Donation

Historian Jeff Giambrone has a personal connection to the Mississippi Made temporary exhibit at the Two Mississippi Museums.

With an emphasis on innovation, industry, art, and entertainment, the exhibit tells the story of Mississippi in celebration of America250 – the national observance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

The exhibit displays some 250 artifacts, including items donated by Giambrone, who is a cultural resource specialist at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where he’s worked for nearly 14 years. 

Giambrone’s family has lived in central Mississippi since the 1920s, and he has donated many items to MDAH over the years. Three of these artifacts are now on display in Mississippi Made.

One is his dad’s 1967 credit card for The Emporium. Giambrone found it in a book, where it had been used as a bookmark. The Emporium was a department store in downtown Jackson until 1970. Giambrone’s father, J.T. Giambrone, was a banker, and he purchased suits at The Emporium.

Giambrone describes the downtown Jackson of his childhood as “vibrant.” He remembers the shift from department stores such as The Emporium to retail shopping centers like the Jackson Mall and the Metrocenter Mall – a shift that mirrored the national landscape. 

His two other items on display in Mississippi Made are both Jackson Mets artifacts. This farm team was a Class AA of the New York Mets and lasted from 1975 to 1990. Giambrone donated a baseball and a 1979 season program, both signed by members of the team. He remembers hanging out by the locker room to acquire the signatures of the popular baseball players. 

Giambrone was 12 when he caught the ball that is now on display. He and his family would attend many of these games at Smith-Wills Stadium. He describes the big crowds and atmosphere as “traditional Americana at its finest.” 

Farm teams like the Jackson Mets were often seen as a pipeline to the major leagues, which inspired even more excitement around local teams, he said.

 “These are the stories we need to preserve, particularly because they get lost the easiest,” Giambrone said. 

Anyone can donate to MDAH’s collections. To learn more, visit https://www.mdah.ms.gov/collections/donate-to-mdah-collections.

Mississippi Made is a free temporary exhibit on display until November 6, 2026. 

The special exhibition Emerging Grace: Andrew Bucci’s Early Works will open Wednesday, January 12, in the lobby of the William F. Winter Archives & History Building. The exhibition will feature Bucci’s earliest artworks, sketches, and biographical materials. The artifacts showcased in this exhibit are from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s (MDAH) Andrew Bucci Collection. The collection was donated to the department in January 2021 by the Andrew Bucci Estate.  

“Andrew Bucci’s lifelong involvement in the Mississippi arts community played a central role in his artistic journey and in his extraordinary creative legacy. It’s a story that is richly documented in the sketchbooks, scrapbooks and biographical materials that constitute the new Andrew Bucci Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History,” said the niece of Andrew Bucci, Margaret Bucci. “By donating these treasures to MDAH, Andrew’s estate wishes to honor, preserve, and illuminate his life’s work and help cultivate a deeper understanding of one of Mississippi’s most revered visual artists.” 

The exhibition is scheduled to kick off on January 12, the centennial birthday of Andrew Bucci. In honor of this special day, the first History Is Lunch program of the 2022 year will feature Margaret Bucci and Beth Batton, curator of the Emerging Grace exhibit. Following the program Batton and Bucci will lead a tour of the new exhibit. The exhibit will run through March 12 and be open to the public Monday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Saturday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.  

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States. The department collects, preserves, and provides access to the archival resources of the state, administers various museums and historic sites, and oversees statewide programs for historic preservation, state and local government records management, and publications. For more information call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov. 

The Nissan Foundation has donated $30,000 to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) to underwrite field trips to the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum for the upcoming school year.    

"We are grateful to the Nissan Foundation for their support of our field trip program,” said Katie Blount, director of MDAH. “School children are the most important people we serve. The foundation’s generosity will help us reach our goal for every student in the state to visit the Two Mississippi Museums at least once.”

“For nearly 30 years, the Nissan Foundation has been committed to amplifying the efforts of nonprofit organizations doing the important work of sharing diverse cultural perspectives and experiences with communities across the country,” said Parul Bajaj, senior manager, Nissan Philanthropy. “At perhaps no other time in recent history has the work of Two Mississippi Museums been so critical. We are proud to support their efforts to inspire people to embrace the value of our differences.”

The funds will be used to defray costs such as admission, travel, and on-site lunches for students. To reserve or learn more about field trips at the Two Mississippi Museums, contact Stephanie King, field trips coordinator, at sking@mdah.ms.gov.

Two Mississippi Museums hours are Tuesday-Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The museums are open free of charge on Sundays from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and are located at 222 North Street in Jackson. For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov. 

Nissan in Mississippi

Since opening its doors in 2003, Nissan’s assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, has donated more than $18 million and worked more than 12,000 volunteer hours to support more than 200 nonprofit organizations in the Greater Jackson area. The facility employs more than 5,500 people who build the Nissan Altima, Frontier, TITAN and TITAN XD, NV Cargo and NV Passenger vehicles.

Image cutline: Pictured are MDAH board member Helen Moss Smith, Nissan Philanthropy senior manager Parul Bajaj, MDAH board member Nancy Carpenter, MDAH director Katie Blount, MDAH board members Hilda Cope Povall, Betsey Hamilton, and Web Heidelburg, and outgoing MDAH board president Judge Reuben V. Anderson.