Celebrating America 250: The Liberty Ball, Local History, and Preserving Catawba County’s Story

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH. Welcome to the Historical Association of Catawba Countys Podcast. I am Education Director Alyssa Ball and I'm with... Oh, I'm the Executive Director Susan Holbrook.

[00:00:25] It's great to be here with you guys today. So today we're going to chat a little bit about a huge upcoming event for the Historical Association called the Liberty Ball. So, Susan, share with me a little bit about the Liberty Ball. So the Liberty Ball is this fun evening that we're going to have. It's not going to be just a gala, but it is a gala and we encourage everybody to dress up.

[00:00:45] But we're going to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Of course, I think most people have heard that we are 250 years past the Revolution, or at least the beginning of the Revolution, because as you will share with everybody, I'm sure, it's a little bit more than just July 4th, 1776. Absolutely.

[00:01:05] But yeah, so the Liberty Ball is going to be a fun night. We're hosting it in partnership with the Lincoln County Historical Association because at the time of the American Revolution, we were all one county. Actually, we were Rowan County when the revolution started. And so Lincoln County didn't even become a county, I think, until closer to 1780?

[00:01:30] It was a little bit after the revolution started. We were all try on right before we broke off Lincoln. And then, you know, we broke off Lincoln. Catawba and Lincoln were all kind of one area. That was what they called the frontier of still Western North Carolina. But yeah, it was Rowan right before that.

[00:01:47] Okay, cool. So we're going to celebrate with our neighbors, like they joined together back in the late 1700s, talking about the breaking away from Great Britain and England and becoming our own nation, governing ourselves, making our own decisions.

[00:02:07] So we're going to celebrate that at the Liberty Ball. It's going to be a fun night of great food, lots of music and dancing. We're encouraging people to dress up in their period costumes. So come in your colonial ball gowns and your overmountain men, militia attire. And if you're just not into dressing up, then come in your cocktail attire and have a good time.

[00:02:29] So it's going to be a fun night. We're going to celebrate some preservation awards. We're going to honor some folks for all their work in just maintaining the stories that tell us kind of where we came from. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. So obviously, the Historical Association's been preparing for America 250 for several years at this point. And what kind of planning and commitment has gone into bringing this vision to life on your end?

[00:02:54] So we kind of started talking about America 250 back in 2023. We knew it was coming. We knew it was a big deal. And then we knew it needed to be just a big celebration. So for us as the Historical Association, we started really preparing for America 250 a couple of years before now. We spent a lot of time talking with other people and not just within our community, but across the state.

[00:03:21] And I think we've even done workshops with folks across the nation kind of finding out why is this important to our organizations and our communities? And so we have spent years now partnering with other organizations and individuals just trying to figure out the best ways to honor the patriotism that was what brought about the revolution,

[00:03:48] as well as learning about those who decided maybe we were better off staying with Britain. So the loyalists, the patriots, it's been really exciting learning about that. But just the behind the scenes of putting all of these things together has taken a community. We've come up with great programming throughout what we've already done, plus what's coming up.

[00:04:17] Some things are really big, such as the Liberty Ball. Some things have been much smaller, such as trivia nights at local wine shops. I think we're having another one coming up next week. Yep, June 4th. And so that's here in Newton at Three Birds. But, you know, these kind of things have been happening. We've had speakers come in dressed in their colonial regalia or their militiamen.

[00:04:44] We've had docents from the DAR in our exhibit that we grand opened. We've had dignitaries from across the county come in and speak and be a part of what we've done. So planning for America 250 has been, it's been a labor of love and intention. And we're not done. Lots more to come because America's not done. That's true.

[00:05:09] I think it's been cool to watch these relationships develop between our organization and other organizations, especially like our local community groups. But the connections we've been able to meet, to make that have stretched, you know, far beyond the confines of just North Carolina. You know, the Patrick Henry Redhill Museum is such a cool relationship that we've been able to foster and really grow and develop and have speakers from their museum.

[00:05:39] Yeah, it was Patrick Henry's, what, fifth generation great grandson. Yeah, he was amazing. Came and portrayed Patrick Henry. Yep. And his name is? Patrick Henry Jolly. And it was so cool because we had him for Father's Day last year. For founding Father's Day is what we called it in quotations. And he was a, he was a, he was a family man. He was, he was. Lots of kids. Lots and lots of kids. I appreciate that.

[00:06:04] But it's very, it's very cool how Patrick Henry Jolly was able to take what we were asking him to do and just run with it. You know, we had asked, please develop something. We're going to call it founding Father's Day. Can you, can you give us some insight about who Patrick Henry was, not just as a revolutionary or as an anti-federalist or all the things that he was that made him Patrick Henry.

[00:06:29] But tell us about who he was as a person, like what he meant to his wife, wives, you know, since he had not multiple at once, but, you know, over the course of his years. And, and what he meant to, I think I may be wrong, but I think he said like 17 kids. I mean, it was like a lot of children. But it wasn't even that his influence or his guidance was directed at his own children, but even his son-in-law. Yes, his in-laws for sure. He made an impact. It seems almost everything he did made an impact.

[00:06:58] And what a, what a cool thing to be remembered for, you know, making that kind of impact in the world. Well, Patrick Henry's items are on display right now in our museum in downtown Newton, but that is also on a limited time now. So that exhibit, sorry, friend, has to change over at the end of December when Patrick Henry's items go back.

[00:07:20] So, but everybody can stay tuned because that room that we're using for Patrick Henry's items is going to be what we call our ongoing revolutions room. And we're going to, we are going to mount topics of all kinds of ongoing revolutions in the United States. We're going to talk about the Industrial Revolution and women's suffrage and civil rights. And we're just going to keep it going for y'all because it's important that we talk about people standing up for what they believe in and making a change in the world.

[00:07:47] Well, as a younger leader, Alyssa, working in the history and education of our association, what does the America 250 mean to you personally? So I, I've thought about America 250 a lot since we've started education planning and working with these other groups. And I think America 250 is important because I'm not saying that America is perfect or that we've already achieved what even our founding fathers had set out for us to achieve by this point. I think most people would agree with that. For sure.

[00:08:15] But I definitely think that talking about where we came from is how we get to where we want to be. Because you can't, you can't just stay in one space and pretend that, you know, none of that happened because it's ugly to look at. You know, you have to talk about it. You have to talk about how ugly it was and why we don't ever want to do that again, why we want to be at a different place. And that's why America 250 is incredibly important because, you know, those revolution ideals, they still live on.

