Push on for Women's History Museum in Georgia

photo Barbara Massey Reece

Nellie Duke, 83, remembers flipping through textbooks in the 1960s and finding footnotes that read, "Does not concern women, idiots or children."

Since then she's dedicated herself to learning about the female leaders of the South, and she has been determined for the past several years to create a Southern Women's History Museum in Georgia, where she lives.

Soon, she said, that museum will become a reality.

The public is invited to a meeting today to discuss plans for the museum, and women such as Duke will be there to answer any questions. The meeting starts at 5:20 p.m. at the Historic Depot in downtown Summerville, Ga.

The event is sponsored by Georgia Women's Museum Inc., the Georgia Commission on Women and the Georgia Women's Institute. Duke is the president of the Georgia Commission on Women, and the event will be hosted by former state Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo.

Originally, the museum was going to be just for Georgia women, Duke said. But there's been interest from neighboring Southern states, so they've decided to open it up.

Reece said while there are exhibits around the South featuring certain women or associated with universities, there is no comprehensive women's museum.

"We have had so many outstanding women all through the years, and many of them are not real well known, but I think their stories need to be told," Reece said.

The museum is still in the planning stages, Duke said, with commissions determining everything from how much funding they need to who should be featured. She said anyone is welcome to attend the meeting and bring any ideas.

She said they hope that by January or February they can have a more solid plan for going forward.

Reece said in the meantime they've discussed possibly starting a virtual women's museum.

"We're thinking about doing a virtual tour of the Georgia Women's Museum and starting out with, say, 10 women, and having that on the Internet and branching out from there," she said.

Contact staff writer Hannah Smith at hsmith@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6731.

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