Kenneth Blake Tyner
Post Office Box 3636
Pembroke , NC 28372
910.844.5428
bbtyner@gmail.com

EDUCATION
Masters of Library Science with an Archives and Special Collections concentration
NC Central University 2006-2008

B.A. in History and a minor in Public Relations
UNC Pembroke 2001 – 2005 (Honors College)

WORK EXPERIENCE
Curator and Executive Director, Robeson County History Museum (2003 – present)
Manage the day-to-day operations of the museum including but not limited to correspondence, marketing, and promotion. Creation of exhibits including original research and exhibit fabrication.

Executive Director, Maxton Historical Society (2000 – 2004)
Managed the day-to-day operations of the Society and their museum including but not limited to correspondence, marketing, and promotion. Coordinated their annual banquet as well as serve as an advisor to the Town of Maxton on issues concerning its history and impact of current projects on its historical resources. Wrote, edited and designed their newsletter, The New Scottish Chief. Researched and fabricated exhibits.

AMERICORPS Volunteer – US Coast Guard Auxiliary (2002-2003)
Served the Fayetteville Flotilla with over 400 hours of community service through AMERICORPS. Worked primarily on publicity and public affairs for the flotilla. Public service was encouraged through the UNC Pembroke Honor’s College and through the LSOP (Leadership, Service and Opportunity Program) at UNC Pembroke. Named a LSOP Fellow (see honors section).

University of North Carolina at Pembroke (2001 – present)
Administrative assistant of the Art Department duties include purchasing and budgeting for the department, scheduling appointments for the Department Chair, correspondence, developing and maintaining of Department and faculty websites, serving as secretary for department meetings. In the past year have established a student listserv to allow easier communications between faculty and students; and established Art Matters a publication aimed at current art students, art alumni and those interested in the art program at UNCP.

PUBLICATIONS
Books:
Robeson County in Vintage Postcards
Presentation of Robeson County as pictured through vintage postcards. Winner of the 2006 Willie Parker Peace Award by NC Society of Historians. (Published August 2005)

Images of America: Robeson County
A pictorial history of Robeson County, North Carolina using photographs, maps, postcards, interviews, and documents. Winner of the 2005 Willie Parker Peace Award by NC Society of Historians. (Published April 2004)

Mirror to the Past - A History of the North Carolina Branch Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims
The history of the founding of the Society and its fifty years in the State of North Carolina. (Published 2001)

Goin’ For A Soldier - Abstracts of Vital Records for Antebellum Southern Soldiers from The Fayetteville Observer 1818 – 1850
Abstract of marriage and death notices that contain information regarding military persons. Winner of the 2000 Willie Parker Peace Award by NC Society of Historians. (Published 1999)

Articles:
Robeson Remembers is a series sponsored by Robeson County History Museum that appears The Robesonian monthly:
• Burneys built Lumberton Landmarks (January 2007)
• Laurinburg-Maxton Airbase (January 2004)
• Robeson County’s Connection with Aviation History (December 2003)
• Memories of Christmas (December 2003)
• Charles Hunter, A Monument to Education (February 2003)

PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS
Documentaries:

The Gospel Truth? and Siubhal nan Salm
Served as a consultant and was an interviewee in 2004 of a two fold project for Eyeline Media Productions of Scotland. The project produced two documentaries based on a study of highly controversial theory by Willie Ruff, an African American jazz musician and Professor of Music at Yale University. Professor Ruff believes that Gaelic Psalm singing is part of the DNA of all African American music. For him it represents the last vestiges of European ‘’lining out’’ – where a presenter puts out a line and the congregation follows - and that only the Gaels and African Americans are singing in this form today. The English version (The Gospel Truth?) was narrated by Dr. Robert Beckford of the University of Birmingham and aired in England April 2005. This was one of the 10 films chosen to be shown at the G-8 Summit in Scotland in 2005. The Gaelic version with English subtitles (Siubhal nan Salm) was narrated by Celtic singer Mary Ann Kennedy and aired in Scotland December 2004.

Exhibitions:

Plantation Art and Artifacts of the Carolinas
In this exhibit UNC Pembroke Professor and artist Dr. Tulla Lightfoot and historian Blake Tyner joined forces to create a unique exhibit which was exhibited at the Robeson County History Museum 2006-2007. Lightfoot’s pastel paintings of area plantation homes and slaves at work set the mood of the exhibit. The exhibit showcased artwork by local students which included a large mural of cotton pickers; a model of an antebellum plantation house and grounds; face jugs based on designs of slave pottery makers and quilt squares. Also featured were Tyner’s collection of hair and mourning jewelry, along with art and artifacts of local plantations loaned by owners. Tyner interpreted the history of the period as a two fold mingling of the bitterness of slavery and the fabric of a slaveholding society which was enriched by the skill and toil of the slaves. Winner of the 2008 Paul Green Multimedia Award by NC Society of Historians.