[00:08:44] And, and, you know, it's, there's always something that needs to be changed in the world. And it can happen just from farmers and, you know, militiamen and people, people that didn't think that just them themselves could make a difference. And they did because they all came together as one community and one unit to accomplish a goal. So this, what you're saying is a great lead in for me to ask you this question.

[00:09:06] So why is it important for you, your generation, the under 30s, to engage in activities like the Liberty Ball? Why is that even important? Definitely. It's a bunch of old people dancing around in colonial costumes, right? Hopefully. We hope people dress up. But, but yeah, no, I think it's important. You know, I had, I was on a trip recently and I was in a car with four other girls about my age, right around, you know, give or take a couple of years above or below.

[00:09:36] And every single one of them, when I was talking about my job said, yeah, we're just not really history people. We just don't really, we just don't really care about it. And I'm like, I'm like, but why though? Because why would you not? It's so important, you know, and schools, they have obviously been prioritizing STEM a lot more in recent years. And I'm not saying that STEM is not important because it definitely is. Absolutely.

[00:10:01] But we've seen what happens in the world when people stop remembering what already happened, right? Right. And, and not only that, but I would encourage people that are around my age to think about all the massive historical events that we have lived through in the past roughly 30 years. You know, and it's just incredible. Like, how would people my age feel if in 50 years people stopped talking about it? In 100 years people stopped talking about it.

[00:10:29] They stopped caring what happened to us. They stopped caring that grandma died of COVID when she really shouldn't have had to. They stopped caring that, you know, like somebody's parent passed away in 9-11. Now we were really young during that time, but still that was an event that we lived through.

[00:10:44] You know, so my generation at least, and I just think that if you don't care about history, it, it's just, I'm not saying that you're ignorant, but it's a form of willing ignorance to just not inform yourself about things that have happened in the past. That doesn't mean you have to know every single date of the Revolutionary War or anything of the sort, but, but it definitely means you need to prioritize history.

[00:11:09] What do you think the role of education, your job specifically, plays in helping people connect emotionally to America's story? You know, our local history even. What is that, what is your, what is your job basically gonna help others, help us kind of get excited about history?

[00:11:30] Yeah. So, honestly, that's, I think that's the challenge of every education director's job, right, is getting people excited about what they're trying to teach them. And, and history, like I said, especially with young people, it's hard to get young people engaged and excited about history.

[00:11:48] So, what I try to focus on is creating programming that's interactive, engaging, kind of out of the box if we can, you know? Like the trivia night at Three Little Birds, a lot of places around here do a trivia night, you know? But they do like general trivia. Sure.

[00:12:09] And so, I loved the idea of being able to go into a really popular local wine shop and just everybody have a drink, have a charcuterie board, which is fantastic there, by the way, if you've never tried it. Yeah. And just kind of engage with us for an hour, you know? Right. Just have healthy competition and try to, try to outdo whoever's next to them.

[00:12:33] And, you know, what's funny is the last time we did the trivia night, I was surprised and impressed with the amount of knowledge that our community has. It was cool. It's kind of great because that's, that's a lot of folks that were there my age from high school. And, you know, hey, we learned some of this stuff. Oh, yeah. It's pretty cool. Well, they were teaching you guys a lot more of this stuff back then than they were teaching my generation when we passed through already. And I think they teach even less now than they were when I was in high school.

[00:13:00] So, well, it's kind of cool, you know, talking about the Liberty Ball and why it's important and how it can be educational as well. I remember in 1976, because, yes, I was around then. And, yes, I'm old enough to remember in 1976 what was going on as we celebrated the 200th. So, boy, have I aged myself.

[00:13:18] But I remember at that point in time is when I sort of got excited about America, about being in America. And the Freedom Train came through. And I'll never forget that because it had the Declaration of Independence going from town to town. I bet that was incredible. So, I mean, while it didn't stop in the town because I was in a very small town at that moment.

[00:13:47] We lived a couple of years in eastern North Carolina. And so it was a very rural community. And basically all we did was see the train go by. But that was such an impact. I remembered it all these years. It was called the Freedom Train. And so, yeah, it was just incredible. So I'm hoping that as you bring more and more things to our community through the programming and the education that you're bringing, that something's going to stick out. Like the other night when we had Yerby Ray. Oh, he was fantastic.

[00:14:15] Those kids on the front row, they were just so engaged. And little kids, too. I mean, those boys could have been more than seven. And he started showing, you know, the weaponry and stuff. And their eyes were just like glued to this man. And, you know, that's he's just up there talking in costume. You wouldn't expect that to keep a seven-year-old's attention. But they were wrapped. Absolutely. I mean, like right on him. So that engagement, I think, is going to make a big difference.

[00:14:40] It's how you're going to continue to educate not just the young kids, which, you know, as they walk into the exhibit that we have and they can walk into the Boston Harbor. And I use a very loose interpretation of what the Boston Harbor is. But, you know, Newton Conover High School did such an amazing job of helping us replicate a ship in the harbor. And these kids can go in, adults as well, and throw a crate of tea over the ship.

[00:15:06] And, you know, I'll be the first to admit, I had my doubts that it would come together. I mean, because, listen, now, they are very skilled. Their teacher, Jonathan Kidd, incredibly skilled. Yes, very much. But I just, I really could not see the vision. I had to trust the process. Right. And when it came together, I was absolutely flabbergasted. But that is something. Those teenagers that participated in building that for us, they're going to remember that. They'll never forget it.

[00:15:35] They're maybe not going to remember every detail of that exhibit. But they're going to remember that it was important enough to celebrate America 250. Absolutely. And they participated in helping us do that. They're going to tell their grandkids. Absolutely. I hope so. They're going to be like, I built a ship in the museum in my high school shop class to celebrate America 250 because their grandkids are going to see America 300, you know, which is incredible to think about.

[00:16:00] So educating the public has been more than just telling stories about what happened 250 years ago. It's actually getting them involved. Community involvement is important. And you asked how to, you know, people connect emotionally for our local America 250 history. And something that I have really seen is the way that the DAR daughters connect. Yes. Because they can trace their lineage. They know where their patriots were from, where they fought.

