Events for Alleghany's 150th begin Thursday

Tomorrow, Feb. 12, marks the kickoff of the county's sesquicentennial celebration.

According to Agnes Joines, with the sesquicentennial entertainment committee and Jeff Halsey with the county's historical society, the 150th kickoff celebration will begin at 7 p.m. at the Alleghany County Courthouse.

The mistress of ceremonies will be Charity Gambill-Gwyn, with Judge Richard Doughton serving as the main speaker. Sparta Mayor John Miller will also offer remarks, as will Alleghany County Commission Chair Ken Richardson.

Elizabeth Sherrill, with the North Carolina Society of Historians, will also attend the ceremony to present an award to the local historical society.

Halsey explained the society received an award for a memorial cookbook that had been compiled by the society and sold locally. He noted that he was also informed the N.C. Society of Historians has decided to give the different groups of books that receive awards to local libraries.

"I think she said it was over $2,000 worth of books," stated Halsey. "I invited her to come up for the kickoff. She said, 'Why don't we bring the books and make the presentation that night?' It's a pretty special thing. They're going to give them to the Historical Society and (we'll) stamp them, turn around and put them in the library and then, hopefully, they'll be over in one special section. They're all history books and they're all about North Carolina."

 

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