- The Havana History and Heritage Society is selling calendars to portray the towns rich tobacco history
- Havana native, George Kemp is the photographer of the photos
- Watch the video above to see his vision.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Photographing the towns history and displaying in a unique way.
I'm Ashley Engle here in Havana in front of the Tobacco Museum. The Havana History and Heritage Society wanted to tell the towns story by selling calendars with photographs of tobacco barns. I spoke with the man who was behind the camera on what his vision was.
"We wanted to try to preserve the legacy of Gadsden County."
This is George Kemp.
Last winter, George and another member of the Havana History and Heritage Society went around Gadsden County to photograph old tobacco barns that were still standing.
"Tobacco was it, which is by the way why Havana has its name."
Anyone from here knows: the town of Havana was built on tobacco.
Today, many say that's where its rich history comes from.
Donna Warlick is a member of the corporation.
She told me she joined because she has an interest in history. Most importantly, her community's history.
"The society was created to preserve the history of the area. That's our mission"
Donna and George showed me one of the calendars. Flipping through the calendars I saw that each month had a different barn. I noticed how each barn had its own character. They even told me, each one was filled with many different memories.
"First appreciate the art of the pictures, and if they are interested, learn about the history of the county."
Showing Havana roots and the start of their economy, George says taking the photos and the corporation putting the calendars together will allow those to know the town and county's story.
The Havana History and Heritage Society told me all proceeds that they receive from calendar sales go towards the society to help them run the museum to continue to tell Havana's story. Anyone who is interested in buying a calendar can come here to the museum. In Havana, I'm Ashley Engle, ABC 27.