[00:16:28] And a lot of our DAR daughters around here have patriots from other states because their families, you know, migrated to North Carolina. And that's understandable. But for myself, when I joined the Hickory Tavern DAR, if you ever want some good genealogy, those ladies have extensive records. It's like super sleuthy. You give them a couple of generations of your family. And I mean, they can trace you all the way back to the revolution. Or the Mayflower in some places. Absolutely.

[00:16:57] And so I didn't, I would have never known that I had George Wilfong as an ancestor, which is a major Catawba County family. And I also would have never found out that one of my ancestors is Adam Sherrill, who was, you know, the first founding family of Catawba County to settle in Sherrill's Ford.

[00:17:15] So I felt emotionally connected to that America 250 history when I learned that my patriot was such an integral part of the foundation of this county. And I think that a lot of people connect that way. So when we do things like invite Yerby to come talk about the local people that participated in the Battle of Ramsor's Mill or the Battle of Kings Mountain, you know, that were doing the thing. They were getting out there. They were being proactive.

[00:17:45] And it's just an emotional connection for people because they think, well, that was my ancestor. That was my family, you know. And even though you never got to know those people, obviously, they were long gone before you got here. It's, it is an emotional connection. It feels like, you know, well, my great, great, great grandfather was, was a fighter, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Well, there's been a lot of attention on making history more engaging and accessible. accessible.

[00:18:15] So you're doing that in our museum, of course, through all of the things, the programming, the exhibits, all those things. But how do you think the Liberty Ball is going to help encourage that accessibility or becoming more engaging? People love to have fun. And I was going to mention earlier, this is a big one. People like to touch stuff. I know that's crazy. That's so true. Like grown adults like to touch stuff. Little kids like to touch stuff. Everybody of all generations, they like to put their hands on stuff. Yeah. And what, what can you not do at a museum?

[00:18:44] We're tactile learners. I know. But what can you not do at a museum or a house museum? You can't touch anything. You can't touch anything because the oils on your skin will break down lots of things, especially textiles. But, you know, lots of things. It's dangerous for artifacts to touch them. So what I have found is that people really love, like, touching stuff. They love the hands-on engaging, even if it's not necessarily touching stuff, but if it's immersing.

[00:19:11] You know, we do a hands-on history program where we go into the schools in costume and bring artifacts to show the kids. And they are so engaged, even if all the information I'm giving them is boring them out of their brains. They are so engaged because they get to do a craft. They get to touch the artifact. They get to be. And I'm hoping that that's what the Liberty Ball does for people of all generations that come. You know, they get to actively participate in this colonial format style ball.

[00:19:41] You know, the food is obviously a modern take on colonial food. It's, you know, we're going to have some colonial music. We're going to teach some colonial dances, God willing. We're going to have a gentleman there who's going to read the Halifax Resolves, which is so incredible.

[00:20:00] Very important to note that the Halifax Resolves were the first official breaking away from, the first official document breaking away from England, from Great Britain in the United States. So they're really, really important. And that would have been what the people from this area would have signed you. They would have been listening to the Halifax Resolves. So this gentleman who's going to do that, is he just stand up there and read a piece of paper? What is he going to do? Oh, no. No, his name is Robert Rowles.

[00:20:29] And he came and read the Mecklenburg Declaration for us when we opened our America 250 exhibit back in January 2005. And he is just an incredible orator. He would remind you a bit. He reminded me a bit of Patrick Henry Jolly. You know, they're both so capable of embodying that founding father, town crier type of energy. And I think that it makes it really, really engaging.

[00:20:57] Like, he gets up there and he starts reading it with the kind of vigor that you would imagine someone in the 18th century would have been reading it. Right. Right. I know I enjoyed it when he was here at the grand opening of our America 250 exhibit. And he read the Mecklenburg Declaration. Why can I not say that word? Declaration. And his voice was just booming. And his enthusiasm.

[00:21:22] And it really, with him dressed in character, it took you back to actually, I could see this happening on a town square. I could see a group of people standing there because we had a large group, almost 200 people that day. Oh, yeah. It was huge. Standing there listening. It was kind of cold. Listening to him, you know, and just kind of put yourself in that time period.

[00:21:50] And so, again, engaging in a way that you feel like you're a part of what took place back in the 1770s. Absolutely. Even if we modernized it a little bit. Right. For that comfortability of our group that's going to be there. You know, we're going to have a DJ playing, like, after we do the colonial stuff. He's going to play some normal music. People get down and boogie. You know, we're going to do our thing. So, we've talked about how the Liberty Ball is both a celebration and a fundraiser.

[00:22:18] So, why is community investment in history and preservation so important right now for you? What do you think? Wow. That's such a great question. I think that the community investment in history, it's, you know, history and preservation right now. It's because communities as well as individuals are looking for an identity. We want a connection. We want stability. And this is such a rapidly changing world. Okay.

[00:22:47] I mean, we all know that everything changes. And with the introduction of the internet and everything's like this lightning speed going on, you know, the historic places and the local stories, they just remind people who they are, where we came from, and just what values even shaped our communities. And I know, like, Newton has been going through this transition over the last 10 years, kind of identifying who we are here in the city of Newton.

[00:23:12] And we've been focusing on art and folk art and, you know, kind of developing that identity. Well, I think it's important because even at the Liberty Ball, you're going to see pieces of pottery, which is folk art. They were utilitarian basically back in the 1770s, 1800s. You know. Well, sure. Who needed decoration back then? Well, yeah. You needed to actually be able to drink out of something. Yeah. Unless you had a lot of money. Then I guess you would need some for decoration.

[00:23:42] And I'm going to venture a guess that most people that lived in this area probably were not wealthy. No. Most of them would have been farmers and they would have used the pottery pieces that they acquired for practical purposes. But we're identifying as a community about a folk art center. And so, you know, even the history that we have in the Museum of Pottery plays into that.

[00:24:10] So we help identify our community. The Liberty Ball and what it stands for is reminding people the stories of what it took to become who we are now and encourage us to keep becoming even better. But we're rooted in the values. And maybe some of those values are changing and evolving and becoming a little bit more specific.

[00:24:41] Maybe what was valued 250 years ago. We still have those values, but we're learning that we need to value other things as well and incorporate that into our identity. That's why we have a living constitution, right? Absolutely. And so. One of the rare few that have a living constitution. Yeah. And the preservation piece of it, because we're going to celebrate preservationists at the Liberty Ball through some of the awards.

