BY ANN CIPPERLY
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — The Lunch Break Lecture Series at the Museum of East Alabama will continue Sept. 16 at noon with Melissa Gatlin presenting a program with stories and historic photographs from her upcoming book, “A Guide to Historic Opelika, Alabama: Homes, Businesses and People.”
Gatlin will talk about the businesses that once occupied the corner of Avenue A and South 9th Street, where the museum is located. Her presentation will include the three different historic hotels that occupied the space facing Avenue A from Opelika’s earliest days. It will also include the history of the surrounding stores, cafes and businesses over the years.
“Stories will be told about the people who did business in this part of town in days long ago,” Gatlin said. “This includes everything from the ‘goober peas and rag man’ to the stir caused by the famous young woman who walked through Opelika on her way to New Orleans on foot.”
In 2024, Melissa and her daughter, Anna Ruth Gatlin, authored “A Guide to Historic Opelika, Alabama: Homes, Churches and People.” It is a book primarily about the houses in two of Opelika’s historic neighborhoods and their occupants of long ago.
The mother and daughter duo’s first book was “A Guide to the Historic Jekyll Island Club,” which was published in 2021.
Before becoming an author, Melissa Gatlin homeschooled her four children for 26 years and served as the administrator for First Baptist Opelika Christian School for the last ten of those years. She began writing books after her youngest child finished homeschool and attended college. She and her husband, Mark, reside in the Opelika historic district.
Anna Ruth is an assistant professor of Interior Design in the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University. She and her husband, Griff Smith, live in Auburn with their two children, Izzy and Atlas.
Kylie Hogue is the curator and executive director of the museum.
“The series is going much better than I anticipated,” Hogue said. “I’ve loved getting to meet new friends of the museum and learn something new each Wednesday. Our speakers are incredible.
“We’ve had so many new folks each week, and I’m excited to see so many interested in the history of East Alabama. I can’t wait to see what we learn next.”
The Museum of East Alabama is located at 121 S. 9th St. in downtown Opelika. For further information, call (334) 749-2751.
