Research Catalog

Title

Things new & strange : a Southerner's journey through the Smithsonian collections / G. Wayne Clough ; foreword by Lester D. Stephens.

Author

Clough, G. Wayne

Publication

Athens : The University of Georgia Press ; [Washington, D.C.] : Published in association with the Smithsonian Institution, [2019]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Smithsonian Institution, issuing body.

Description

viii, 253 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color map; 24 cm

Summary

"Things new and strange chronicles a research quest undertaken by G. Wayne Clough, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution born in the South. Soon after retiring from the Smithsonian, Clough decided to see what the Smithsonian collections could tell him about South Georgia, where he had spent most of his childhood in the 1940s and 1950s. The investigations that followed, which began as something of a quixotic scavenger hunt, expanded as Clough discovered that the collections had many more objects and documents from South Georgia than he had imagined. These objects illustrate important aspects of southern culture and history and also inspire reflections about how South Georgia has changed over time. Clough's discoveries--animal, plant, fossil, and rock specimens, along with cultural artifacts and works of art--not only serve as a springboard for reflections about the region and its history, they also bring Clough's own memories of his boyhood in Douglas, Georgia, back to life. Clough interweaves memories of his own experiences, such as hair-raising escapes from poisonous snakes and selling boiled peanuts for a nickel a bag at the annual auction of the tobacco crop, with anecdotes from family lore, which launches an exploration of his forebears and their place in South Georgia history. In following his engaging and personal narrative, we learn how nonspecialists can use museum archives and how family, community, and natural history are intertwined"--

Alternative Title

Things new and strange

Subjects

• Clough, G. Wayne
• Smithsonian Institution
• Clough, G. Wayne > Childhood and youth
• Civilization
• Georgia > Social life and customs
• Manners and customs
• Georgia > Civilization

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-247).

Contents

Recollections of a South Georgia childhood -- The process of discovery -- Beginning with fossils: how a fossil mystery leads to a story of two lost eras -- Book learning -- Mammals: how what I saw came to be -- Birds and the stories they tell of the people who collect them -- Amphibians, reptiles, and a detour into my family history -- So many specimens, so little time: insects, trees, plants, fishes, and crawfish -- Geology: rocks, minerals, meteorites, and the people who love them -- Early Native American civilizations: a long story cut short -- The end of one era leads to the beginning of another -- Gullah Geechee: a Georgia culture unto itself -- South Georgia arts and artists -- Jimmy Carter -- Reflections.

Call Number

JFE 19-8864

ISBN

• 9780820355238
• 0820355232

LCCN

• 2018058786
• 40029229211

OCLC

1052869570

Author

Clough, G. Wayne, author.

Title

Things new & strange : a Southerner's journey through the Smithsonian collections / G. Wayne Clough ; foreword by Lester D. Stephens.

Publisher

Athens : The University of Georgia Press ; [Washington, D.C.] : Published in association with the Smithsonian Institution, [2019]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Creator/Contributor Characteristics

Gender group: Men

Nationality/regional group: Georgians (State of Georgia)

Social group: Retirees

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-247).

Added Author

Smithsonian Institution, issuing body.

Other Standard Identifier

40029229211

Research Call Number

JFE 19-8864