economic success of the agrarian Cotton State, the exhibits centerpiece spotlights
two life-size pigs, several chickens, a large authentic
cotton scale and a soulful-looking mule pulling a
plow. Far beyond this scene is the industrial Alabama
of the future a cart of coal, machinery and a Sloss
furnace apron from the Mines, Mills and Mules era.
Dont miss the diorama of the 1910 railroad town.
Furnaces sprang up in Birmingham, Anniston,
Bessemer and elsewhere, the wall text notes. Coal
mining and the manufacture of iron and steel filled
the pockets of workers and the wealthy, bringing
about Alabamas heyday as the most industrialized
state in the South.
In 1882 Annistons Woodstock Iron Company
became the states first industry to produce electricity
to light its furnaces and city streets.
Between 1929-1945, seismic upheaval the Great
Depression, the New Deal, World War II and dynamic
new technologies plunged Alabamians into a
succession of new realities. A large picture of WACs at
Fort McClellan working in a chemical laboratory and
one of Mount Cheahas Observation towers built by
the Civilian Conservation Corps highlight this area.
Other artifacts range from a permanent wave machine
for ladies hair to a B-24 propeller.
Black asphalt underfoot denotes Forces of
Change (1945 to 2000). Long-simmering racial segregation became the civil rights movement, led by Dr.
Martin Luther King. Anniston and Birmingham played
a role in some of the most difficult days, which
ultimately changed American society. Yet despite
the Korean War and the Cold War, many prospered
during this time due to innovative housing, highways,
industry, space travel, communication and medical
triumphs.

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Welcoming you to the different Voices eras are

sturdy comfortable benches and stools, each featuring
the natural edges of a tree. Built by Robin Wade,
a Florence furniture designer, they are made from
downed trees collected within 60 miles of his studio.
Most seats are walnut, but some are cherry, sassafras,
maple and oak.
These benches provide a visual bridge between
Alabamas past and the present. The trees that once
provided homes for native Americans still invite family
gatherings, hunters, hikers and campers as well as new
industries.
Thanks to Alabamas people and its many natural
resources, the state has moved into the 21st century,
but its history remains woven with its past.
Mary Eloise H. Leake is a freelance writer who focuses
on travel and art. She claims to live in Anniston but
she and husband Jerry are frequently found in museums in exotic places.

DETAILS:
Alabama Voices
Alabamas 2014 Attraction of the Year
WHERE: The Museum of Alabama. Voices
exhibit is on the second floor of the Alabama
Department of Archives and History,
624 Washington Ave., Montgomery
COST: Admission is free.
INFO: http://www.museum.alabama.gov

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