[00:25:08] And part of that really, it creates a sense of belonging. So when you are helping preserve the stories of the past, you are now a part of those. You get to take responsibility and ownership of making sure that generations from now understand where they came from. And how cool is it going to be to see. I'm kind of digress a little bit from the Liberty Ball.

[00:25:36] But, you know, the revolutionary time period, we became a nation of our own governing. And then we went through all these different sufferings and tragedies and celebrations. You know, we've had the polio epidemic. We've had floods. We've had the COVID pandemic that we lived through. And it changed us each time.

[00:26:00] But those stories, like you said, in 30 years, you're going to be sharing stories about how in 2019, 2021, folks were passing away from this tragic disease. If we don't maintain those stories of yesterday, even yesterday, then future generations, they're going to be lost. They're just not going to understand what it took to persevere and overcome any of these things.

[00:26:29] This is who America has always been. We have been a nation, a people of perseverance and overcoming obstacles. We're learning better ways of doing that with each obstacle that we overcome. And, you know, we've had some ugly history. Yeah. And we need to learn from that, too. Yeah. We didn't always do things the right way. We still don't always do things the right way. But we're becoming a more perfect union. We're not there yet.

[00:26:57] And I hope that the Liberty Ball will be one of those events that reminds us that there's so much more. Celebrate where we've been and where we came from. But we have so much more work to do. And so this is a great stepping point. This is a reminder. America can do this together. Absolutely. And we need all the generations jumping in. Absolutely. With your perspective as well as mine, old and young together.

[00:27:22] I think when I got to do the Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project last year, kind of piggybacking off what you were saying. Of course, it's a different time period that we're talking about. But it was more of an honor. I hate to phrase it like that. It was more of an honor than I anticipated it being getting to sit with those gentlemen and for them to give me their history. I mean, it was like a gift.

[00:27:49] It was an emotional experience a lot of times. And I was like, don't cry. You're recording. Like, don't be silly. But I was also like, you know, most of these people are strangers. They're going to think you're weird if you're crying about them talking to you. But it's just history is so meaningful to me. And they were sharing this part of their lives that made me feel immersed in what they lived through.

[00:28:13] And I think that that connection to history that you were talking about, that's something that we lose if we stop talking about history. If we stop sharing those stories, we stop connecting. Because history is human study. It is the study of human beings throughout time. And how do you stop wondering, you know? Right. It's just crazy. Well, I mean, like our organization and organizations like the Historical Association of Catawba County, we preserve more than just your buildings and your artifacts.

[00:28:43] You know, we preserve community memories and regional identities and, you know, the stories that define the people of Catawba County. And, you know, everyone who participates, who becomes a member, who donates, who comes to our programming, you know, any volunteer that we have, all of the sponsors, anything partnership with us is an investment in ensuring that these stories, that we're talking about, you know, preservation is not about living in the past always.

[00:29:12] It's about honoring that past. And that's what we're doing through the Liberty Ball. But we're still, we're honoring the past while we're still building a stronger and more connected future. Definitely. And I think that's one of the things that we want to stress about participating in events like the Liberty Ball. Yes, it's a fundraiser.

[00:29:31] We can't bring all of the other free programming, you know, that we do into the community, into the school systems, into the retirement communities if we don't do the fundraising. And that's not the fun part. You know, everybody's like, ugh, they're asking for money again. Ugh, it costs so much to go.

[00:29:50] But we have to in order that throughout the rest of this, you know, year and next year and into the future, we can bring these opportunities such as Yerby Ray and such as the hands-on history where you're taking this out of the four walls of the museums and into the classrooms at no charge if at all possible. Yeah. So we have to do this fundraising.

[00:30:16] So the Liberty Ball truly is an opportunity for those who can to support our mission so that we can bring it to others who maybe don't have the means to necessarily go to the big galas and things like that. But they deserve the opportunity to hear the stories and learn the stories and become the tellers and keepers of the stories for future generations.

[00:30:40] And, you know, it's exciting to see what's going to happen from these high school students who built a ship in the Museum of History. Definitely. And then those kids who, the second graders, oh my goodness, the second graders who came in and you are teaching them hands-on. They can tell you how many signers of the Declaration of Independence there were. That's because that video said it about 45 times. Yeah, that repetition. But you know what? They may not have ever seen that video had we not been able to bring it in. Absolutely.

[00:31:08] So the Liberty Ball is a fundraiser. This is from the business standpoint of history. The Liberty Ball, that fundraiser, everything that we earn, you know, which we're not looking to make a fortune, but we are looking as the two organizations, because again, we are partnering with the Lincoln County Historical Associations.

[00:31:29] We are 50-50 sharing the proceeds so that we can continue sharing the stories and preserving, yes, the buildings, but preserving the identity and helping create the identity as we move forward. So it's just, it's very important. I'm sorry, I got off on a tangent. No, no, no. And absolutely. And I wanted to briefly bring up that, you know, we are, we are a small staff who manages four sites. Yes.

[00:31:58] And, but we are very fortunate to have each other. You know, you know, as we've worked with, with Lincoln County, they are mostly a volunteer staff. They have one, I think, part-time paid employee. Right. And so it's so incredible to see how these volunteers just show up for Lincoln County Historical Association. Every meeting, all the planning, you know, they're, they're there, they're in it and they're not getting paid to be in it, you know.

[00:32:26] And not that, not that we do it for the money. We, we also do it because we love it. But it's really a sight to see, you know, these, these people that just do it because they care, you know, and, and just show up because they care and try because they care. And so it's important not only to support us so that we can continue doing what we're doing for our community, but to support them so that, that they can see that their efforts don't go unnoticed. Right. So I was, I just wanted to include that.

[00:32:55] But Susan, as the executive director, what does it mean to you to see younger generations like myself becoming involved in preservation and public history? Yeah, I think it's exciting. Um, so like I said, back in seven, uh, 1976, I, um, I was young. I'm not gonna tell you how young I was then because then you can do the math. Very, very young. Yeah, I was infant. So young. Maybe not quite an infant.

[00:33:20] But anyway, um, you know, that's when I got my first taste of what history is, means, does, can be. Right? Um, and I am not, I am not a traditional historian. Uh, so I wasn't educated in history. Um, I was educated in textiles, actually. And, um, um. Which is kind of history, too, because, I mean, we've got some textile history. It comes in. There were some textile mills around here. You know, you've got some insider knowledge. Even the handling of some of our textiles.

