Events and Programs
DHC hosts a wide variety of educational and fun events throughout the year. Please join our e-mail list to get timely updates.
November LUNCH AND LEARN, with Jennifer Richardson
November 22, 1963: The Assassination of a President
Join us as we reflect on a grim anniversary. Historian Jennifer Richardson will guide you through the events of November 22 - 25 from the assassination to the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. One fact is undisputed: on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was killed. What else do you know about that day? Along the way, you will learn about the Warren Commission, the magic bullet theory, the hundreds of books written on the subject in the last 50 years, Oliver Stone’s movie, and the scores of reasonable and ludicrous conspiracy theories. Finally, what have we learned about the impact on our society by the assassination from a perspective of 50 years? Bring your memories and bring your questions. Leave with a fuller understanding of one of the most tragic events in the twentieth century. The lecture will take place at noon. Come an hour earlier (11:00 a.m.) to view Richardson’s extensive collection of assassination memorabilia.
Jennifer Richardson is a professional musician, author, and retired psychotherapist who has lived in the Druid Hills/Decatur area for nearly 59 years, having moved from her birthplace of LaGrange, Georgia at the age of 3 so her father could attend Emory University. She attended Georgia State where she received a degree in music education, and masters’ degrees in music history and performance. She has taught music and played flute, harp, keyboard and sang alto in numerous Atlanta music groups for the past 45 years and today performs with The Wind and Wood Chamber Players. She later attended the University of Georgia, receiving an MSW; and later an ACSW and LCSW and the designation of Certified Cognitive Behavior Therapist, and worked as a psychotherapist in private practice for many years. Along the way, she authored two non-fiction books. In addition to music and therapy, her passions are historic preservation and history. She currently writes history articles for several publications in the Atlanta area and is the historian for the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance and Druid Hills Golf Club, as well as managing editor of the Druid Hills News. In past, she has served on the board of the DeKalb History Center, and currently serves on the Druid Hills Landmark District Preservation Committee. On November 22, 1963, she was in the seventh grade at Fernbank School when the assassination of JFK was announced by her teacher.
Free - bring your lunch!
Tuesday, November 19, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Please note: the earlier time will allow you to view Richardson's collection. The lecture will start at noon.)
Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur GA 30030, Second Floor, Superior Courtroom
January LUNCH AND LEARN, with Richard Cloues
After the Bungalow, Before the Ranch: The Small American House Phenomenon, 1920s-1950s
Dr. Cloues has observed that while most people are familiar with the early 20th-century Craftsman-style Bungalow and many are gaining an appreciation for the mid-20th-century Ranch House, few people are as aware of the importance of the houses built from the 1920s to the 1950s – particularly the many small and seemingly simple one or one-and-a-half story houses in modest Colonial, English, or plain styles. And yet, as Dr. Cloues will show, these “second-child-in-a-three-child-family” houses were quite revolutionary in their time – quietly revolutionary, he adds, but revolutionary nonetheless. They represent profound changes in the way American houses were designed and built in the 20th century, in response to economic challenges, new technologies, and changing family circumstances, and in spite of their differences in appearance, they all share a common architectural heritage. Using examples primarily from Decatur and DeKalb County, Dr. Cloues will show how these small and seemingly simple houses form an important chapter in the history of American houses.
Dr. Cloues (who prefers to be called “Richard”) has a Ph.D. in architectural history and historic preservation from Cornell University. He worked at the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office for 34 years, retiring in June 2012. During his career, he contributed to studies of Georgia’s vernacular houses, African-American historic places, historic landscapes, 20th-century suburbs, the Ranch House, and the Split-Level House. He lives with his wife Judy and too many cats near Stone Mountain. His three children all live and work in the Atlanta metropolitan area; one of them lives in a 1938 small American house in Decatur.
Free - bring your lunch!
Tuesday, January 21, noon to 1:00 p.m.
Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur GA 30030, Second Floor, Superior Courtroom
