Chatham County seeks tributes & memories for grand reopening of 1881 courthouse

Posted Tuesday, February 5, 2013

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Pittsboro, NC - The Grand Reopening of the 1881 Chatham County Courthouse will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2013, with several events planned throughout the day, including tours and official public opening of the Chatham County Historical Association museum in the morning and a special ceremony in the afternoon.

More details about the event will be provided in early March. “However, we want residents to know now that they are invited to celebrate the restored courthouse by submitting their personal tributes,” said Debra Henzey in the County Manager’s Office. The deadline is March 30, 2013.

The county wants residents to put their own stamp on their submissions, which could be messages, poems, memories, graphic image, short stories, drawings, or photographs that can be displayed. People should be careful to avoid terms or images that could be offensive to any group.

“We ask that the submissions be your personal tribute to the courthouse, past, present or future, and this might include a special memory,” Henzey said. “We ask that the tributes not be solely focused on fire itself, but take a broader and more personal view in their tributes.”

Limitations for submissions are:

• No more than TWO single-sided pages for handwritten or printed items. The paper should be no larger than letter size (8.5 X 11)
• No more than 120 square inches total for artwork (painting or drawing), but does not require formal mounting
• No more than three photographs submitted in clear protective sleeves and none should be larger than 8 X 10 each.

Space permitting, the items will be displayed in glass cases in the courthouse that are provided by the Chatham County Historical Association. A few items may be selected by an information committee to highlight during the afternoon ceremony in the restored second floor courtroom.

“People should keep a copy of their submissions, because we plan to give what we collect to the Historical Association for their records as part of the courthouse’s rich history,” Henzey said.

Items should be delivered or postmarked no later than Saturday, March 30, 2013. They can be mailed or delivered in person:

MAIL: Debra Henzey, County Manager’s Office, P. O. Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312
DELIVERY: Debra Henzey, 964 East Street, Room 209, Pittsboro, NC 27312 (above the YMCA)

If you have a question about the submissions, contact Debra Henzey at debra.henzey@chathamnc.org

“We are excited to see what people can do with this challenge,” Henzey said. “People have expressed a need to pay tribute or to share a special memory. This is a creative way to do so.”