The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, one of eight officially state-recognized tribes of North Carolina, is alive and thriving in the local community and is eager to share their rich and unique culture. The Occaneechi have a long and ancient history in North America, but have lived in and around Mebane since the 1700s. The tribe is an important part of the cultural history of Mebane, and Alamance County as a whole, and the story this exhibit tells is one of struggle and perseverance as well as ultimate triumph.

Erin Mellett, Senior Anthropology student at Elon University, is curator of this extensively researched exhibit. The Mebane Historical Museum anticipates increased visitation from Welcome to Our Land: The Occaneechi Yesterday & Today states Executive Director; Traci Davenport. “Our visitors have been looking for comprehensive information on Alamance’s native population and their considerable history. Ms. Mellett’s scholarly line of study has produced an outstanding glimpse at a part of this region’s culture that is so frequently overlooked.”

Mellett has worked closely with the Band throughout her collegiate career and focused much of her study on how the tribe can market their cultural traditions without diluting their heritage. She looks forward to presenting their history in exhibit format as it allows for historic artifacts to be viewed alongside a close look at where the Occaneechi find themselves today.

This exhibit is made possible through funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council and Elon University.

Lynn Salsi, author, teacher, playwright and historian, will present a high-energy program covering North Carolina’s history from the 1600s to the present.

Salsi weaves a narrative of well-known events with myths, little-known facts, and humorous anecdotes. Stories include how “the land” was discovered with a little nepotism, the founding tri-fecta, What John Lawson saw, the bad wagon road, and Morehead’s railroad. Other historical figures include O. Henry, the Blount Brothers, Daniel Boone, Moses Horton, Caleb Brabham, Penelope Barker, and Emeline Piggott. Humorous yet factual tales include ducks at work, no bath in the house, the state of the state song, North Carolina’s first all-female political caucus, and there is no truth to the rumor that North Carolina’s first symphony was a jug, a washboard and a washtub.

On Monday, November 19, the Mebane Historical Society will feature a program on "Hard Times in the Mill: Working Lives Past and Present," presented by Dr. Roxanne Newton. The daughter and granddaughter of mill workers, Dr. Newton is the director of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division at Mitchell Community College, where she teaches English, women’s studies, and humanities courses.

Free and open to the public, this special event sponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council will begin at 7:00 P.M. in the Milton McDade Room in the Mebane Historical Museum on 209 W. Jackson Street.

Whether found on a corner-store’s sign or spread across a billboard on a stretch of highway, Coca–Cola’s red and white logo has graced the American landscape for more than 125 years. In celebration of Coca–Cola’s iconic imagery returning to Mebane’s historic downtown, the Mebane Historical Museum is proud to announce the opening of an exhibit of Coca–Cola memorabilia that spans the company’s history.

Over 200 Coca–Cola artifacts selected from the private collection of Sandra and Stephen Rich will be exhibited in the Museum’s main gallery. In 1965, as a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and having returned home to Atlanta, Stephen began collecting Coke’s advertising and marketing material in earnest. Later, as an employee of the company, the Rich’s amassed over 5,000 pieces of Coca–Cola history.

Beyond the well-known trays emblazoned with images of beautiful women of another era, the Rich collection contains rare and unusual advertisements, signage and artifacts from all over the world. And while the drink itself originates in a different southern state, this exhibit will both explore and remember North Carolina’s own relationship with a beverage that has been with us for longer than any of us can remember.

The public is invited to a free opening reception featuring Coca–Cola products generously donated from the Greensboro Coca–Cola Bottling Plant at the Mebane Historical Museum from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 2 at the Mebane Historical Museum’s main gallery. This event is to accompany a celebration of the downtown signage being officially unveiled to the public.

Makers of Modern Mebane
2012

Makers of Modern Mebane recognizes and honors the lives of those who shaped
Mebane to be the city it is today.

There are many people, both living or who’ve passed, who helped shape Mebane to be the community that we enjoy living, working and playing in today. From industry leaders to relatively unknown individuals, many people have had a hand in Mebane’s growth and development over the years. The City of Mebane and Mebane Historical Society & Museum have created an event that will select and present individuals through a public exhibit held each year.

No person in Mebane’s history is considered too big or too small to be a part of this annual commemoration. Celebrating the individuals who molded Mebane’s identity serves to educate and remind us, that as a community, the best way to move forward is to know where we’ve been.

Exhibit Opening and Reception
June 28, 2012
5 – 7 p.m.

First ever, a pictorial history of Mebane, NC.

New from Arcadia Press

Images of America: Mebane is a visual journey through the history of a town that has long been regarded by its citizens as “the biggest little town on earth.” From its modest beginnings in 1809 as a stagecoach stop. Inn and post office, it has recently developed into one of the fastest growing towns in North Carolina. Mebane has a long connection to the railroad, a legacy as one of the major tobacco markets in the state, and a history as a major manufacturing and shopping center. Over many decades, ordinary people and forward-looking leaders fostered the town’s growth by establishing businesses, industries, good schools, a public library, various recreation facilities and other opportunities and services. The construction of Interstates 85 and 40 brought many changes while linking Mebane more closely to the outside world and making it even more attractive place to work and live.

Mebane native and retired college history instructor J. Ronald Oakley used many photographs from the Mebane Historical Museum and local citizens in creating Images of America: Mebane. Oakley is president of the Mebane Historical Society and author of three books and numerous articles.

Now available for $21.99 + tax at the Mebane Historical Museum during regular hours of operation.

Also available by mailing a check in the amount of $23.47 to:
   Mebane Historical Society
   PO Box 1541
   Mebane, NC. 27302

Click the "PayPal" image to purchase online.
$21.99 + tax / ($2.00 shipping for on-line orders )