Secrets of the Swamps
In this exhibit Artist Janette Hopper and historian Blake Tyner joined forces to create a unique exhibit entitled “Secrets of the Swamps” which was exhibited at Wilmington’s historic Bellamy House during the summer of 2005. Hopper’s painting of Robeson County's swamps and waterways set the mood of the exhibit, which focuses on the hidden beauty of the region and the little known Floral College. The college was the first in North Carolina to confer degrees upon women. Chartered on January 11, 1841 it operated until 1872 as an educational haven not only for the young ladies of Robeson County but attracted a large enrollment from lower North Carolina and upper South Carolina. The exhibit documented over 250 graduates of the school and included letters from several of the girls, written while students at the college. Letters included in the exhibit are from sisters Julia and Martha Turner of Averysboro, N.C., Catherine McNeill and Elizabeth Ann Hamer of Little Rock, S.C. The exhibit also highlights the time that the Bellamy family spent at the college during the Civil War. Ellen Douglas Bellamy, the daughter of the Bellamys wrote in 1937 a booklet entitled “Back With the Tide” which gave a wonderful insight into their life in Robeson County during the Civil War. Winner of the 2006 Paul Green Multimedia Award by NC Society of Historians.

Robeson County Flight and War Bride’s Room
This two part exhibit was at The Robeson County History Museum Spring 2005. The “Robeson County Flight” featured the history of flight in the county and those with connections to the personages of the county. Included were Robeson natives William McArthur, a NASA astronaut who was part of three space shuttle missions; Tom Oxendine, the first American Indian naval aviator during World War II; and Ida Van Smith, an African American female aviation pioneer, who learned to fly at age 50 and proceeded to open a flying club to encourage flight training and involvement in aviation and aerospace sciences for minority children and women in Long Island, N.Y. Also highlighted was the Laurinburg-Maxton Air Base, the largest glider training base in the U.S. during World War II. The second part of the exhibit was the “War Bride’s Room” which acts as an extension to the airbase story. Set up like a period bedroom with subtle, simple and humble furnishings - a period mahogany bed, dresser and night table, an early child’s playpen, a vanity with period combs, brushes and beauty accessories this shows what one of the rooms rented out to soldiers and their wives during the war in the local area. When first built, the airbase did not have housing for married couples, and they typically rented rooms in homes in the community. Winner of the 2008 Paul Green Multimedia Award by NC Society of Historians.

Papers:
The Struggle to Find The Place We Fit - Free Blacks in the Antebellum Carolinas
An examination of petitions dealing with free blacks that came before the General Assemblies of both of the Carolinas along with a focused study of three free blacks: Free Frank McWhorter, Louis Sheridan, and William Ellison, and their struggle to find their place in society.

The Great Cost of Freedom: The Story of Andrew Miller, Merchant, Politician, Hero
Andrew Miller an immigrant of Glasgow, Scotland settled in colonial North Carolina and became active in politics. When he refused to sign the Articles of Associations he was forced to flee to Bermuda to live out the Revolution War.

On the Outside Looking In: An Account of the Life of Elizabeth Blount Miller McNair
Elizabeth Blount Miller McNair was born into a world of wealth and privilege. At the age of sixteen she married a wealthy merchant and politician, Andrew Miller. They and their children were forced to flee the country during the Revolution after Andrew was charged as a Loyalist. Paper traces her battle to regain her former wealth from the State of North Carolina. (Entered in NC Humanities Council competition)

Programs:

Newspapers and Their Importance in Historical and Genealogical Research
Presented August 2007 to the Anson County Genealogical Society, the program dealt with historical information found in vintage newspapers about the area that became Anson County.

Hidden Treasures – Finding Historical and Genealogical Information in Letters and Lawsuits
Delivered April 2007 to the Robeson County Genealogical and Historical Society; program dealt with large amount of information to be found in letters and lawsuits. Examples were drawn from Robeson County letters and lawsuits and covered the McKay Family’s letters from the early 1800s, Col. Francis Marion Wishart and his effort to capture the Henry Berry Lowery Gang; letters of girls from Floral College and lawsuit that appeared before the North Carolina Supreme Court twice dealing with estate law in connection with legitimate siblings inheriting from illegitimate children.

Newspapers and Their Importance in Historical and Genealogical Research
Presented March 2007 to the Scotland County Genealogical Society, the program dealt with historical information found in vintage newspapers about the area that became Scotland County.

Research in the Capital: North Carolina Historical Research
Presented to the North Carolina General Assembly April 2003; presentation showcased history projects from my research over the last year and how it would not have been possible without the North Carolina State Archives and the University Special Collections.