[00:33:50] Definitely. It has helped with that. But, you know, as a designer, um, I look at the beauty of things, right? And so I see the younger generation talking about our nation, our country, our community, our towns. Um, I see them getting involved in ways and their ideas and your ideals. You know, they're still rooted in trying to make things better.

[00:34:18] Um, it's for your generation to be involved in history. Okay? Yeah, you're telling the stories of things so many years ago that, that really, it's hard to sometimes, um, interact with or, you know, even identify with. Mm-hmm. Right? Because things are so different. Everything's at your fingertips now, um, where we had to go read a book, look at a card catalog.

[00:34:48] Truly. Oh, my gosh. Truly. I didn't have a phone for, like, four days a couple months ago. And I was ashamed. I was ashamed at how much it affected me. You're like, I can't function without my phone. Ugh. But, but your generation, you're able to deep dive so much more than we were quickly because you do have this information highway at your fingertips.

[00:35:10] And you're using what you're learning about what we did right or wrong or good or bad or whatever your perception was of an event that took place in history. Um, or even what's happening today. And you're able to make correlations. And you're able to make suggestions. And your leadership is becoming much more thought-provoking, I think.

[00:35:36] Um, when I learned history, I was learning facts. I was learning this. This happened this date. What you're doing when you're teaching history to even our kids, our third graders who come in as a younger person, you're teaching them this happened. This is our county. This is what, you know, our forefathers, you know, the seal. But you're teaching them to think about that for themselves.

[00:36:05] And what does that mean to you in your own life? And how does that make a difference? So I think the younger historians, yes, you still have the facts and the dates and the things like that. But you're taking it so much further. And you're making people think. And critical thinking is something that was not always done in the past because people were thinking for us sometimes so much of the time. And we just had to regurgitate that information.

[00:36:33] Now you're saying, well, what did the barter system do? And how do you, what can, how does it affect you today? You know, you're teaching that. And they're having to think, well, if I didn't have cash in my pocket, how do I survive? You know, we were just taught the barter system happened to blah. Right.

[00:36:53] But you're teaching these kids that these, these times happened where we didn't always have cash in our pocket. And so we had to figure out ways to trade to get what we needed. Well, not saying that that's hopefully never coming again. I hope that never happens to us again. We're not in that ever. But, you know, there's a, there's a reason that we need to learn that the barter system was even there.

[00:37:20] That's like your, your workshop where they get to actually touch the, we, at the museum, let me preface this. We do have artifacts that were donated for educational purposes. So they can touch, feel. Reproductions. Thank you. The reproductions of the artifacts. Yes. So my curator just rolled over and said, ah! Somewhere out there. Yeah. Jennifer's like, I'm going to kill her. She also, she doesn't love that. Don't touch the items in the museum. Okay.

[00:37:48] Only touch them if we say you can touch them. Yeah. That's what I, that's what I tell people. It's a good blanket statement. You're teaching them the, the, the telegraph to the telephone to the iPhone, which is your basic computer. That was so fun. So, but these kids are now going to take the history of the telegraph to the telephone to the, to the iPhone. And the next thing is going to happen. Yep. And this is the generation.

[00:38:10] And so the history of that and how it's evolved and changed and why, and thinking outside the box, how could we have done it differently? How should we do it differently in nature? You know, how did what we lived through the polio, you know, the 54 hours it took for us as a community to come together and make a hospital when Gastonia and Charlotte were both closed during the polio epidemic here in Catawba County.

[00:38:37] Do you not think that that kind of created a, how do we survive COVID? Absolutely. Well, and, and piggybacking off of that, you know, we, it just shows how history repeats itself. Now during polio, you had kids that were quarantined, right? And they weren't allowed to go to the movies or to the store with mom or whatever. And then you just watched it replay itself, you know, a little less than a hundred years later, you know, give or take 20, 20 years or so.

[00:39:06] A little less than a hundred years later, you watched it happen on a much broader scale. But those fundamentals of sequestering yourself to make sure that you stay healthy or if you're not healthy to make sure that other people around you stay healthy. It's that, that fundamental ideal that existed spanning over that hundred years, you know? Yeah, exactly. And I think that's, that's the purpose of what we do.

[00:39:33] Whether you're a 20 something director of education or a 50 something, you know, you know, executive director. I think that's, that's what we do is we want to, we want to make sure that through things that we do, programming, artifacts, exhibits, you know, tours, that we're sharing where we did come from and why it can be important to you in the future. Because yeah, things like the Liberty Ball, this is fun. This is the fun stuff.

[00:40:04] This is, this is so cool. But it does make you think and go back to, okay, well, why was this important? And in the future, remember why it was important to us at the end, you know, at that time period. But then let's, let's not just rest on our laurels. Let's make sure that America keeps becoming better and better and better. And communities become better and better. You know, just that, that's a, that's a very large answer to the question that you asked me.

[00:40:34] No, I mean, that's, that's a perfect answer. And I love that perspective, what you were talking about at the beginning about, you know, just resources. And when I think about, you know, if I, if I had been growing up in the time period that you did and my parents did, that I, I could not have known half the information I know about history had I not had the opportunity and the means to travel to the places where those primary sources existed. Right.

[00:41:03] Because you did not have access to those primary sources. You only had virtually secondary sources that had been written about them. And, and how valuable it is that when I was getting my history degrees, I had websites like JSTOR that my school would pay for. That was literally an entire search engine where you could type what you were looking for. And it would pull up as many primary source documents as it had about that.

[00:41:31] And, and you could look at excerpts or paintings or just all kinds of stuff on that engine. And what a valuable, valuable resource that I feel like I've even taken, taken for granted over these years because of the fact that, you know, it was not something that was available to you guys. So I'm going to, I'm going to jump in right there with what you just said.

[00:41:54] As you're looking ahead, finishing out 26 and into 27 and moving forward, what excites you most about the future of public history and just that community, community engagement here specifically in Catawba County? Absolutely. Part of it is that, like, what, what do we do at the Historical Association? We bring those primary sources to the public.

[00:42:18] You know, we have those artifacts. We have those family records, genealogy records, the histories, the people's stories, especially with things like, you know, the Vietnam veterans oral history. That's something that the people of this community wouldn't have had access to unless one of those veterans was in their family and felt particularly chatty, which I don't know if any of you out there know a Vietnam veteran, but chatty about their time and service is not a descriptor I would use.

