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Athens ephemera

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Collection number: MSS-073

Scope and Contents

The contents are as follows:
• a copy of the “Normaltown River of Music” article and illustration, originally published in the Athens Observer, February 22, 1979, and also made available as a poster at the time; Dan Johnson had new prints of the poster made circa 2004, after a copy of an original was found at Allen's, the Normaltown restaurant that closed at the end of 2003; this copy is one of those new prints;
• an Athens Railway Electric Company streetcar token;
• a wooden nickel serving as election propaganda for Jim De La Perriere, a member of the city commission in the 1970s who also worked in real estate;
• button pins bearing the names, slogans, logos, or images of the following: First Night Athens and the WUGA 1987 Club;
• an Athens-Clarke County Employee button pin with the phrase, "May I help you," inscribed on it;
• a button pin marking the twentieth anniverary of the Athens Transit System;
• two distinct button pins promoting National Emergency Medical Services Week;
• a plastic Jr. Deputy Sheriff button pin with the name of former Clarke County Sheriff, Jerry L. Massey, printed on it;
• a button pin with the phrase, "Thanks Gwen!" inscribed on it, referring to Mayor Gwen O'Looney;
• a button pin with the phrase, "Unfunded Mandates," an image of the geo-body of Georgia, with the no-symbol covering both;
• a button pin with the phrase, "Volunteers Make Each Day Brighter," and a photograph of a flower on it;
• a metal Athens Country Club golf divot tool, dated 1926;
• a Hanna Batrite miniature baseball bat;
• an "Obamamatic for the People" t-shirt;
• 50th-Anniversary hat and t-shirt, plus a V. I. P. tag, for the local music ensemble the Jesters;
• a metal belt buckle bearing the logo of Athens A. M. radio station WRFC, dated 1977 and manufactured by Indiana Metal Craft;
• a hand fan bearing an advertisement for "Frank Harmon's Energy Saving Air Circulating Cooling Device," undated, purchased at an estate sale at Harmon’s home;
• a photograph, circa 1930, of the Young Harris Epworth League, the names of those pictured listed on the back of the print with the additional inscription: “Sent to Ga. Album of Sunday Magazine by Miss FloOuida Williamson, 165 Nacoochee Ave. Athens, Ga.”;
• a promotional fly swatter from Ivy-Coile Motors, undated;
• a bookmark from the Hobbit Habit bookstore, undated;
• a photograph of the double-barreled cannon, taken by David C. Walker, dated 1962;
• key chains bearing the names, slogans, logos, or images of the following: Oconee State Bank (two copies); the Cedar Shoals Jaguars; the Athens Regional Medical Center; Johnson Ford Sales; and Barrett Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth;
• a coin holder with Farmers Hardware of Athens, Inc., inscribed on it;
• a brick from the steeple of St. Mary’s Protestant Episcopal Church, site of the musical ensemble R.E.M.’s first performance on April 5th, 1980, salvaged during stabilization of the steeple undertaken by Nuçi’s Space in 2013; the brick is numbered and dated on a certificate of authenticity, signed by Robert A. Sleppy, executive director of Nuçi’s Space; the brick is no. 685 out of a total of 2000 bricks and was purchased by Laura W. and Charles Carter;
• a 2022 promotional Quick Response (Q. R.) card from Sunnybank Music providing a link to a music video online by Jay and the Boulevardians;
• an undated photograph of an unidentified class at David C. Barrow School held in a coil-bound booklet; title on front of the booklet: “School Memories by H & W Studios,” the cover also bearing a reproduction of a photograph of the Barrow Elementary building;
• directory for the 45th-anniversary reunion of Athens High School’s 1953 class, held Charlie Williams’ Pinecrest Lodge, 1998; and a photograph and commemorative coffee mug from the reunion;
• program for the 1946 Athens High School graduation ceremony.
• Jittery Joe’s coffee tins commemorating the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team’s 2021 and 2022 national championships; and another tin of the Charlie Mustard special blend, 2019.
• “booster badge” for Clarke Central students with an illustration of the Gladiators and Cedar Shoals Jaguars mascots and the text, “Gladiators snare the Jaguars.”
• Clarke Central Gladiators coffee mug.
• framed photograph of the Athens Academy sixth-grade class, March 1974, taken during a visit to the U. S. Capitol building; the names of all of those pictured are listed on the a sheet of paper attached to the back; also on the back is a sticker identifying the Tanner Lumber Company’s Custom Frame & Art Shop.
• Bible presented to Charles Carter upon his inauguration as a member of the Athens-Clarke County Commission in 1991. Included inside is the program for the inauguration ceremony, held on January 14th, 1991, for the newly-unified city-county government, which was meeting for the first time.
































Dates

  • ca. 1950-2008

Biographical / Historical

The persons, organizations, and things represented in the collection have a wide range of origins and mostly date from the mid-twentieth century to the present.

Extent

3.33 Linear Feet (One box measuring 12.5 by 9.5 3, one box measuring 10.5 by 8.5 by 3, one box measuring 13.75 by 12 by 1.5, and one box measuring 12 by 10 by 3.)

Language

English

Overview

A sort of companion to the Small collections (MSS 016) and the vertical files, this collection houses objects that both do not belong elsewhere in the Heritage Room manuscripts and archives and fit the definition of the term, ephemera, as used in the fields of antiques and collectables. Ephemera can be found in other Heritage Room collections, especially the collection of promotional hand fans for Athens funeral and ambulance services (MSS 065) and the J. Tanner collection of Clarke Central High School memorabilia (MSS 024).

Arrangement

The collection is organized in a single series.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Laura Carter; Valerie J. Frey Stone; J. Tanner; William Jefferson Tate; Peggy Gallis; Justin Kau

Physical Description

Fair to good

Title
Athens ephemera
Author
Justin Kau
Date
July 2021
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library Repository

Contact:
2025 Baxter Street
Athens GA 30606