DAILY LEADER / JUSTIN VICORY / A crowd of close to 30 people gathered at an “Appreciation Night” event held by the Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society Tuesday night. At far right, Pat Jacobs talks with Alderman Shirley Estes and others who turned out for the reception.

The Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society held an appreciation celebration Tuesday afternoon at the Historical Museum on Church Street to thank society members and community members who have donated money and artifacts to the museum.

To enhance the museum, a number of steps have had to be taken that required donations, noted Rita Rich, representing the Historical Society and museum.

“We’ve been really busy. We’ve done several things to get the museum to where it is right now. And we intend to do more,” Rich said.

The board had asked for help from the community to help preserve 15 of its stained glass windows, and with community assistance, that work has been recently completed. Other measures that have taken place at the museum have included redoing the floors, removing all the seats out of the former Jewish synagogue and putting in a new air conditioning system. All of these things took money, and Tuesday night, Rich and the board offered their appreciation to those that helped out.

Rich also took time to recognize the donations, or loans, of historical artifacts to the museum.

“This is what it’s all about, our history. If it weren’t for the items that have been provided to us by the community, we wouldn’t have much of a museum,” Rich said.

Mayor Joe Cox, City Clerk Michael Jinks, Ward Four Alderman Shirley Estes and Deputy City Clerk Samantha Melancon attended the ceremony and perused museum artifacts. When Cox came across Dr. James Tindall’s dental chair, it served as a reminder to the mayor of his own history here in Brookhaven.

“Yep, I remember this chair … intimately. I bet there are a lot of people here that do.”

A massive clock from the Inez Hotel, whose meticulous construction was an engineering feat all its own, sits above a display case with bygone pictures of the Exchange Club fairs over the years.

Newspaper headlines announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor are on display, along with other notable events in history.

An entire display devoted to the now defunct Coca-Cola plant in Brookhaven sits in the southwest corner of the museum, proving that while events in history come and go; change is the only certainty.

Other artifacts, such as a spinning wheel, ice chests, and an antique wicker baby carriage remain in view to the public for another day.

Classical piano notes wafted throughout the museum space at the celebration, courtesy of Grant Melancon, who played music by Beethoven and other classics throughout the night.

A memorial plaque that commemorates the occasion is now in the foyer of the museum.