17 May Rosa T. Beard Exhibition
In March, the museum debuted its “Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club” exhibition in celebration of the 61st year of the club and the 59th year of the cotillion. Brittany Noel Corbin, a former deb (2001) served as guest curator. Corbin is currently a student at The University of Georgia and she is working on her doctorate in Fashion with a focus on International Merchandising and an emphasis in History & Culture. Rev. Cheryl Beard, daughter of Mrs. Rosa Beard, served as consultant. Corbin, who has varied experience in curating exhibitions, led the planning team in designing an exhibit that has been the talk of the town and that has captured the essence and legacy of Mrs. Beard.
The nearly two-month exhibition sparked a wave of excitement throughout the city as former debutantes reached out to the museum to loan dresses and memorabilia for the exhibit and share stories on how the debutante club impacted their lives. The opening reception on March 17th was filled to capacity and the Facebook live stream of the event garnered nearly 1000 views. On April 28th, a closing reception featured etiquette lessons and other activities highlighting the Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club experience. Plans are already in the works for the 2025 exhibit which will include an additional exhibit location and will feature oral history interviews from founding debutantes which the museum staff has already begun collecting.
Prior to founding the Debutante Club, Mrs. Beard, while teaching science at A.R. Johnson Junior High School, founded the Rocket Club which she also later founded at T.W. Josey where she later taught. The Rocket Club was quite popular. Students entered and won prizes at several science fairs and were invited to participate in a science fair sponsored by the U.S. Patent office. Members of the club had successful careers and pursued careers as doctors, military officers, ministers and worked in the fields of science and government. A couple of the members became a superior court judge and an ambassador.
To commemorate the legacy of the Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club and the Rocket Club , the museum is endeavoring to raise funds for the installation of local historical markers.