Family donates alumnus' Civil War books to library
1/31/2012 5:44:41 PM
(Jan. 31, 2012) A collection of more than 200 books on the
Civil War from the collection of Sanders Hale, a 1958 graduate of North Georgia
College & State University, have been donated to the university's library.
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| Nonie Hale shows one of the books from the Sanders Hale collection. |
Hale amassed the books and other artifacts and memorabilia over
a lifetime spent study the Civil War through reading, research, and trips to
battlefields and historic sites. Hale spent much of his childhood visiting with
his grandmother while his parents ran a small store. She would relate the stories
she had been told as a child by her grandmother, a Civil War widow.
Hale, an active alumnus of North Georgia and avid supporter
of the university, passed away in February 2011. Months after her husband died, Nonie
Hale contacted Shawn Tonner, director of library services, seeking advice on
donating her husband's books. Tonner said she was very interested in the
collection, particularly since the library was getting ready for a major
exhibit on the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
"It's a deep collection; it's not just the surface
material. I have never had a collection that was as thoughtfully assembled. Mr.
Hale was a true collector in a very intentional way," Tonner said.
Hale discussed the idea with her children, and the family
agreed to donate the collection to the university's library, with one special
request.
"They wanted to put book plates in the books as a
family activity over the holidays," Tonner said. "The Hale family
really enjoyed remembering Mr. Hale as they put in the plates."
For the Hale family, deciding to give the books to North
Georgia was an easy decision to make.
"He truly loved North Georgia and that just seemed to
be the most appropriate place for his books to be," Mrs. Hale said.
"I think he probably missed his calling. Sanders would have made a
wonderful college professor."
Typically, library staff affix book plates to the inside
cover of donated books or collections to memorialize the person making the
donation. After the family added the book plates over the holidays, library
cataloger Aaron Lu turned the books around in record time, taking only about a
week to catalog them. The collection was ready for the Jan. 26 opening of the
Lincoln exhibition.
"Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War," a
traveling exhibition, is on display at the university's Library Technology
Center through March 8. The exhibition examines how Lincoln used the
Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil War — the
secession of Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties. The series
of five panels depict Lincoln's experiences with the war. A
series of free, public events is planned in conjunction with the exhibit.
"Mr. Hale's collection really adds a lot of color and
background to the exhibit," Bonnie Morris, a North Georgia librarian, said.
"For those interested in delving even deeper into the history of the war,
it just adds so much wealth to the collection we already had."
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| The Hale family was on hand to help mark the opening of the Lincoln exhibit and the dedication of the Sanders Hale collection. |
Mrs. Hale, the couple's children and several other family
members attended the opening of the exhibit, which featured the unveiling of
the collection. Dr. Charles Burch, a close friend of some 20 years who traveled
to Civil War sites with Mr. Hale, also donated his collection of some 50 to 75
books about the era during the opening event. Mrs. Hale said she was very
pleased when Burch decided to make the donation.
"They walked battlefields and strategized and
re-strategized," Mrs. Hale said. "It was a passion that they both had
and both shared. There is a considerable difference in their ages, but it was a
tremendous friendship."
All the books in the Sanders Hale collection are on display
with the Lincoln exhibit and available to be checked out of the library. The
books, all non-fiction, include volumes filled with brilliantly colored
depictions of the artwork of the era, biographies of various generals, and
books about battles and tactics. One of the oldest volumes is a book published
in the South in 1895 that depicts the Civil War with very sympathetic leanings
to the Southern states.
"The depth of a collection such as Mr. Hale's really
means that he was looking for multiple viewpoints," Tonner said.
"There is not one history of the Civil War or one history of anything. To
reach an understanding, it's really actively seeking multiple viewpoints. I'm
sure his level of expertise was stunning, having read all this material and
seen the sights. I wish he were here to come and talk to us about his
conclusions."