Daphne Public Library Annual History Series

The Daphne Public Library will present the 7th Annual History Series this spring. The series, Immigrant Communities on the Gulf Coast: Then to Now, will include four speaking events on Tuesdays at 10:00 am on March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. Each session will last about one hour followed by a question and answer period. All four events will be held at the Daphne Civic Center. Dr. James M. Morris, author and Professor Emeritus at Christopher Newport University, will speak on March 21 about the local Italian immigrants, including many of the founding citizens in Daphne, Alabama. Dr. Morris will discuss the immigrant families, the areas of Italy where each family originated, how they came to America and how they wound up living on Mobile Bay. Mrs. Jeanette Bornholt, a librarian at the Foley Public Library and head of the Genealogy & Alabama Division of that library, will speak on March 28 about German immigrants to Baldwin County. The parents of Mrs. Bornholt were German immigrants in the Elberta community. Dr. Kathryn Calogrides Coumanis, of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Mobile, will speak on April 4 about the Greek immigrants in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Mrs. Coumanis studied at Spring Hill College, Tulane and the University of Alabama. She is a retired social worker and her resume includes Penelope House, the State Department of Human Resources, the Mobile County Department of Human Resources, and Spring Hill College. Olga Villar, Columnist for The Catholic Weekly and Director of Hispanic Ministries for the Diocese of Mobile, will speak on April 11 about the more recent Hispanic immigrants to the Gulf Coast area. Her talk will consider the similarities and differences between past and current immigrants. Please join us for this continuing education opportunity. All events will be held in the Daphne Civic Center on Tuesdays at 10:00 am (March 21 & 28, April 4 & 11). The program is sponsored by The Friends of the Daphne Library.