Meet Libba! Guest Services Specialist

Hey y’all! I’m Libba Beaucham (lih-buh bee-chum), Guest Services Specialist and Museum Educator at the Historic Athens Welcome Center. On a day-to-day basis, you can find me at our concierge desk ready to help visitors and locals alike enjoy all that Athens has to offer. I also lead our new field trip programs for local students!

I’ve lived in Athens for almost a decade now and love calling this community my home. Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by history. I loved reading the Dear America series, going antiquing with my mom, watching World War II documentaries with my dad, and visiting historic sites and museums. I began my career in museum education right out of college at the National Civil War Naval Museum where I was introduced to living history interpretation. There are a two different ways to approach living history: first person and third person. First person interpretation means you are portraying a historical figure or a character that represents the time period. I happen to portray Girl Scouts Founder Juliette Gordon Low for troops, schools, and libraries, for example. A third person approach means that I am myself, modern day Libba, “interpreting” a historical period, especially through its material culture (stuff!) That may mean I am fully dressed in reproduction clothing of the time, but I am not impersonating a historical figure. As a theatre major, I was so happy to discover a way to combine my passion for performance and history through this approach.

Here at the Historic Athens Welcome Center, I lead our 1800s Daily Life field trip in historic costume with reproduction 19th-century items as “Ms. Libba”. During this program, students learn about the everyday life of people living in Athens, Georgia during the early 1800s including music and entertainment, foodways, chores and daily work, textiles and fashion, and more. Because we’re located within the historic Church-Waddel-Brumby House, it’s an immersive experience for students to learn about the early 1800s within a c. 1820 house.

Throughout the year, I also assist with rotating exhibits on local history topics. I’m looking forward to this February’s Black History Month exhibit Emancipation to Integration that shares the remarkable stories of local Black educators, students, and institutions in Athens. Join us on Thursday, February 12th from 4:00-6:00 PM for a free Opening Reception!

Swing by sometime to say hi, tour the house museum, learn about our great guided walking and shuttle tours, and more!