By J.R. Tidwell / Editor

Wayne Arnold was the guest speaker at the first installment of the 150 Cents Dine and Discover lunch/speaker series held at Senior Connection in Clanton on Oct. 22.

Arnold spoke on the history of the towns of Maplesville and Stanton, some prominent members of those communities and the Battle of Ebenezer Church, which occurred during the American Civil War in what is now Chilton County.

“I tend to take a broad approach to history,” Arnold said at the onset of his speech. “That is, don’t tell me what you think I might want to know; just tell me what actually happened. If we did wrong, tell us we did wrong. Not everything the South did was right, and not everything the South did was wrong. Not everything the North did was right or wrong, but it is still history.”

Arnold’s love of history was sparked as a child when he found the remains of a Civil War-era rifle in a local creek.

He was a Marine in Vietnam in 1969 where he carried a radio until he was forced to retire due to injuries sustained from stepping on a small anti-personnel mine.

The Dine and Discover series will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Oct. 22 through Oct. 26 with a different speaker and topic each day.

A different group has donated lunch each day, with Concord Travel Center at Exit 219 providing the food on Oct. 22.

Chilton County Chamber of Commerce president Brad Carter had the idea that became the 150 Cents Dine and Discover lunch series about a year ago.

“I just thought it would be a good way to get people to come out and be more involved during the (celebration) week and what we are doing,” he said. “I wanted to have a different group or topic every day. The whole 150th celebration has been neat to see it unfold. It’s good to see everyone’s efforts come together.”

Senior Connection is also hosting a temporary history museum full of loaned items that is open to the public during the week of the 150th celebration.

“I think it came out very well,” said Senior Connection director Vanessa McKinney. “It’s very, very nice, and we had a lot of participation. There are some antique beds, a lot of hardware, furniture some homemade dresses and things like that from all over Chilton County. The turnout (for the speaker series) was great for the first day.”

The museum will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 22-25, 8 a.m. to noon on Oct. 26, and will also stay open during the parade and other festivities on Oct. 27.