Group planning for state, local bicentennials

Published 6:30 am Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Alabama will celebrate its 200th anniversary in December 2019, but the statewide party will kick off in March here in Limestone County.

A group of stakeholders recently met to discuss how the bicentennial will be celebrated locally. Mobile has been selected as the state’s official kickoff spot, but the state bicentennial committee has asked each of the 67 counties to organize an event for March 3.

Alabama was recognized as a territory by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1817.

Teresa Todd, president of the Athens-Limestone Tourism Association and a member of the local committee, said some of the ideas discussed include staging a play or a small food festival featuring foods that would have been found in the early 1800s. Another idea is a storytelling event, similar to the annual Storytellers Festival.

“Storytelling is a very old method of relaying information to others,” Todd said.

Celebrations are also being planned to commemorate the births of Mooresville and Athens, both of which were incorporated in 1818. One idea being discussed for the Athens bicentennial is a new car giveaway, which mirrors a much older event.

“It was just for the Athens area and people would go into the stores and if they spent $5, they would get a ticket to put into the box,” Todd said. “They would do the drawing after a month or two, but you had to be present to win. There’s a picture that has just thousands of people in it. … It would be great for our retailers.”

When asked how the committee would address the treatment of African-Americans in 1819 Limestone County, Todd said Athens City Councilman Frank Travis is one of the stakeholders.

Travis co-wrote “Arise and Build,” a play that traced the history of the all-black Trinity School. She hopes to hear ideas from other African-American residents in the community regarding the bicentennial.

“I do want to address those areas that were not our shining moment, but it is part of our history,” Todd said.

The committee has made no final decisions on upcoming celebrations.

When asked why the public should want to be involved in the bicentennial celebrations, Todd simply said it’s important to preserve history because, “You have to know where you’re from to know where you’re going.”

“If we don’t teach our children and youth about it, it will get lost,” she said. “For the people who come to live here who weren’t born and raised here, it will disappear.”

Todd is encouraging the community to send her ideas about the bicentennial celebrations. One resident has already volunteered to work on quilts, while another has volunteered her genealogy services.

Those with ideas may email them to Todd at teresa@visitathensal.com.

“This is for everybody who lives here, so they should all have a say,” she said.