The High Point Historical Society Monthly Guild Series will be Wednesday, February 20 at 10 a.m. at the High Point Museum, located at 1859 E. Lexington Ave. This program is free and open to the public.
This month’s topic is Alfred J. & Ophelia Griffin and the High Point Normal & Industrial Institute. Local Historian Linda Willard will present her research on the Griffins, both individually and as a family, and their work at and impact upon the High Point Normal & Industrial Institute.
Prior to her retirement in June 2017, Willard had been Office Support in the Guidance Office of Griffin Middle School/William Penn-Alfred J. Griffin School for the Arts for 22 years. She has done extensive research and writing about the history of High Point Normal & Industrial Institute and Alfred and Ophelia Griffin and their work at High Point Normal & Industrial Institute. In February 2011, Linda wrote an award-winning article for Friends Journal on the history of High Point Normal & Industrial Institute. Willard has written three books about Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) and one children’s story book about Booker T. Bear. She also has collaborated with Phyllis Bridges on her work on the “colored section” of Oakwood Cemetery. Linda has received more than 100 awards from the North Carolina Society of Historians. Willard and her husband. Harold. live in High Point.
The High Point Museum, a division of the High Point Public Library, is dedicated to sharing Greater High Point’s history, providing perspective for current issues, and strengthening the sense of community.
The City of High Point aims to serve as the catalyst for bringing together the community’s human, economic and civic resources for the purpose of creating the single most livable, safe and prosperous community in America. For more information on the City, visit www.highpointnc.gov
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