Traveling Through Robeson County’s History
Presented April 2003 to the Student Club of Maxton, North Carolina; program focused on the photographs collected while compiling the Images of America: Robeson County book.

Hidden Treasures – Finding Historical and Genealogical Information in Letters and Lawsuits
Delivered April 2003 to the Scotland County Genealogical Society; program dealt with large amount of information to be found in letters and lawsuits. Examples were drawn from the Maxton, North Carolina area and covered the McKay Family’s letters from the early 1800s, Col. Francis Marion Wishart and his effort to capture the Henry Berry Lowery Gang; and lawsuit that appeared before the North Carolina Supreme Court twice dealing with estate law in connection with legitimate siblings inheriting from illegitimate children.

Mirror to the Past: A History of the North Carolina Branch Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims
Delivered at the 50th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Branch Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, August 2001. Program dealt with the history of the founding of the Society and her fifty years of service on the State of North Carolina.

Maxton and her Mayors
Delivered on May 13, 2001 at the Avenue of Mayors Dedication, Maxton, NC; presented lives and accomplishments of 16 Maxton Mayors.

Three Maxton Mayors
Delivered at the February 2001 Annual Meeting of the Maxton Historical Society; program dealt with the lives of Maxton Mayors: William Jackson Currie, Angus Browne MacElyea and Franklin Henderson.

Colonial North Carolina’s Wealth
Delivered at the 49th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Branch Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, August 2000. North Carolina is often referred to as a poor and backward state and most think that it must have been a poor and backward colony. This is not the case, as I will point with the help of a 1912 publication. When J. Bryan Grimes became Secretary of State, he found that housed in his office were many surviving colonial wills and inventories. As he read through these items he saw their importance not only to the families in which the people belonged but more importantly he saw that they more than any thing opened the window to Colonial North Carolina.

Letters: Links to the Past Hope for the Future
Delivered on April 20, 2000 to the Student Club of Maxton, North Carolina. A study of Maxton, North Carolina as told through letters of her residents from 1816 through the Lowery Racial War of the 1870s.

Newspapers and Their Importance in Historical and Genealogical Research
Delivered with Bess Hubbard Tyner April 1999 to the Student Club of Maxton, North Carolina; program dealt with our abstract books of the Fayetteville Observer from the early to mid 1800s. Discussed the importance of newspapers in uncovering the history of families and communities.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Dillon County
A pictorial history of Dillon County, South Carolina using photographs, maps, postcards and documents. (Expected publish dated 2010)

American Landmark: South of the Border
A history of South of the Border located on Interstate 95 in Dillon County, South Carolina using photographs, maps, postcards and documents. (Expected publish dated 2009)

Bridging Time – A pictorial history of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Presents a history of the university from its beginning as an Indian Normal School to the present. Makes use of photographs, postcards and documents housed in University Archives and University Relations Office.

War Triangle of the Sandhills
A study of the history of Fort Bragg, Camp MacKall and the Laurinburg-Maxton Airbase and the role they played in military and civilian life during World War II.
Carolinastories.com
On-line resource for teachers and researchers of North and South Carolina history. Includes original transcribed documents and well as biographies of the people who helped to develop the Carolinas.

Floral College: A History of a Girls School in Antebellum Carolina
A history of the first female college in North Carolina to confer degrees as told through the eyes of the girls who attended the school.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND SERVICE

North Carolina Society of Archivists
President 2007-2008
Chairman Education Committee 2008-2009
Vice President/Program Chairman 2006-2007
Member at Large Board of Directors 2005-2006

UNC Pembroke Staff Council
Personnel Committee 2008-2009

NC Association of Historian
NC Museum Council
NC Society of Historians
American Library Association
AMERICORPS Volunteer
UNC Pembroke LSOP Fellow (minimum of 400 hours community service)

HONORS

Scholarship Winner – American Libraries Association Annual Meeting – Rare Book and Manuscript Pre Conference Professional Seminar– Austin, Texas June, 2006
University Honors College, UNC Pembroke
AMERICORPS Scholarship
LSOP Fellow (UNC Pembroke outreach and community service program)
University Marshall - 2002-2003, Chief 2003-2005
Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges - 2003-2004, 2004-2005
UNCP Student of the Month - September 2005
Phi Alpha Theta – Honor Society for History Studies
Gamma Beta Phi – Charter President (National Honor Society of Colleges)
FSA Scot (Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland)
Alpha Sigma Lambda (Non-tradition Student Honor Society)

Historical Affiliations
FSA Scot (Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland )
Preservation North Carolina
North Carolina History Museum Associates
Preservation Maxton
North Carolina Society of Colonial Wars, Past State Treasurer
North Carolina Society Sons of the American Revolution, Past State Secretary North Carolina Branch Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, Past State President