[00:42:45] And understandably so, the gentlemen that did decide to speak were incredible for their bravery in just sharing their story. But what's most important about that taking place is that that's a primary source now. I mean, that's straight out of the mouth of somebody that was there, that experienced it, that lived through it, that fought through it and lost people that weren't important to them through it.

[00:43:12] And that's just the most valuable thing for historians. Primary sources are the most valuable thing. And what better resource than someone who actually lived it, experienced it and came home to tell about it? Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And that's one thing, you know, that I wish we had more of from 18th century Catawba County.

[00:43:36] Now, I don't know if a lot of our listeners out there know this, but nobody was really living in Catawba County area until 1747. So that was not a very long time between 1747 and 1776. Yeah, so you have 30 years, basically. 30 years of people being in this area before the revolution began.

[00:44:00] So it truly, you know, we don't have an extensive 18th century history here. But the things we do have, like Katerina and Heinrich Weidner's gravestones. Exactly. They're your ancestors. And they were the second founding family of the Catawba County area that came down from Pennsylvania. And they are very critical for multiple reasons.

[00:44:25] But how incredible is it that we were able to preserve their gravestones that are engraved in German? Because that was their primary language as Germans that had immigrated to Pennsylvania. The fact that we have that is an incredible, incredible resource for people to be able to look at. We have it translated for the public.

[00:44:48] And it's just critical to be able to provide that kind of public history for people to come in. The wooden water pipe that they dug up out of downtown Newton when they started the streetworks. What an incredible thing to be able to come and look at and see, you know, the ingenuity of people during a time period where you just assume, you know, they're using the bathroom outside.

[00:45:16] And just not a whole lot of, you know. You take the wooden water pipe and you look. What did they learn from using a wooden water pipe underground, you know, to what we use now? Yep. Right. So wood was great, but it's also, it'll eventually weep out. So you're going to have the leakage under the streets. Yep. You know, and so they went from no water pipes to wooden water pipes to terracotta to what is that? Whatever. Yeah. That white thing that they stick in the ground now.

[00:45:46] I don't even know what that is. But I should probably learn that. I was going to say we're not the professionals in that, but I don't even know what professionals handle that kind of thing. Yeah. Plumbers. Plumbers. Okay. We're not plumbers. We're not plumbers. We're historians. But Susan, tell me, what responsibility do you feel like we have to preserve history for the future generations?

[00:46:07] As an organization, I think that in order, as an organization, it is important for us to preserve these stories because tomorrow's events. We need to know how to respond. We need to know how to respond.

[00:46:29] We need to know how to respond, how to handle. I think that in a certain manner. I just think we have a responsibility to continue educating the communities about how things were so that things can always be better.

[00:47:00] And maybe something worked out better in the past. And maybe we need to look backwards and say, okay, well, this is how this was organized and this is how this was effective. And maybe we went away from that to try it differently, you know, and maybe it worked. Maybe it didn't. Maybe we need to go back and start kind of where and try different avenues if they didn't work. But if we don't share, if we don't save, even things such as newspapers, right? For sure.

[00:47:29] Because we have a huge collection of newspapers. There are some missing that we wish we had. Yep. But even what was printed in the news at that time, right? It affected what happened the next day and the next generation and the next generation. And if we didn't keep that information somewhere, then, you know, we just can't move forward from it. We're stagnant at that point. Absolutely.

[00:47:57] It's also an economic development piece. When you look at preservation, you know, you can build on what we knew and what we don't know. But you can build towards knowing more. But the economic development, the heritage tourism, you know, it continues to be one of the strongest drivers of cultural travel. It brings people in.

[00:48:23] And, okay, so maybe we're not bringing people in from all parts of the world just to learn about the gourd lady. But, you know, how many people know who the gourd lady was because they saw her on Dave Leno, right? Mm-hmm. So maybe it didn't have an impact as far as becoming a country or a nation. But that was a lady who took gourds and made art out of.

[00:48:51] And she didn't just make art. She affected children. And she brought them into classroom settings. And I remember learning how to paint gourds from the gourd lady, right? So that cultural piece of our history, using gourds either as a utilitarian piece or an art piece now, you know, it shows that involvement. And I think that bringing those visitors in to see these type of items, like the red coat, we'll talk about that in a minute.

[00:49:22] You know, it doesn't just bring history. It also brings tourism and travel. People are going to eat in the restaurants here in downtown. People are going to buy things in the stores right here. They're going to stay in Catawba County. Yep. They're going to come to the different festivals that we put on that celebrate our cultural heritage, right? Absolutely. Such as our pottery festival. Bring people from all over the country. Or the downtown folk art festival. The downtown folk art festival. Yep. The Oktoberfest in Hickory. Oktoberfest, yeah.

[00:49:51] So all of these different things, the Heritage Days that Hickory Landmarks puts on. Yes. Heart Square's celebration that they do brings people from all over the nation and sometimes out of the country to our communities. And people spend money. So we are preservation. What we do is also an economic driver here in our community. Absolutely. So it's so important in many different aspects. I may have answered more than you were thinking before. No, I mean, that was exactly what I was thinking.

[00:50:21] It's kind of like back toward talking about the Liberty Ball since we've, you know, we've gone off topic. We're yappers, so we like to go off topic a little bit. But what do you hope that people will feel when they walk into the Liberty Ball that evening? So I hope that they're going to feel a sense of pride. I want people to walk into the Liberty Ball and say, wow, America.

[00:50:45] You know, there's a lot of opportunities that we take right now to downplay patriotism. Sometimes, you know, there are times when patriotism is looked at as a negative thing. That's hard for me to understand based on my generation, okay?

[00:51:05] But I want people to walk in and just feel a sense of community pride in that we came together for a common goal 250 years ago, but then now in 2026 to celebrate community. I want us to, for me, the most important part for me and the whole evening is going to be the history awards that we're going to give out to some very deserving folks or organizations.

[00:51:35] But it's because they love the history and the stories. So I want us to feel when we walk into the Liberty Ball, just a sense of pride in our community, pride in our country, and pride in where we're going, what we've been learning from. And kind of don't stop. Yeah. We're not done. Absolutely. So don't stop. Just keep going and make it better.

[00:51:58] Well, let's talk a little bit about what we're going to be doing at the Liberty Ball, what we're going to have and why you should want to come. Because it's going to be fun. You should want to come. You should want to come. So we're going to have piccolo players. They're going to be doing some patriotic music. And I don't know if you know what a piccolo is, but it's a little teeny tiny flutish. Kind of like a fife. Kind of like a fife. And they're going to be playing some patriotic music there at the beginning.

