Tuesday, March 12, 2002

UNCW’s Randall Library will host the three events listed below in March.

Exhibit Highlights Spanish-American War

An exhibit about the Spanish-American War, which will be on display March 28 through June 15 in the library’s Special Collections, features items donated by Mary Malone Wootten. It showcases a glimpse into the life of Lt. Bradley Jewett Wootten. From a prominent Wilmington family, Lt. Wootten served in the Philippine Islands and Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In addition to never-published war photos taken by Wootten, the exhibit includes original battle maps and blueprints as well as family photos. The Wootten lineage is intertwined with many other well-known family names including Bellamy, Wright, Empie, Murchison and Sprunt. Local author Dr. Anne Russell, who is Wootten’s great-niece, refers to him as Uncle Theodore in her play The Porch.

Vanderbilt University Professor to Hold Reading, Book Signing

The library is also hosting Dr. Sheila McKoy who will read from her book When Whites Riot, Writing Race and Violence in American and South African Cultures at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 21, in the library’s Special Collections. A book signing will follow.

McKoy, a professor of English at Vanderbilt University, has published numerous articles on race relations. Four chapters of her book focus on the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. This free event is cosponsored by the New Hanover County Public Library.

Military Historian to Lecture

Military historian G. Kurt Piehler will present “Oral History and the Military” at 2 p.m., Friday, March 22, in the Randall Library Auditorium. Dr. Piehler is assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee and director of the Center for the Study of War and Society. He wrote Remembering War the American Way and co-edited the Oxford Companion to Military History. This free event is cosponsored by the Cape Fear Museum.