DAHLONEGA - What exactly
are leather britches,
pawpaws and poke salad?
Most of us eat day-in
and day-out without
giving a second thought
to the wealth of history
and culture that shapes
our dining habits and
taste preferences.
Key Ingredients: America
by Food, an
award-winning traveling
exhibit from the
Smithsonian Institution
exploring 500 years of
America's rich diversity
of food culture, will be
at North Georgia College
& State University
(NGCSU) beginning in
February, and the
Appalachian Studies
Center at NGCSU is
collecting local stories
and recipes for a
companion exhibit.
"Family, Church and
Farmin': Living off the
Land in Lumpkin County"
will highlight local
artifacts, photographs,
illustrations and
stories that show the
history of the southern
mountain kitchen.
This collection of local
stories and photographs
about the culture and
traditions of food in
Lumpkin County is the
project of award-winning
local documentarian
Heavenly Littleton and
photographer Bard
Wrisley.
"For many north
Georgians the pleasures
of preparing, sharing
and enjoying seasonal
foods and dishes are
central to their
memories of childhood,
of family and of the
rituals and events that
marked personal and
community milestones,"
Littleton said.
"Everyone has memories
that involve food,
whether sitting on that
ice cold bucket churning
fresh ice cream in the
summer, watching their
mother or grandmother
prepare a favorite cake
or pie in her kitchen or
savoring fried chicken
at a family reunion or a
church dinner."
Littleton and Wrisley
want to come to your
fall homecomings, family
reunions, church dinners
and community events to
gather your stories and
to hear about your
experiences of "livin'
off the land" in Lumpkin
County, including your
favorite family recipes,
your secret to the
perfect bowl of collard
greens and your new
twists on old family
favorites.
Excerpts of the
collection of stories
and photographs will
become part of an
interactive display for
the local exhibit of Key
Ingredients and a Bard
Wrisley photography
exhibit at the Kryder
Gallery on the square in
Dahlonega. The local
histories and
photographs will also be
archived and preserved
for future generations
in the Appalachian
Studies Research
Collection at the NGCSU
Library Technology
Center.
The Smithsonian exhibit,
designed to highlight
how Americans grow,
prepare and serve
regional and traditional
foods, will be the
premiere exhibit in the
university's new Library
Technology Center.
Visitors will discover
how southern mountain
recipes, menus,
ceremonies and etiquette
are directly shaped by
our region's rich
immigrant experience,
the history and the
ever-changing
availability of key
ingredients.
Key Ingredients, locally
curated by Dr. Joyce
Stavick and nationally
curated by Dr. Charles
Camp, is sponsored by
the Appalachian Studies
Center at NGCSU, the
Georgia Humanities
Council and the Smith
House.
To donate materials or
information for the
local exhibit, contact
Heavenly Littleton
through Cottonwood
Village Antiques and
Country Store,
770-205-5557, or Bard
Wrisley at 706-864-5255.
