Special to the
Opelika Observer
The summer meeting of the Lee County Historical Society will be on July 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Museum in Loachapoka. Guest speaker will be Dr. James P. Pate, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of West Alabama, who has recently completed work on the “Annotated Pickett’s History of Alabama.” Dr. Pate, a scholar in the field of Alabama history, has devoted nearly two decades to a painstaking annotation of the popular, two-volume Alabama history book published before the Civil war that is commonly referred to as “Pickett’s History.” Pate verified Pickett’s sources; elaborated on the persons, events, and places described; and enriched the work with historical detail unknown when Pickett was writing. The work was then fully indexed for the first time. The result pays homage to a book that was described when it appeared nine years before the Civil War as “one of the prettiest specimens of book making ever done in America.” Pate has served as professor, department chair, dean and vice president of academic affairs during a period of 30 years. He will bring to the Lee County Historical Society a new look on the rich and diverse early history of Alabama in its bicentennial year. All LCHS meetings and programs are open to the public. The Lee County Historical Society is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of the history of Lee County and East Alabama. Check out the website www.leecountyhistoricalsociety.org/ or find them on their Facebook page.