[00:52:27] We're going to have a VIP reception at the very beginning for those sponsors who have donated money or who have bought tables, those table sponsors. They're going to be at a specific, you know, a special reception. We're going to have a special cocktail based on the 1776 Freedom. So we'll have a Freedom cocktail. And there's going to be great food. There's going to be awards. We have a great emcee who's going to talk us through the evening. And then there's going to be dancing.

[00:52:56] Who doesn't love to dance? And it's in a beautiful venue. I had never been to the Crow Mansion until we started coming up with this. And the Crow Mansion is just absolutely gorgeous. I want to go just because of the staircase. Because I want pictures made with my husband there on that staircase. It's modeled after the mansions in Williamsburg, Virginia. Yeah. And what is more colonial than those type of buildings? Absolutely. It's like the venue was made for this event. It was 100%.

[00:53:26] And of course, we're going to be there. So who wouldn't want to come and hang out and talk to us? Absolutely. And the Crow family is so important to Lincoln County history as well. So it just it really ties in that community. She was a designer, a dress designer. Her dresses are beautiful. They're on display at the Lincoln County History Museum. Yes. And just beautiful. Well, they were at least the last time we were there. But they're just just beautiful. Maybe we can borrow those for an exhibit. Oh, we might. Might have a little loan.

[00:53:52] But I think it's going to be a lot of fun because we are going to have the Halifax Resolves read. And if you don't know what that is, this is a great time to learn it. Absolutely. And of course, it's going to be presented by this gentleman who is fabulous. He's awesome. He really is. So we're going to have a great after the Piccolo performances. Then later in the evening, we'll have a DJ. So there's going to be dancing and fun and, you know, it's just going to be a party. And again, we mentioned the food. The food is going to be really, really good.

[00:54:20] A modern take on like colonial style food, heavy hors d'oeuvres. But there will be a carving station. So, you know, you'll get full. It'll be it's a meat heavy meal like they would have had in a colonial at a real colonial ball, you know. One of the things we talked about was there going to be awards and that's fun. But one of the fun things is going to be the silent auction and the wine pool. Absolutely. So, you know, this is kind of where we're hoping to raise the funds that we're talking about is through that. So we've got some amazing silent auction items.

[00:54:49] Rock Barn Country Club has given us a package, a golf package for four that you just you're going to want to bid on. Absolutely. It's going to be there. And so we've had other things donated as well. Really cool baskets from different organizations. We're going to have the DJ is going to play some dance music. We're going to have cocktails. So there'll be a cash bar available.

[00:55:17] The decorations, of course, everything's going to be draped in red, white and blue. Also, just from an educational perspective, we will have some panels that you guys can walk around and read to kind of learn about why this America 250 pertains to us as two local communities that were once won. Right. You know, and why Ramsource Mill and Kings Mountain and those two really critical battles were important.

[00:55:46] And then there's a panel about the Halifax Resolves that you'll get to learn a little bit about those as well, not just listen to them being read. There are a couple of revolutionary era artifacts that are coming with us. So why don't you share a little bit about the two artifacts specifically that are coming? Because we have, yeah. Yeah.

[00:56:12] So the primary artifact, which is probably my favorite artifact in our collection, probably a lot of our favorite artifacts in our collection, is the British red coat. So our red coat is, well, he's just stunning. And whenever he is on display, it is, you walk into the room and he is just the vocal point. Right.

[00:56:36] Um, we were very generously donated the red coat back in the 80s by a family that had a relative pass away in Pennsylvania and they found this while cleaning out their attic. And I believe that the story goes, they called the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian said that they would like to have it. But there was, there was quite a bit of hoops that had to be jumped through to, to make that

[00:57:00] donation and the family decided, you know, we think we're just going to bring it back to, to Catawba County and, and see if our local historical organization would like to have it. And we, of course, at the time, um, ate that up and we were so excited about, about entering that into our collection. How much paperwork did they have to do for us to get it? Two pages. Well, one page you just got to read. Just one page you just got to sign. It's not very complicated.

[00:57:29] Um, but what an incredible artifact to have on display. Now he's not always on display as he sometimes has to take a little nap is what we like to say. Uh, he has to be rested. And a lot of, a lot of times, you know, our textile expert can tell us that, um, you know, when they, when they reach a certain age, textiles are very, uh, sensitive. Yeah. They're, they're sensitive to light and, you know, being on a mannequin and being, having

[00:57:56] to hold that shape, they start to break down over time. And so our curator very meticulously and very carefully removes Mr. Redcoat from his, from his case and places him in a, uh, very special artifact box. And he's kept in a temperature controlled, um, dark space for some, for some rest and relaxation.

[00:58:22] Um, but we have, we have had several people that have come in and looked at the coat, uh, to try to determine the time period they can estimate it for. And none of them were, were, uh, like licensed, um, what's the word I'm, I'm looking for here? Like a licensed authenticator. But many of them were experts in this time period, reenactors, people that have seen other

[00:58:51] true artifacts that have been authenticated. And from our best estimation, the red coat we have on display that we will be bringing to the Liberty Ball, um, he is about 10 years older, younger than the revolution. He was, he's dated about 10 years after the revolution. So of course there were still British officers here. We know the war of 1812 happened shortly after the revolution.

[00:59:15] Um, so, but it's, it's about a 10 year gap between 1776 and when, when this coat was dated. So of course we know that's not when the war ended. So it very well could have been a revolutionary war coat. Um, and then we're also bringing a powder horn with us as well. Um, and so a powder horn is what revolutionary war soldiers would have carried their gunpowder in because gunpowder during that time period.

[00:59:44] And even still today is completely useless if wet, right? It's just, it's totally, um, it's not going to do anything that you want it to do for sure. It's got a spark. It's got a spark. So, uh, they had to manually put their gunpowder in their guns, their muskets, their rifles, whatever it was that they were using. And this was British and Patriot and militiamen alike that had to carry some sort of container

[01:00:11] to keep that gunpowder dry because they're marching through snow. They're marching through rain. They're marching through swamps, you know, all kinds of stuff. And, and to keep that gunpowder from getting wet, which it would have done in any sort of bag almost that they would have had during that time period, they used, um, a horn of like a, a bull, like a bull's horn or a similar, any cow, whatever kind of animal grows a horn. I'm sure they, they kind of just made use of it all.

