Events
Picture Show at The Post November 11
Second Saturdays at The Post will close the season with Picture Show at The Post, November 11, moving from the parade ground indoors to the 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe. The license agreement with Warner Brothers prevents announcing the movie title but many in the community will remember the only M-G-M Movie filmed at The Post in July and August of 1944, starring Lana Turner, Laraine Day and Susan Peters about the Women’s Army Corps. Moviegoers will see several shots of the parade ground – polo field, WAC barracks, the officer’s homes on Barnhardt Circle and flag pole. The lobby, elevator and suites of the Read House in Chattanooga are also prominently shown.
According to 6th Cavalry Museum Executive Director Chris McKeever, “This
movie not only has great shots of The Post but the viewer hears Fort Oglethorpe
and Chattanooga referred to several times throughout the movie. There
aren’t many North Georgia towns that played host to Hollywood or
can claim that Lana Turner slept here.”
The 6th Cavalry Museum will have FREE admission all day 9am – 4pm.
The movie will be shown at 2 pm and 4 pm in the 2nd floor community room.
Folding chairs will be provided but seat or stadium cushions are suggested
for added comfort. Seating is limited to 80 guests per showing. The Post
Community Association will operate a concession stand. Comcast and Turner
Classic Movies have provided door prizes and giveaways.
The intent of Second Saturdays at The Post is to bring attention to the revitalization of Barnhardt Circle and Fort Oglethorpe’s historic district. The Post, completed in 1905, was home to a number of cavalry regiments throughout its history, but most notably to the 6th Cavalry, stationed here 1919 – 1942. Following the departure of the 6th Cavalry to prepare for the regiment’s entry into WWII, the Post became home to 8,500 WACs from 1942 – 1945 and the country’s first female commanding officer, Elizabeth Strayhorn.
The Post closed following World War II with the buildings sold as surplus. City founders used the developed area to incorporate the City of Fort Oglethorpe in 1949, making it the first new city in Georgia in 25 years.
The 6th Cavalry Association opened its museum June 1981 and celebrates its’ 25th anniversary this year. The museum has 6,500 feet of display area including a Patton Tank, Cobra Gunship Helicopter, authentic uniforms, weapons, accoutrements and loaned display of 24 authentic German helmets and photos from the Matt Fox collection. A walking tour brochure for Barnhardt Circle shows The Post as it was in 1905 complete with a diagram of the officer’s quarters, bandstand and interesting facts.
To learn more about Barnhardt Circle, visit the web at www.postcommunity.org.
For more information about Picture Show at The Post, contact the 6th Cavalry
Museum at 706-861-2860, www.6thcavalrymuseum.com or e-mail 6thcavalrymuseum@chattanooga.net.