Historical society to hold summer meeting

Published 4:17 pm Friday, July 8, 2016

Looking back at the 100th anniversary of Lay Dam in 2014 is expected to be one of the many topics for discussion during the Chilton County Historical Society’s summer meeting. (Contributed Photo)

Looking back at the 100th anniversary of Lay Dam in 2014 is expected to be one of the many topics for discussion during the Chilton County Historical Society’s summer meeting. (Contributed Photo)

The Chilton County Historical Society will hold its quarterly meeting on Sunday at 2 p.m. and will be held at Senior Connection in Clanton.

Bill Tharpe from the Alabama Power Company will be the guest speaker at the event and has prepared a presentation that details Chilton County’s history with the company.

According to Chilton County Historical Society President Derric Scott, a portion of his presentation is expected to look back at the 100th anniversary celebration of Lay Dam that took place in 2014.

“Often times the meetings are used to talk about some of the community projects that we are working on and ideas of future interest,” Scott said.

The society has written books highlighting the county’s past history and Scott believes that the timing has arrived to begin updating those books.

According to Scott, the last cemetery census was completed by the historical society in 1985. In the book, those who have died in the community can be traced.

The meeting is open to the public and the society is encouraging residents to bring archived photos that can be scanned and have family members dating back through the decades.

“When it comes to history, the older the better,” Scott said. “We don’t have much through the 1940s, 1950s or even the 1960s, except what we’ve added ourselves.”

Scott has held the position of president since the start of the 2016, and he along with several other members want to bring in an array of perspectives into the society from residents both young and old.

“There has been more interest than usual leading up to this meeting,” Scott said.

The historical society is made up of about 50 members and holds a meeting about every three months. The next gathering is scheduled for October.