[01:00:41] Probably not a unicorn horn. And they would hollow out the middle and they would use it to store the gunpowder because the, the horns are non-porous. So water can't get through them. And so it was, it was a way that they could carry their gunpowder with them. And also, you know, it was an easier way to pour the gunpowder into their, their gun because, you know, it only had so big of an opening.

[01:01:09] So it kind of, you know, it two birds, one stone, but. But we will have a powder horn on display with the coat. So, okay. I'm really excited about the Liberty Ball. You're very excited about the Liberty Ball. Definitely. And we have several people who have already purchased their tickets or they have purchased a table. But if you have not, how are they going to get their tickets? Okay. So we have our, um, I would say probably the best way is our Facebook page. We have our link, our Eventony. That's the website we use to sell our tickets.

[01:01:36] We have our Eventony link on our Facebook page. I believe it's on our website as well, which is, um, www.catawbahistory.org. And you can follow our Historical Association Facebook page, as well as our Catawba County History Museum Facebook page. And, um, to see everything that we're doing. But you can also purchase tickets that way as well. We have not mentioned, I don't think yet, but the Liberty Ball is taking place on Saturday, June the 27th. Mm-hmm.

[01:02:05] At 6 for our, um, VIP reception for those that do a sponsorship of a table or more. And we will be starting the festivities for the general public at 7. Um, and just whenever you purchase your tickets, you just keep your email. We'll also have your name on a list just in case you lose it. But keep your email. Just show us your email at the door. And, and we'll be really excited to commemorate and celebrate with you.

[01:02:33] So we're just about 34 days away from the ball. Still enough time to get your tickets. And get a costume. And get a costume. And I'll tell you what, um, we have seen some really good ones even at the House of Zahn. Yep. Or the Amazon. You know that. Um, and you know, just have fun with it. Just have fun with it. Definitely. But if you are like me and not always tech savvy, and I sometimes need my kids to help

[01:03:01] me get through the internet and guide my way through the tickets, how else could you, um, uh, get a ticket if you just can't quite get the internet to work for you? Well, you can always just call and chat with us if you want to. We can, we can take care of it for you. We don't mind. Um, you can reach the History Museum at 828-465-0383. And one of us will be super glad to talk you through it or to do it for you over the phone.

[01:03:31] We don't mind to do that either as long as you're comfortable giving us your information. Um, but, but we just, any way that you can buy tickets, we want you to be there. We don't want you to miss this. Because most importantly, I think what we haven't said is that this is a once in a lifetime event for almost every generation right now. Even, even mine, you know, I, I sure hope I live to see 300, but, you know, I'm pushing 30, but there's a good chance I may not.

[01:03:57] And, and so I think that just being able to get together and, and commemorate this, this accomplishment, this, this landmark milestone in our country's history is something that you don't want to miss, you know, it's, it's not, not going to come around again for most. Yeah. So I, I think so too. And I think we've talked a lot today about a whole lot of different things. And I think we're just both very excited about what we do, why we do it.

[01:04:25] Um, and the Liberty Ball is going to be the culmination for this year as far as the fundraising that supports, uh, both our organization as well as Lincoln County Historical Association, um, to keep on bringing the programming and the information, um, that is, uh, shaping our nation, um, our communities, our children. And, um, so we, we depend on these type of events.

[01:04:54] We depend on your support. We depend on our listeners coming, um, and, and, you know, experiencing a little bit of history in a fun way. Um, if you cannot make it to the ball for whatever reason, people have travel plans already in place, or they're going to be, um, unavailable that weekend for whatever purpose. You know, there are other ways to help support, uh, the historical associations and, um, are

[01:05:23] continuing, uh, uh, to bring programming about America 250 over the next couple of years. Um, and you can use that same phone number, 828-465-0383 to contact the Catawba County Historical Association, um, to find out how you can be a part of it. Um, of course, there's donation, uh, applications or, um, uh, ways to, to donate on the Eventney

[01:05:50] website, uh, straight from catawbahistory.org or through our social media pages. Um, and then volunteer. If you don't, if you don't feel like you have the funds to, to, you know, to share with us, share your time. Absolutely. Your time is so much more valuable sometimes than any dollar you can donate. Absolutely. Because without our volunteers, we cannot bring our history exhibits to life all the time.

[01:06:18] So we depend on our, our, uh, ladies from the DAR and the gentlemen from the SAR to, uh, come in costume and support these exhibits. So there are lots of ways that you can participate and celebrate America 250. Um, not, not always the same way that you want to, but there's, there's ways to do it. But many people don't realize that the Historical Association of Catawah County and the Lincoln

[01:06:45] County Historical Association, um, are not funded by our respective counties. We are both private, nonprofit 501c3s. Although we have our counties in the name, it's not, you know, a given people, people assume sometimes, but don't realize that we are completely, you know, we are independent and we rely on big funding from other organizations, but we also rely on, you know, just community funding on people

[01:07:14] finding us important enough to, to want to keep us around for a long time. And also we did not mention, but we definitely should. This is the Historical Association's 90th birthday. It will be taking place the same day as the Liberty Ball. We will turn 90 on that day. So that is a huge milestone for our organization. And, and I think it just, it just ticks up the importance of why you should come out and why you should support us.

[01:07:42] Or if, or if you can't come to the Liberty Ball, why you should make another way to support this organization. Become a member. Yeah. It's easy. Yeah. And it's not very expensive, you know, a yearly membership. We have different rates. $50 is the lowest one that, um, $50 a year. And you don't even, you don't even realize how far that goes. If a good portion of our community were to become $50 members, I mean, it would, it would be a tremendous help.

[01:08:13] And so anything you can do, volunteer, donate, become a member, come to the Liberty Ball, come to our other big events, our Harvest Folk Festival, our Very Murray Christmas, our Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival, our huge fundraising events that we do throughout the year. You can, you can make a difference in our lives and in the continuation of this incredible organization. Well, thank you so much for sitting with me today, Alyssa. Thank you for sitting with me.

[01:08:42] And letting us just chit chat about what we do about the Liberty Ball and about America 250. I'm so looking forward to it. Yeah. All right. Thanks so much. Thank you. Have a good day. You've been listening to The Mesh, an online media network of shows and programs ranging from business to arts, sports to entertainment, music to community.

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