Music from Elmore County was carefully documented Friday.
It could soon be a part of an online archive at the Birmingham base Southern Music Research Center.
“Our mission is to document and preserve the musical history, legacies and culture of this region,” director Burgin Mathews said. “We have a special kind of investment and interest in Alabama music history, but our focus is Southern more broadly.”
Cliff Williams / TPI Billie Rawls talks about some of the pieces of music and other related items she has collected over the years. She brought part of her collection to be scanned by the Southern Music Research Center as it hosted its first community archiving event.
Mathews and the Southern Music Research Center were at Wetumpka’s Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts to scan and copy music, photographs and more at its first community archiving day.
“It went extremely well,” Mathews said. “We have been very fortunate to have some connections with Elmore County Black History Museum, with the Wetumpka Public Library, with the Elmore County Historical Society and Museum. They've all helped us connect with people in the community.”
Library director Susan Hayes brought an artifact of significance to The Kelly to be scanned. Sheet music composed by Wetumpka native Florence Golson Bateman, who was born in 1891. She was a composer, musician and teacher, who went blind as a teenager.
“This was hanging up in the library,” Hayes said.
It is such pieces that Mathews is looking for.
“We are looking for those rare pieces that are not readily available to the public,” Mathews said. “We are creating an archive with them that can be accessible to the public and searched.”
Elmore County Black History Museum curator Billie Rawls was there going through her personal collection of music memorabilia. Much of hers centers around local gospel groups and a book called the Gospel Pearl.
“So many people learned songs by hearing them,” Rawls said. “This book was used to help teach those songs. Some go back to the days of slavery.”
Rawls heard about the project and spent time speaking with her friends and acquaintances to gather all sorts of information. She brought in personal hymnals, sheet music, photographs and programs. It was everything Mathews was looking for and more.
“There are so many stories here,” Mathews said. “It’s just so amazing.”
Mathews and his crew scan numerous items and were set up to copy records and cassette tapes.
Within a few hours, Mathews was calling the Southern Music Research Center’s first community archiving event a success.
“We didn’t know quite what to expect,” Mathews said. “We had some good connections here. Elmore County really did come out to support us. I can see a section in the archive for just Elmore County.”
Mathews plans to bring the project back to Elmore County at some point to do more archiving.
“We will definitely come back for some of the collections we heard about,” Mathews said. “They make it worthwhile for the trip. We hope we can do another public event like this, but we will also be happy to make arrangements to pick items up to scan and then bring them back. It is all so very valuable.”
