The Chattooga County Historical Society is preparing for its fourth annual “Robert S. Baker History Awards” scheduled for next Saturday. To find out this year’s winners, and how to catch the awards, click ‘read more’.

Awards are presented to both late and living who have contributed and are contributing to the historiography of Chattooga County. The awards’ namesake, Bob Baker, authored a 1200-page book on Chattooga that is considered the definitive history of Chattooga County. He has received many accolades in his own right.

2017 Posthumous Baker Awards:

  • Emeline Holland Strawn, for passing on oral history and written contemporaneous accounts of the Holland community.
  • Jessie Salmon Mosley, for keeping meticulous records of the Dirt Town/Gore communities. Mrs. Mosley’s records are the essential source for early African-American life in the county.
  • Evelyn Kellett Stephenson, for passing on oral history she heard as a child, including her grandparents’ recollections from the 1830s.

The Living Baker Awards:

  • Jim Day, a retired high school educator, will be honored for extensive research of the county’s Civil War history. Day has published numerous works on the topic.
  • Jerry Braden and Annamarie Braden will also be honored together for work in structural preservation of historical sites in Chattooga County. They have restored several homes on East Washington Street in Summerville, and dilapidated settler-era cabins in the county.

Amateur historians from the Chattooga and Trion high schools will also be honored.

The historical society politely requests donations to sponsor seats for student honorees, their parents, and those who cannot to attend. Sponsored seats may be paid as tax deductible contributions to the Historical Society.

The banquet is scheduled for 6 PM Saturday, November 18, 2017 at the Family Life Center of Summerville First Baptist Church. The evening will be brisk, but special nonetheless. “Classic Fare” from Berry College will cater.

Tickets and space are still available but limited. Special seating arrangements will be happily accomidated as long as they are available.

Prices:

  • Individual tickets: $25
  • Couple: $45
  • Table of 8: $180
  • Sponsor Seats for Students: $25/ea