Please excuse the cross-postings.

For immediate release

Pearce Collections Opening October 11
Pearce Civil War Documents and Western Art Collections
Grand Opening, Saturday, October 11, at The Cook Center
on the Navarro College Corsicana campus.

An extraordinary collection of Civil War documents and original Western
Art opens to the public on Saturday, October 11.  Ribbon Cutting for the
Pearce Collections Museum is scheduled for 10 a.m. at The Cook Center on
the on the campus of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.

The interactive museum includes more than 7,000 authentic letters and
artifacts from the Civil War as well as more than 100 original western
art paintings and bronze statues. The 14,000 square foot museum is
constructed as a wing addition to the Cook Center, which houses the
largest Planetarium in the State of Texas.

Bringing the history of the west and the tragedy and emotions of the
Civil War conflict to life through art and original documents and
artifacts has been an exciting challenge and opportunity for the Navarro
College Foundation.  Dallas-based Museum Arts, Inc. has aided the
Foundation’s Board of Directors in this task.

The Civil War Museum presents a balanced and unbiased account of the war
through letters and documents from both the Union and Confederate sides.
It tells the story of this conflict through the words of soldiers,
officers, and family members who wrote their observations and thoughts
in letters, diaries, and journals.

The message of the Civil War Museum is to remind us that the war between
the states was fought by people who wore different uniforms but had much
the same dreams, desires, and hopes.  Most importantly our nation, once
divided is now a nation united.

Charles S. Pearce, Jr. and his wife Peggy, longtime residents of the
community, generously donated their private collection of Civil War
letters, diaries, journals, photographs, and artifacts to Navarro
College in 1966. The Pearces also donated their Western Art Collection
containing original oil, watercolor, and pastel paintings, along with
original bronzes, all from well-known contemporary artists who have been
recognized by prestigious organizations such as the National Academy of
Western Art, the Cowboy Artists of America, and the National Sculptors
Society, just to name a few.

Grand Opening events will include a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. followed
by day-long activities.  Over 100 Civil War re-enactors will present
living history demonstrations outside the Cook Center from 10:30 a.m.
until 6 p.m.  Lectures on music of the Civil War and Civil War medicine
are schedule during the day, along with Civil War dance demonstrations
and poetry readings.  Hands-on children’s activities are also featured.

Noted Western Artist, Buck McCain, will speak on “Balance and Classical
Form” from 1-1:30 p.m. and sculptor, James Muir will present “the
Allegorical Art of James Muir” at 1:30 p.m.

The largest planetarium in Texas will feature two shows, “Native
American Skies” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”  Shows are scheduled on
the hour beginning at 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

An all-day admission ticket for museum tours and planetarium shows is
$3.00 per person.

For more information, please contact the Cook Center at (903) 875-7596
or 1-800-988-5317.


--
Julie Holcomb, MLIS, CA
College and Special Collections Archivist
Pearce Collections at Navarro College
Navarro College Archives
3100 W. Collin St.
Corsicana, Texas 75110

Phone: 903-875-7438 ~ Fax: 903-875-7449
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Internet: http://www.navarrocollege.edu/library/archives

"Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they
please; they do not make it under
circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly
found, given, and transmitted
from the past.  The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a
nightmare on the brain of
the living." Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire

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